International Transfer of Offenders Act (S.C. 2004, c. 21)

Marginal note:If eligible for parole, etc., before transfer

27 If, under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act or the Criminal Code, the day on which a Canadian offender is eligible for a temporary absence, day parole or full parole is before the day of their transfer, the day of their transfer is deemed to be their day of eligibility.

Marginal note:Review by Board

28 Despite sections 122 and 123 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, the Parole Board of Canada is not required to review the case of a Canadian offender until six months after the day of their transfer.

Marginal note:Application

• 29 (1) Subject to this Act, a Canadian offender who is transferred to Canada is subject to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, the Prisons and Reformatories Act and the Youth Criminal Justice Act as if they had been convicted and their sentence imposed by a court in Canada.

• Marginal note:Canadian sentence

  (2) If, before the transfer, a Canadian offender is subject to a Canadian sentence of imprisonment, they are

  • (a) eligible for full parole on the later of

    • (i) the day established in accordance with section 19, 23 or 24, as the case may be, and

    • (ii) the full parole eligibility date established under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act; and

  • (b) entitled to statutory release on the later of

    • (i) the day established in accordance with section 26, and

    • (ii) the statutory release date established under that Act.

Compassionate Measures

Marginal note:Canadian offender

• 30 (1) A Canadian offender shall benefit from any compassionate measures — including a cancellation of their conviction or shortening of their sentence — taken by a foreign entity after the transfer.

• Marginal note:Foreign offender

  (2) The Minister shall take all reasonable steps to inform the foreign entity and the foreign offender of any compassionate measures taken by Canada after the transfer.

Administrative Arrangements

Marginal note:Administrative arrangements — offenders

31 If no treaty is in force between Canada and a foreign entity on the transfer of offenders, the Minister of Foreign Affairs may, with the consent of the Minister, enter into an administrative arrangement with the foreign entity for the transfer of an offender in accordance with this Act.

Marginal note:Administrative arrangements — mentally disordered persons

• 32 (1) If the relevant provincial authority consents to the transfer, the Minister of Foreign Affairs may, with the consent of the Minister, enter into an administrative arrangement with a foreign entity for the transfer, in accordance with this Act, of a person in respect of whom a verdict of unfit to stand trial or not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder was rendered and may no longer be appealed.

• Marginal note:Consent — provincial authority

  (2) The consent of a provincial authority to a transfer under this section shall take into account the purpose and principles of this Act. Consent to the transfer of a person in respect of whom a verdict of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder has been rendered — or of a citizen or national of a foreign entity in respect of whom a verdict of unfit to stand trial has been rendered — is given by the attorney general of a province or, in the case of a territory, the Attorney General of Canada, on the recommendation of the relevant Review Board established under section 672.38 of the Criminal Code. Consent to the transfer of a Canadian citizen in respect of whom a verdict of unfit to stand trial has been rendered in a foreign entity is given by the relevant provincial authority.

• Marginal note:Factors — provincial authority

  (3) A Review Board, in deciding whether to recommend to the attorney general that a person be transferred — and the relevant provincial authority, in deciding whether to consent to a transfer under subsection (2) — shall consider the following factors:

  • (a) the best interests of the person, including their mental condition, the likelihood of their reintegration into society and their treatment and other needs; and

  • (b) the need to protect society from dangerous persons.

• Marginal note:Additional factor — unfit to stand trial

  (4) The attorney general, in deciding whether to consent to the transfer to a foreign entity of a person in respect of whom a verdict of unfit to stand trial has been rendered, shall consider their ability to effectively prosecute the case in the event that the person becomes fit to stand trial.

Definition of foreign entity

33 In sections 31 and 32, foreign entity means a foreign state, a province, state or other political subdivision of a foreign state, a colony, dependency, possession, protectorate, condominium, trust territory or any territory falling under the jurisdiction of a foreign state or a territory or other entity, including an international criminal tribunal.

Marginal note:Part XX.1 of Criminal Code

• 34 (1) Subject to the other provisions of this Act — and, in the case of a young person, section 141 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act — Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code applies to a person who is transferred to Canada under an administrative arrangement that was entered into under section 32. The verdict of the foreign court is deemed to be a verdict of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder and to have been made on the day of their transfer.

• Marginal note:Presumption

  (2) The person is deemed to be the subject of an order under paragraph 672.54(c) of the Criminal Code and a warrant of committal under section 672.57 of that Act until the Review Board of the province to which the person is transferred makes a disposition under section 672.47 of that Act. The Review Board shall, within 45 days after the day of the person’s transfer, hold a hearing and make a disposition.

