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An Act to amend the Director of Public Prosecutions Act

Summary

  • Assigns the federal Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to prosecute summary conviction offences created under First Nation laws, by default.
  • First Nations can opt out by appointing their own prosecutor or by arranging prosecution through a provincial/territorial agreement.
  • Clarifies roles and streamlines enforcement of First Nation laws, ensuring cases can proceed even where local prosecution capacity is limited.
  • Aims to reduce gaps and delays in enforcing community laws while respecting First Nations' choice and autonomy.

Builder Assessment

Vote Yes

This bill modestly aligns with Build Canada’s tenets by improving government efficiency and reducing procedural barriers for First Nations, with no evident conflicts. While its macroeconomic impact is limited, it supports clearer rule-of-law execution that can indirectly benefit local economic activity.

  • Aligns with efficiency by providing a default, centralized prosecution service and avoiding duplication.
  • Respects autonomy via opt-out, reducing bureaucratic inertia for communities lacking capacity.
  • Indirectly supports business certainty on First Nation lands, aiding productivity at the margin.
  • To strengthen alignment: include service standards (timelines, performance metrics), digital case management, transparent cost reporting, and optional capacity-building for First Nation-led prosecution to improve speed, predictability, and impact on local economic activity.

Question Period Cards

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Principles Analysis

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Canada should aim to be the world's most prosperous country.

Primarily a justice-administration change with indirect economic effects; no clear macro-growth lever.

✓

Promote economic freedom, ambition, and breaking from bureaucratic inertia (reduce red tape).

Reduces administrative friction for First Nations by providing a default prosecution service while preserving opt-out flexibility.

✓

Drive national productivity and global competitiveness.

Improved rule-of-law execution can lower frictions and delays, though impacts are modest and indirect.

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Grow exports of Canadian products and resources.

No direct connection to export capacity or market access.

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Encourage investment, innovation, and resource development.

Could slightly enhance investor confidence via clearer enforcement, but no direct investment or resource-development measures.

✓

Deliver better public services at lower cost (government efficiency).

Centralizes a specialized function at the DPP to avoid duplicative setups, likely improving consistency and economies of scale for communities lacking capacity.

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Reform taxes to incentivize work, risk-taking, and innovation.

No tax provisions.

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Focus on large-scale prosperity, not incrementalism.

A targeted governance fix with limited economy-wide impact.

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S-224

PartySenate
StatusAt second reading in the Senate
Last updatedJun 3, 2025
TopicsIndigenous Affairs
Parliament45