The ''Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69'' (french: Loi de 1968–69 modifiant le droit pénal) was an

omnibus bill An omnibus bill is a proposed law that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics. ''Omnibus'' is derived from Latin and means "to, for, by, with or from everything". An omnibus bill is a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a ...

that introduced major changes to the Canadian ''

Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

''. An earlier version was first introduced as Bill C-195 by then-

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Pierre Trudeau in the second session of the 27th Canadian Parliament on December 21, 1967. Bill C-195 was modified and re-introduced as Bill C-150 by then-Minister of Justice

John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...

in the first session of the

28th Canadian Parliament The 28th Canadian Parliament was in session from September 12, 1968, until September 1, 1972. The membership was set by the 1968 federal election on June 25, 1968, and it changed only slightly due to resignations and by-elections until it was dis ...

on December 19, 1968. On May 14, 1969, after heated debates, Bill C-150 passed third reading in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

by a vote of 149 (119 Liberals, 18

New Democrats New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

, 12 Progressive Conservatives) to 55 (43 Progressive Conservatives, 11 '' Créditistes'', 1

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

). The bill was a massive 126-page, 120-clause amendment to the criminal law and criminal procedure of Canada. The bill partially decriminalised homosexual acts and allowed

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

under certain conditions. A related bill, introduced and passed at the same time, decriminalised the sale of contraceptives. The Act also regulated

lotteries A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

, tightened the rules for

gun possession Gun ownership is the status of owning a gun, either legal or illegal. In 2018, Small Arms Survey reported that there are over one billion small arms distributed globally, of which 857 million (about 85 percent) are in civilian hands.drinking and driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is inv ...

harassing Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...

phone calls, misleading advertising, and cruelty to animals.

, 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''". :a. John Mercer Reid was elected as a member of the Liberal-Labour Party, but caucused with the Liberal Party of Canada until the 1972 general election, when he rejoined the main political party.

Changes to the Criminal Code

Abortion and contraception

Abortion

Bill C-150 legalized

therapeutic abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

under certain conditions. Abortion was previously a criminal offence in Canada, which was still largely influenced by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

's moral positions on this issue. Bill C-150 made it legal for women to get an abortion if a

therapeutic abortion committee Therapeutic Abortion Committees (commonly known as TACs) were committees established under the Canadian Criminal Code. Each committee consisted of three medical doctors who would decide whether a request for an abortion fit within the exception t ...

of three doctors felt the pregnancy endangered the mental, emotional or physical well-being of the mother. In a 1999 speech celebrating the 30th anniversary of the bill's passage, Senator

Lucie Pépin Lucie Pépin (born September 7, 1936) is a Canadian nurse and former politician. Pépin served in both the House of Commons and Senate. Career A Registered Nurse by profession, in the 1960s, Pépin served as head nurse in the gynecology departm ...

argued that the new freedom provided by Bill C-150 "proved to be a stepping stone for many other freedoms and options that have altered women's place in anadiansociety — self-esteem, education, jobs, a voice and empowerment". Abortion legislation in Canada was further liberalized in 1988 with the '' R. v. Morgentaler'' ruling, which left Canada without any laws regulating abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.Abortion rights: significant moments in Canadian history
CBC news (accessed 2011-08-29)

Contraceptives

Prior to 1968, the ''Criminal Code'' made it an offence to offer to sell, advertise, or have in one's possession for the purpose of sale any "medicine, drug, or article intended or represented as a method of preventing conception or causing abortion or miscarriage." As part of the package of reforms contained in the ''Criminal Law Amendment Act,'' the government also introduced Bill S-15, which decriminalised contraceptives and brought them under the regulatory power of the ''

Food and Drugs Act The ''Food and Drugs Act'' (the ''Act'') (formal title ''An Act respecting food, drugs, cosmetics and therapeutic devices'') is an act of the Parliament of Canada regarding the production, import, export, transport across provinces and sale of f ...

'', which governs medicines and medicinal devices. Bill S-15 repealed the reference to contraceptives in the ''Criminal Code'', but left abortifacients criminalised. Bill S-15 received royal assent on June 27, 1969, the same day as the ''Criminal Law Amendment Act''.

Homosexuality

Bill C-150 decriminalized " buggery" and "gross indecency" between adults over age 21, and between husband and wife, provided each party consented. The two offences had been used to criminalise homosexual acts between men. The

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

's adoption of the ''

Sexual Offences Act 1967 The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom (citation 1967 c. 60). It legalised homosexual acts in England and Wales, on the condition that they were consensual, in private and between two men who had attained t ...

'', influenced Trudeau's decision to include amendments to the ''Criminal Code'' concerning homosexuality in Bill C-150. Opposition to homosexuality was so intense that the Catholic '' Créditistes'' of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

held up debate for three weeks. The ''Créditistes'' suggested that

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

and atheism were behind the proposed changes relating to homosexuality and abortion; they demanded that a public

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

be held on these issues and staged a filibuster of Parliament over the amendments concerning abortion. However, even the proponents of the bill argued that " mosexuality in itself is still unlawful", with certain exceptions, while expressing disgust for homosexual practices. Prior to the law being passed, consensual homosexual conduct in private was rarely prosecuted. Historian Tom Hooper says that it is a "myth" that the law decriminalized homosexuality and in fact, it "facilitated the recriminalization of homosexuality in Canada".

Gambling

Prior to Bill C-150, ''Criminal Code'' exemptions that permitted small-scale

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

on behalf of charities were introduced. Between 1892 and 1969, Canadians could wager on

horse races Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

or gamble at summer fair midways. These charitable experiences with gambling eventually led Bill C-150 to give the provincial and federal governments the opportunity to use

to fund worthwhile activities (e.g. 1976 Montreal Olympics).

Gun control

Gun politics in Canada Firearms in Canada are federally regulated through the ''Firearms Act'' and related provisions of the ''Criminal Code''. Regulation is largely about licensing and registration of firearms, including air guns with a muzzle velocity of more than ...

were also affected by Bill C-150, which for the first time made it illegal to provide firearms to persons of "unsound mind" or criminals under

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

orders. The law also expanded the definition of a 'firearm', which, prior to 1969, included only

handguns A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...

and automatic firearms, and introduced non-restricted, restricted, and prohibited firearm categories.

Drunk driving

Bill C-150 also addressed the issue of drunk driving. The bill made it an offence to drive with a

blood alcohol content Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For example ...

(BAC) in excess of 80 mg/100 ml of blood. Refusal of a police officer's demand to provide a breath sample was made an offence at the same time and both began as summary conviction offences, with a mandatory minimum $50 fine.