The Criminal Code is a law codifying most criminal offences in Canada. Its official name is An Act Respecting the Criminal Law, which is updated to reflect changing societal values. It strives to bring consistency to how criminal law is applied across Canada and to make the judicial system more accessible to laypeople.
According to information from the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (Part I Understanding Criminal Law In Canada,) the Supreme Court of Canada has noted that 'our system of criminal justice is based on the punishment of conduct that is contrary to the fundamental values of society, as statutorily enshrined in the Criminal Code and similar statutes.' The Court added, 'Our criminal law is also a system of values … judicial sentences should also be imposed in a manner which positively instills the basic set of communal values shared by all Canadians as expressed by the Criminal Code.'