Mark Warawa, MP - Langley - Tough new laws targeting identity theft receives royal assent

October 29, 2009

Tough new laws targeting identity theft receives royal assent

Langley MP Mark Warawa welcomes the granting of Royal Assent on Bill S-4, legislation that will provide police and justice officials with important new tools in the fight against identity theft, a fast-growing crime that is especially rampant in Langley.

“This legislation is finally in place to provide police with the tools they need to protect Canada’s families, seniors, and businesses from the numerous harms of identity crime,” says Warawa. “It is fantastic news, and something I’ve spent years fighting for.”

This act will create three new "core" Criminal Code offences targeting the early stages of identity-related crime, all subject to 5-year maximum prison sentences:

Obtaining and possessing identity information with the intent to use the information deceptively, dishonestly or fraudulently in the commission of a crime;
Trafficking in identity information, an offence that targets those who transfer or sell information to another person with knowledge of, or recklessness as to, the possible criminal use of the information; and,
Unlawfully possessing or trafficking in government-issued identity documents that contain information of another person.

A new power will be added permitting the court to order, as part of a sentence, that an offender be required to pay restitution to a victim of identity theft or identity fraud for costs associated with their efforts to rehabilitate their identity, e.g., the cost of replacement cards, documents and correcting their credit history. This provision will complement existing provisions which permit restitution to be ordered for actual economic or other property losses.

Because it poses a low risk of detection and a chance of high financial reward, organized criminals have become involved in identity theft. The Government of Canada has taken additional action against organized crime, including the passing of legislation to make murders committed in connection with gangs and organized crime automatically murders in the first degree.

The Government has also proposed legislation to crack down on auto theft and trafficking in property obtained by crime, both of which are associated with organized crime.

The Government’s actions to tackle fraud include several bills currently before Parliament. Last week, the Government introduced legislation which would require mandatory jail time for fraud over $1 million. The Government has also introduced legislation to eliminate conditional sentences, including house arrest, for those convicted of serious property crimes, including fraud, and a bill to ensure law enforcement and national security agencies have the tools they need to fight crime and terrorism in today’s high-tech environment.

“It’s what Canadians have been wanting for so long,” says Warawa. “Our Government is getting it done. Even in a minority government we are about action, and doing what Canadians have asked us to do.”