It's now illegal to intimidate healthcare workers, patients in Canada

Jan 17 2022, 6:50 pm

A new law has now come into effect across the country, making it illegal to intimidate doctors, nurses, and patients.

A motion to make amendments to the Criminal Code, among other things, was brought forward late last year and included the following:

  • Create an offence of intimidating a person in order to impede them from obtaining health services, intimidating a health professional in order to impede them in the performance of their duties or intimidating a person who assists a health professional in order to impede the person in providing that assistance;
  • Create an offence of obstructing or interfering with a person’s lawful access to a place at which health services are provided, subject to a defence of attending at the place for the purpose only of obtaining or communicating information; and
  • Add the commission of an offence against a person who was providing health services and the commission of an offence that had the effect of impeding another person from obtaining health services as aggravating sentencing factors for any offence.

The amendments were passed unanimously in the House of Commons and the law took effect on Sunday, January 16.

Amanda WawrykAmanda Wawryk

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