Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Criminal Code.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

2 In this Act,

Act

Act includes

• (a) an Act of Parliament,

• (b) an Act of the legislature of the former Province of Canada,

• (c) an Act of the legislature of a province, and

• (d) an Act or ordinance of the legislature of a province, territory or place in force at the time that province, territory or place became a province of Canada; (loi)

appearance notice

appearance notice means a notice in Form 9 issued by a peace officer; (citation à comparaître)

associated personnel

associated personnel means persons who are

• (a) assigned by a government or an intergovernmental organization with the agreement of the competent organ of the United Nations,

• (b) engaged by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, by a specialized agency of the United Nations or by the International Atomic Energy Agency, or

• (c) deployed by a humanitarian non-governmental organization or agency under an agreement with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, by a specialized agency of the United Nations or by the International Atomic Energy Agency,

to carry out activities in support of the fulfilment of the mandate of a United Nations operation; (personnel associé)

Attorney General

Attorney General

• (a) with respect to proceedings to which this Act applies, means the Attorney General or Solicitor General of the province in which those proceedings are taken and includes his or her lawful deputy or, if those proceedings are referred to in subsection 2.3(1), the Attorney General of Canada or the Attorney General or Solicitor General of the province in which those proceedings are taken and includes the lawful deputy of any of them,

• (b) means the Attorney General of Canada and includes his or her lawful deputy with respect to

  • (i) Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, or

  • (ii) proceedings commenced at the instance of the Government of Canada and conducted by or on behalf of that Government in respect of an offence under any Act of Parliament — other than this Act or the Canada Elections Act — or any regulation made under such an Act, and

• (c) means the Director of Public Prosecutions appointed under subsection 3(1) of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act with respect to proceedings in relation to an offence under the Canada Elections Act; (procureur général)

audioconference

audioconference means any means of telecommunication that allows the judge or justice and any individual to communicate orally in a proceeding; (audioconférence)

bank-note

bank-note includes any negotiable instrument

• (a) issued by or on behalf of a person carrying on the business of banking in or out of Canada, and

• (b) issued under the authority of Parliament or under the lawful authority of the government of a state other than Canada,

intended to be used as money or as the equivalent of money, immediately on issue or at some time subsequent thereto, and includes bank bills and bank post bills; (billet de banque)

bodily harm

bodily harm means any hurt or injury to a person that interferes with the health or comfort of the person and that is more than merely transient or trifling in nature; (lésions corporelles)

Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces means the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada; (Forces canadiennes)

cattle

cattle means neat cattle or an animal of the bovine species by whatever technical or familiar name it is known, and includes any horse, mule, ass, pig, sheep or goat; (bétail)

clerk of the court

clerk of the court includes a person, by whatever name or title he may be designated, who from time to time performs the duties of a clerk of the court; (greffier du tribunal)

common-law partner

common-law partner, in relation to an individual, means a person who is cohabiting with the individual in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for a period of at least one year; (conjoint de fait)

complainant

complainant means the victim of an alleged offence; (plaignant)

counsel

counsel means a barrister or solicitor, in respect of the matters or things that barristers and solicitors, respectively, are authorized by the law of a province to do or perform in relation to legal proceedings; (avocat)

count

count means a charge in an information or indictment; (chef d’accusation)

court of appeal

court of appeal means, in all provinces, the Court of Appeal. (cour d’appel)

court of criminal jurisdiction

court of criminal jurisdiction means

• (a) a court of general or quarter sessions of the peace, when presided over by a superior court judge,

• (a.1) in the Province of Quebec, the Court of Quebec, the municipal court of Montreal and the municipal court of Quebec,

• (b) a provincial court judge or judge acting under Part XIX, and

• (c) in the Province of Ontario, the Ontario Court of Justice; (cour de juridiction criminelle)

criminal organization

criminal organization has the same meaning as in subsection 467.1(1); (organisation criminelle)

criminal organization offence

criminal organization offence means

• (a) an offence under section 467.11, 467.111, 467.12 or 467.13, or a serious offence committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, a criminal organization, or

• (b) a conspiracy or an attempt to commit, being an accessory after the fact in relation to, or any counselling in relation to, an offence referred to in paragraph (a); (infraction d’organisation criminelle)

day

day means the period between six o’clock in the forenoon and nine o’clock in the afternoon of the same day; (jour)

document of title to goods

document of title to goods includes a bought and sold note, bill of lading, warrant, certificate or order for the delivery or transfer of goods or any other valuable thing, and any other document used in the ordinary course of business as evidence of the possession or control of goods, authorizing or purporting to authorize, by endorsement or by delivery, the person in possession of the document to transfer or receive any goods thereby represented or therein mentioned or referred to; (titre de marchandises)

document of title to lands

document of title to lands includes any writing that is or contains evidence of the title, or any part of the title, to real property or to any interest in real property, and any notarial or registrar’s copy thereof and any duplicate instrument, memorial, certificate or document authorized or required by any law in force in any part of Canada with respect to registration of titles that relates to title to real property or to any interest in real property; (titre de bien-fonds)

dwelling-house

dwelling-house means the whole or any part of a building or structure that is kept or occupied as a permanent or temporary residence, and includes

