National Action Plan on Open Government Commitment

A few concrete examples were observed for the period of January 1 – June 30 2026, such as through the support of various pieces of legislation including: Bill C-9 – An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places); Bill C14 – An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the National Defence Act (bail and sentencing); Bill C-16 - The Protecting Victims Act; and C22 – An act respecting lawful access. Three of the bills received Royal Assent in June.

In 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada released its R. v. Jordan decision, establishing presumptive ceilings beyond which delays in criminal court cases are considered unreasonable. Under this framework, the timelines for completing criminal cases are set out as follows: 18 months for cases tried in provincial court; and 30 months for cases tried in superior court or in provincial court following a preliminary inquiry. The Jordan decision allows for delays exceeding the presumptive ceiling to be justified on the basis of exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances are those that are reasonably unforeseen or unavoidable and cannot be reasonably remedied once they arise. Due to data gaps identified through the SOCJS, Justice Canada undertook an analysis of criminal court case time indicators related to the Jordan limits. A Research in Brief (a short research report under 15 pages in length) and accompanying infographic was developed and published in June 2026.

A number of crime trends products were also prepared, such as an overview of the key measures of crime statistics in Canada, an overview of key youth justice statistics, as well as broader work examining the drivers of crime; all to be published before end of FY 2026/27.

As reported in the first update, in response to evolving reporting needs on the performance of the criminal justice system, an examination of the State of the Criminal Justice System (SOCJS) Framework was undertaken to select a shortlist of key indicators that could provide timely and accessible high-level overview of national, provincial and territorial trends of the system’s performance. While the SOCJS Framework is more comprehensive, the shortlist presents a concise snapshot of a select key indicators. Engagement with federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) partners and stakeholders was completed in early winter 2026 to inform the development of the shortlist. Work is currently underway to finalize and publish the indicator shortlist.

Government Bill (House of Commons) C-9 (45-1) - Royal Assent - Combatting Hate Act - Parliament of Canada - https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/bill/C-9/royal-assent

Government Bill (House of Commons) C-14 (45-1) - Royal Assent - Bail and Sentencing Reform Act - Parliament of Canada - https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/bill/C-14/royal-assent

Government Bill (House of Commons) C-16 (45-1) - Royal Assent - Protecting Victims Act - Parliament of Canada - https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/bill/C-16/royal-assent

Government Bill (House of Commons) C-22 (45-1) - First Reading - Lawful Access Act, 2026 - Parliament of Canada - https://www.parl.ca/documentviewer/en/45-1/bill/C-22/first-reading

Criminal court case indicators related to the Jordan timelines, 2016/2017 to 2023/2024 - https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/jordan/index.html

o Key criminal justice indicators presented in the State of the Criminal Justice System Initiative (SOCJS)—whether it be to the dashboard, report, data sources and related resources—are used regularly among departmental employees to inform policy-related discussion, advice and materials for decision-making. The Q1 period showed concrete examples of that such as the preparation of the tabling of Bill C-14, the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act, and Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act.
o Due to data gaps identified through the SOCJS, Justice Canada undertook an analysis of criminal court case time indicators related to the Jordan limits. A Research in Brief and accompanying infographic was developed. Publication is set for 06/2026.
o In response to evolving reporting needs on the performance of the CJS, over the Q1 period, an examination of the SOCJS Framework was conducted to select a shortlist of key indicators that could quickly and clearly provide high-level trends of the system’s performance. While the SOCJS Framework is more nuanced and comprehensive, the shortlist provides a short snapshot of a few key indicators. Engagement with key Federal/Provincial/Territorial partners and stakeholders is in progress.
o Due to demand from Canada’s Black Justice Strategy and other clients and partners, Justice Canada is developing a fourth population-based theme on the experiences of Black people in the criminal justice system, alongside existing themes on Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth.
o SOCJS data also support interdepartmental reporting, including updates on implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, particularly Calls to Action 30 and 38 on eliminating the overrepresentation of Indigenous adults and youth in custody and monitoring progress over time.
o The SOCJS Dashboard has also been identified within Justice Canada as a strong example of applying a Gender Based Analysis Plus lens in departmental work, as it uses disaggregated and population-based data to better understand how different groups experience the criminal justice system.

Canada's State of the Criminal Justice System - https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/state-etat/index.html