The ''Combating Terrorism Act'' () is an Act of the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada () is the Canadian federalism, federal legislature of Canada. The Monarchy of Canada, Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate of Canada, Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, form the Bicameral ...

that renewed some provisions to the

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 ...

that had expired under a

sunset clause In public policy, a sunset provision or sunset clause is a measure within a statute, regulation, or other law that provides for the law to cease to be effective after a specified date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend it. Unli ...

for a new five-year term, and to introduce new crimes for leaving Canada to join or train with a terror group. In 2012, the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

introduced in Senate Bill S-7, the ''Combating Terrorism Act, in order to renew provisions of the '' Anti-Terrorism Act'' that had expired. The bill also increased the maximum prison sentences for some offences related to harbouring suspected terrorists. On April 19, just after the

Boston Marathon bombing The Boston Marathon bombing, sometimes referred to as simply the Boston bombing, was an Islamist domestic terrorist attack that took place during the 117th annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarna ...

, the government rearranged the Parliamentary agenda to fast-track Bill S-7 to a vote on April 22 or 23, 2013. The ''Act'' received royal assent on April 25, 2013.justice.gc.ca: "Combating Terrorism Act, S.C. 2013, c. 9"
/ref>

Provisions

The ''Act'' updates the Criminal Code sections 83.28 to 83.3 with provisions to prevent a person from committing a terrorist act. It also makes leaving Canada to commit a terrorist act a criminal offence. The ''Act'' updates the ''Evidence Act'' to allow hearings on "the disclosure of sensitive or potentially injurious information" to be made public, with hearings held in secret. The ''Act'' also increases penalties under the ''Security of Information Act''.

References

{{reflist 2013 in Canadian law Canadian federal legislation Terrorism laws in Canada