Strengthen penalties for vehicle deaths

AI summary

Petitioners ask Parliament to amend Criminal Code, review conveyance offences and impose mandatory minimums, longer or lifetime driving bans, immediate licence suspensions and victim supports. The government responds it modernized impaired‑driving law and supports victims.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the House of Commons Dangerous, reckless, and careless driving remains a leading cause of death and serious injury in Canada; Many fatal crashes involve distraction (18–25%) or excessive speed (22–27%), and about 35% of pedestrians killed were not at fault; and Careless driving causing death is often treated with weak penalties, prompting calls for tougher sentences, suspensions, bans, and education. We, the undersigned, Citizens of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to • Conduct a comprehensive review of Criminal Code conveyance offences where death or serious bodily harm results, with a focus on public safety; • Amend the Criminal Code, and work with provinces and territories, to strengthen sentencing provisions by: • Establishing mandatory minimum custodial sentences for: a) Dangerous driving causing death; b) Criminal negligence causing death involving a motor vehicle; c) Careless driving causing death, where aggravating factors such as distraction, excessive speed, failure to yield, or prior relevant driving offences are present; • Increasing penalties for repeat offenders, including increased jail terms and longer driving prohibitions for prior convictions involving careless, dangerous, impaired, or prohibited driving; • Mandating lengthy driving prohibitions, including lifetime driving bans for offenders who repeatedly cause serious bodily harm through careless driving; • Work collaboratively with provinces and territories to: • Ensure that cases involving careless driving causing death are met with consequences that reflect the seriousness of the harm caused; • Support immediate licence suspensions upon charge for the most serious driving-related offences, including cases involving fatal accidents; • Improve supports for victims and families, including access to information, counselling, and meaningful participation in the justice process.

Government response

Response by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Signed by THE PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY PATRICIA LATTANZIO Everyone deserves to live in a society where they are safe. The Government of Canada is committed to protecting people in Canada from impaired driving and condemns this dangerous behaviour in the strongest possible terms. Impaired driving remains one of the leading criminal causes of death and injury in Canada, and even one life lost to impaired driving is one too many. The Criminal Code impaired driving regime was completely overhauled in 2018 to modernize, simplify and facilitate detection and prosecution of impaired drivers. This regime provides courts with broad sentencing tools to address impaired driving, including maximum penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment for impaired driving simpliciter (i.e., where no one was hurt or killed) and up to life imprisonment where impaired driving causes death. Bill C-14, the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act, which was enacted on June 15, 2026, further strengthens the impaired driving regime by restoring the availability of driving prohibition orders for offenders convicted of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing bodily harm or death involving the operation of a conveyance. Bill C-14 also made significant changes to the Criminal Code bail provisions to better address all repeat offending at the bail stage. Among other changes, it provides additional direction to bail courts on how to apply the principle of restraint. Specifically, it clarifies that the principle of restraint does not mandate release and that an accused person cannot be release if their detention is justified for the protection or safety of the public. These reforms build on other recent bail reforms, including those enacted in 2023 through former Bill C48, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (bail reform), which require courts to consider an accused person’s criminal history of when making any bail decision. Taken together, these measures represent a clear and firm commitment to disrupting repeat impaired driving related offences in communities across Canada. The Government is also committed to reforming the criminal justice system to recognize and respect the needs and rights of victims and survivors of crime. Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, creates a new right under the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights (CVBR) for victims to be treated with respect, courtesy, compassion and fairness. The preamble of the CVBR was also amended to recognize that the criminal justice system must adopt a trauma-informed and victim-centered approach. Impaired driving is an area of shared responsibility between the federal government and the provinces and territories, with each acting within its respective jurisdiction. While the federal government is responsible for the criminal law governing impaired driving offences under the Criminal Code, driver's licence suspensions and other administrative licensing measures generally fall within provincial and territorial jurisdiction under highway traffic and motor vehicle legislation. The Government continues to work with provinces and territories to promote road safety, encourage responsible driving, and support measures that help reduce injuries and deaths on Canadian roads. These measures reflect the Government's commitment to ensuring that serious and repeat impaired driving offenders are held accountable while protecting the safety of Canadians on our roads and highways.