Law 12
Criminal Law
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The Criminal Code/Types of Criminal Offences (All about the Law, Gibson, p.107108)
The best known of the offence creating statutes enacted by governments is the Criminal
Code. The Criminal Code is a set of statutes enacted by the federal government, and
applied uniformly throughout the entire nation. The Criminal Code was first adopted in
1892, and is regularly revised to reflect changes in social, political and economic
environments. Some revisions are administrative, whereby regulations attached to the
statutes are updated or modernized. Other changes have been substantive. Substantive
changes include creating, changing and discarding offences by changing legislation.
Along with the Criminal Code, there are other legislative statutes that contain criminal
provisions. Examples include the federal Food and Drugs Act, the Official Secrets Act, the
Emergencies Act, and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act at the federal level, and
the Highway Traffic Act at the provincial level. These provisions in legislation are
necessitated by new circumstances as they arise in society. These non-criminal code
offences may be federal, provincial or local in jurisdiction, and all contain provisions for
penalties when contravened.
Quasi-Criminal Law
While the constitution designates the power to make criminal law exclusively to the federal
government, provinces are empowered to enact laws on all matters falling within their
jurisdiction. This has further empowered local governments to make laws. Indian bands
have authority to pass laws for the benefit of the reserve under provisions of the federal
Indian Act, while municipalities have authority to pass laws for the benefit of local
communities under provisions of provincial statutes.
Know that law made by provinces, municipalities and band councils is known as quasicriminal law, because criminal law can be enacted only at the federal level.
Crime
A crime is conduct defined as such by statute or by common law. Every textbook writer
tries to define 'crime'. It is difficult to attach an exact definition to something that is so
diverse. There are motoring offences ranging from simple parking errors, to death by
dangerous driving. Offences against the person range from a slap to murder. Criminal law
is usually found under the heading of public law, because it is against the State and is
punished by the State. First, it is an offence against the public, although it might affect
only one person. Secondly, that the person who committed an offence will be punished in
some manner prescribed by the State.
If you attend a session at a Canadian court, you will hear people being charged with
summary conviction offences or indictable offences. Some offences can be either
summary or indictable, depending on the circumstances of the cases. These are called
hybrid offences because they could belong to either category of offence.
1. Method of trial
(a) Indictable offences
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These are the serious offences, triable by judge and jury, for which an Indictment sets out
the charges against the person(s) sent to the Crown Court for the trial.
Indictable offences are serious crimes that carry more severe penalties than summary
conviction offences. The Criminal Code sets a maximum penalty for each offence--up to
life imprisonment for some offences, such as homicide. It is up to the trial judge to decide
the actual penalty. Some indictable offences have a minimum penalty that judges are
forced to impose. For example, impaired driving carries a minimum penalty that can range
from a $600 fine to five years imprisonment, depending upon the number of times the
accused has committed the offence.
(b) Summary offences
These are offences only triable in the magistrates' courts.
Summary conviction offences are minor criminal offences. People accused of these
offences can be arrested and summoned to court without delay. The maximum penalty for
most summary convictions under the Criminal Code is $2000 and/or six months in jail. In
other statutes, more severe penalties for summary offences are given. For example, the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act specifies a maximum penalty of a fine of $2000
and/or imprisonment for one year for possession of a narcotic.
(c) "Hybrid" offences
These are offences created by statute and may be tried either summarily or on
indictment. Sometimes called 'either-way offences'.
Hybrid offences are those for which the Crown attorney has the right to proceed
summarily, and impose a less severe punishment, or to proceed by indictment. Theft is an
example of a hybrid offence, as section 334 of the Criminal Code makes
Questions
1. Distinguish between a summary and indictable offence.
2. Compare the maximum penalty for summary and indictable offences.
3. What choices does a Crown attorney have in dealing with a hybrid offence?
A car crashed into a Kingston, Ontario, home. The driver was charged with impaired
driving. A passenger and someone in the house were killed.
4. Would this be a summary or an indictable offence?
Excerpts from the Criminal Code
334.
... Everyone who commits theft
(a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten
years, where ... the value of what is stolen exceeds five thousand dollars; or
(b) is guilty
(i) of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two
years, or
(ii) of an offence punishable on summary conviction, where the value of what is stolen
does not exceed five thousand dollars.
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5. Under what circumstances would a person be charged by summary conviction?
6. Under what circumstances would a person be charged by indictment?