Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69

The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69 (French: Loi de 1968–69 modifiant le droit pénal) was an omnibus bill that introduced major changes to the Canadian Criminal Code. An earlier version was first introduced as Bill C-195 by then-Minister of Justice Pierre Trudeau in the second session of the 27th Canadian Parliament on December 21, 1967, which was modified and re-introduced as Bill C-150 by then-Minister of Justice John Turner in the first session of the 28th Canadian Parliament. After heated debates, it passed third reading in the House of Commons by a vote of 149 to 55. The bill was a massive 126-page, 120-clause amendment to the criminal law and criminal procedure of Canada.

Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69
Parliament of Canada
CitationS.C. 1968–69, c. 38
Enacted byParliament of Canada
Assented toJune 27, 1969
Legislative history
Bill title28th Parliament, Bill C-150
Introduced byJohn Turner, Minister of Justice
First readingDecember 19, 1968
Second readingJanuary 23, 1969
Third readingMay 14, 1969
Voting summary
  • 149 voted for
  • 55 voted against

The bill decriminalized homosexual acts and homosexuals nationwide and allowed abortion under certain conditions. A related bill, introduced and passed at the same time, decriminalised the sale of contraceptives. The Act also regulated lotteries, tightened the rules for gun possession, and introduced new offences relating to drinking and driving, harassing phone calls, misleading advertising, and cruelty to animals.

John Turner, Trudeau's successor as Minister of Justice, described the bill as "the most important and all-embracing reform of the criminal and penal law ever attempted at one time in this country." Trudeau famously defended the bill by telling reporters that "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation," adding that "what's done in private between adults doesn't concern the Criminal Code".

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