The ''Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69'' () 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 ...

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 Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

in the second session of the

27th Canadian Parliament The 27th Canadian Parliament was in session from December 9, 1965 until April 23, 1968. The membership was set by the 1965 federal election on November 8, 1965, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dis ...

on December 21, 1967, which was modified and re-introduced as Bill C-150 by then

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 and leader of the Opposit ...

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 di ...

. After heated debates, it passed third reading in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

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. The bill decriminalized

homosexual acts Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

and homosexuals nationwide and allowed

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

under certain conditions. A related bill, introduced and passed at the same time, decriminalised the sale of

contraceptive Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

s. The Act also regulated

lotteries A lottery (or lotto) 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 som ...

, tightened the rules for

gun possession A gun is a device that propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). Solid projectiles may be fr ...

, and introduced new offences relating to

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 in ...

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

phone calls,

misleading advertising False advertising is the act of publishing, transmitting, distributing or otherwise publicly circulating an advertisement containing a false claim, or statement, made intentionally, or recklessly, to promote the sale of property, goods or servi ...

, and

cruelty to animals Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or Injury, harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...

, 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''".

Vote

: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 early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnanc ...

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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

's moral positions on this issue. Bill C-150 made it legal for women to get an abortion if a therapeutic abortion committee 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 A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

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 ''R v Morgentaler'', 9881 SCR 30 was a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada which held that the abortion provision in the ''Criminal Code'' was unconstitutional because it violated women's rights under section 7 of the ''Canadian Charter of ...

'' 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'' () is an act of the Parliament of Canada regarding the production, import, export, transport across provinces and sale of food, drugs, contraceptive devices and cosmetics (including personal cleaning products such as ...

'', which governs medicines and medicinal devices. Bill S-15 repealed the reference to contraceptives in the ''Criminal Code'', but left

abortifacient An abortifacient ("that which will cause a miscarriage" from Latin: '' abortus'' "miscarriage" and '' faciens'' "making") is a substance that induces abortion. This is a nonspecific term which may refer to any number of substances or medications, ...

s 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

between men. The

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

's adoption of the ''

Sexual Offences Act 1967 The Sexual Offences Act 1967 (c. 60) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It legalised homosexual acts in England and Wales, on the condition that they were consensual, in private and between two men who had attained the age of 21. ...

'', 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 is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

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

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

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

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

be held on these issues and staged a

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...

of Parliament over the amendments concerning abortion. Proponents of partial decriminalization defended their position by saying that " mosexuality in itself" would remain unlawful unless both parties were over 21 and the act took place in private. Prior to the law being passed, private consensual homosexual conduct 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 (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

on behalf of

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

were introduced. Between 1892 and 1969, Canadians could wager on horse races 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 The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal w ...

Gun control

Gun politics in Canada Firearms are federally regulated in Canada through the '' Firearms Act'', the ''Criminal Code'', and the Canadian Firearms Program, a program operated within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Regulation is largely about licensing and registratio ...

were also affected by Bill C-150, which for the first time made it illegal to provide

firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...

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 alcoholic b ...

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

handguns A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long barreled gun (i.e., carbine, rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, or machine gun) which typically is intended to be held by both hands and braced aga ...

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

Drunk driving

Bill C-150 also addressed the issue of

drunk 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 in ...

. 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. BAC is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume of blood. In US and many i ...

(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 Fine may refer to: Characters * Fran Fine, the title character of ''The Nanny'' * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (p ...