What is GAMP?
GAMP is an acronym for the General Alternatives Measure Program
This Program is appropriate for adult first offenders of a non violent crime. It is available by section 717 of the Criminal Code.
It allows the system to handle your case outside of the criminal justice proceedings with the help of the Equijustice network. The principles of the GAMP program are based on restorative justice. The program usually requires 5-8 months to be completed.
Eligible participants to the GAMP program are required to recognize the facts leading to the criminal charges and they are also required to complete an alternative measure under the supervision of Equijustice.
The recognition of facts is not the same as a guilty plea, as a guilty plea is guided by Section 606 of the Criminal Code: it has to be made in front of a judge with evidence entered in the court record during a hearing on the plea followed by a court hearing on sentencing. The recognition of facts required by the GAMP program is made outside of the court record, in front of the Equijustice staff member handling your case, not in front of a judge during a hearing (no plea hearing, no sentencing hearing).
The alternative measure requested can be an apology letter, a mediation session, volunteering in the community, financial compensation or specific counselling for anger management or substance use. Every case requires its own specific measure.
Upon successful completion of the GAMP program, the court will be requested to dismiss the charges against you.
If a person denies participation or involvement in the commission of the offence OR the person expresses the wish to have the charges against them dealt with by the court, then the GAMP program will be not completed. The charge will follow the usual the criminal justice proceedings where, eventually, the person will consider a trial or a guilty plea followed by sentencing.
Please note that if you have been found guilty of a similar offense in the past, then your chances of being accepted in the GAMP program for the new repeated offence are usually low, even if you received a discharge for the first offence.
For more information about the GAMP program, please visit the Equijustice website or contact the office of Me Arij Riahi directly.
Last edited: November 21st, 2024.