• Marginal note:Extension of time period

  (3) If the Review Board is of the opinion that there are exceptional circumstances that warrant it, it may take a maximum of 90 days to hold a hearing and make a disposition.

Marginal note:Transportation for transfer

• 35 (1) A person who is discharged under paragraph 672.54(b) of the Criminal Code or detained under paragraph 672.54(c) of that Act may — with the consent of the attorney general of the province from which they are to be transported and, if applicable, the attorney general of the province to which they are to be transported — be transported to any other place in Canada in order to expedite their transfer to a foreign entity.

• Marginal note:Warrant

  (2) If a person is to be transported in order to expedite their transfer, an officer authorized by the attorney general of the province from which they are to be transported shall sign a warrant specifying the place in Canada to which they are to be transported, the terms of their transfer and, if applicable, the place of detention.

• Marginal note:Territories

  (3) For the purpose of this section, in respect of a territory, the relevant attorney general is the Attorney General of Canada.

Marginal note:Transportation and detention

36 A warrant referred to in subsection 35(2) is sufficient authority for

• (a) the person who is responsible for the custody and transportation of the person being transferred to convey them to the place in Canada to which they are to be transported and, if applicable, deliver them to the person in charge of the place of detention;

• (b) the person in charge of the place of detention to detain the person being transferred; and

• (c) the person who is responsible for the custody and transportation of the person being transferred to deliver them to the person from the foreign entity who is responsible for the transfer.

Sex Offender Information Registration Act

Marginal note:Obligation

36.1 If the criminal offence identified under section 15 or 36.3 is an offence referred to in paragraph (a) or (f) of the definition primary offence in subsection 490.011(1) of the Criminal Code, the person is required to comply with the Sex Offender Information Registration Act.

Marginal note:When obligation begins

• 36.2 (1) The obligation begins on the day of the person’s transfer.

• Marginal note:Duration of obligation

  (2) The obligation

  • (a) subject to subsections (3) and (4), ends 10 years after the day on which the sentence was imposed or the person was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder if the maximum term of imprisonment provided for in Canadian law for the equivalent criminal offence is two or five years;

  • (b) subject to subsections (3) and (4), ends 20 years after the day on which the sentence was imposed or the person was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder if the maximum term of imprisonment provided for in Canadian law for the equivalent criminal offence is 10 or 14 years; and

  • (c) applies for life if the maximum term of imprisonment provided for in Canadian law for the equivalent criminal offence is life.

• Marginal note:Duration — if more than one offence

  (3) The obligation applies for life if the person was convicted of, or found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for, more than one offence in respect of which the equivalent criminal offence is an offence referred to in paragraph (a) or (f) of the definition primary offence in subsection 490.011(1) of the Criminal Code.

• Marginal note:Duration — if previous obligation

  (4) The obligation applies for life if the person, before or after the coming into force of paragraphs (a) and (b),

  • (a) was previously convicted of a primary offence, as defined in subsection 490.011(1) of the Criminal Code, or previously convicted under section 130 of the National Defence Act in respect of such a primary offence; or

  • (b) is or was subject to an order or obligation under this or another Act of Parliament to comply with the Sex Offender Information Registration Act.

• (5) [Repealed, 2023, c. 28, s. 46]

• (6) [Repealed, 2023, c. 28, s. 46]

Marginal note:Not criminally responsible — equivalent offence

• 36.3 (1) If a request is made to transfer a person in respect of whom a verdict of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder was rendered for an offence that consists of one or more acts that are sexual in nature, the Minister shall identify the criminal offence that, at the time the Minister receives the request, is equivalent to that offence.

• Marginal note:Not criminally responsible — delivery of Form 1

  (2) If the person is required to comply with the Sex Offender Information Registration Act, the Minister shall deliver a copy of Form 1 of the schedule to the Review Board of the province to which the person is transferred.

General Provision

Marginal note:Transfer to Canada not valid

• 37 (1) The foreign sentence of a person transferred to Canada under this Act is enforceable in Canada unless a court determines that, because the person is not a Canadian citizen, the transfer is not valid.

• Marginal note:Minister to notify foreign entity and other ministers

  (2) If the court declares that the transfer of the person to Canada is not valid, the Minister shall notify the foreign entity, the minister responsible for the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the minister responsible for the Extradition Act that the transfer is not valid.

• Marginal note:Transfer to foreign entity not valid

  (3) If a foreign entity declares that the transfer of a foreign offender is not valid, the Canadian sentence that they were serving before the transfer is enforceable in Canada.