• (a) a building within the curtilage of a dwelling-house that is connected to it by a doorway or by a covered and enclosed passage-way, and

• (b) a unit that is designed to be mobile and to be used as a permanent or temporary residence and that is being used as such a residence; (maison d’habitation)

environment

environment means the components of the Earth and includes

• (a) air, land and water,

• (b) all layers of the atmosphere,

• (c) all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms, and

• (d) the interacting natural systems that include components referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c); (environnement)

every one

every one, person and owner, and similar expressions, include Her Majesty and an organization; (quiconque, individu, personne et propriétaire)

explosive substance

explosive substance includes

• (a) anything intended to be used to make an explosive substance,

• (b) anything, or any part thereof, used or intended to be used, or adapted to cause, or to aid in causing an explosion in or with an explosive substance, and

• (c) an incendiary grenade, fire bomb, molotov cocktail or other similar incendiary substance or device and a delaying mechanism or other thing intended for use in connection with such a substance or device; (substance explosive)

feeble-minded person

feeble-minded person[Repealed, 1991, c. 43, s. 9]

firearm

firearm means a barrelled weapon from which any shot, bullet or other projectile can be discharged and that is capable of causing serious bodily injury or death to a person, and includes any frame or receiver of such a barrelled weapon and anything that can be adapted for use as a firearm; (arme à feu)

government or public facility

government or public facility means a facility or conveyance, whether permanent or temporary, that is used or occupied in connection with their official duties by representatives of a state, members of a government, members of a legislature, members of the judiciary, or officials or employees of a state or of any other public authority or public entity, or by officials or employees of an intergovernmental organization; (installation gouvernementale ou publique)

Her Majesty’s Forces

Her Majesty’s Forces means the naval, army and air forces of Her Majesty wherever raised, and includes the Canadian Forces; (forces de Sa Majesté)

highway

highway means a road to which the public has the right of access, and includes bridges over which or tunnels through which a road passes; (voie publique ou grande route)

indictment

indictment includes

• (a) information or a count therein,

• (b) a plea, replication or other pleading, and

• (c) any record; (acte d’accusation)

internationally protected person

internationally protected person means

• (a) a head of state, including any member of a collegial body that performs the functions of a head of state under the constitution of the state concerned, a head of a government or a minister of foreign affairs, whenever that person is in a state other than the state in which he holds that position or office,

• (b) a member of the family of a person described in paragraph (a) who accompanies that person in a state other than the state in which that person holds that position or office,

• (c) a representative or an official of a state or an official or agent of an international organization of an intergovernmental character who, at the time when and at the place where an offence referred to in subsection 7(3) is committed against his person or any property referred to in section 431 that is used by him, is entitled, pursuant to international law, to special protection from any attack on his person, freedom or dignity, or

• (d) a member of the family of a representative, official or agent described in paragraph (c) who forms part of his household, if the representative, official or agent, at the time when and at the place where any offence referred to in subsection 7(3) is committed against the member of his family or any property referred to in section 431 that is used by that member, is entitled, pursuant to international law, to special protection from any attack on his person, freedom or dignity; (personne jouissant d’une protection internationale)

intimate partner

intimate partner with respect to a person, includes their current or former spouse, common-law partner and dating partner; (partenaire intime)

justice

justice means a justice of the peace or a provincial court judge, and includes two or more justices where two or more justices are, by law, required to act or, by law, act or have jurisdiction; (juge de paix)

justice system participant

justice system participant means

• (a) a member of the Senate, of the House of Commons, of a legislative assembly or of a municipal council,

• (b) a person who plays a role in the administration of criminal justice, including

  • (i) the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and a Minister responsible for policing in a province,

  • (ii) a prosecutor, a lawyer, a member of the Chambre des notaires du Québec and an officer of a court,

  • (iii) a judge and a justice,

  • (iv) a juror and a person who is summoned as a juror,

  • (v) an informant, a prospective witness, a witness under subpoena and a witness who has testified,

  • (vi) a peace officer within the meaning of any of paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (e) and (g) of the definition peace officer,

  • (vii) a civilian employee of a police force,

  • (viii) a person employed in the administration of a court,

  • (viii.1) a public officer within the meaning of subsection 25.1(1) and a person acting at the direction of such an officer,

  • (ix) an employee of the Canada Revenue Agency who is involved in the investigation of an offence under an Act of Parliament,

  • (ix.1) an employee of the Canada Border Services Agency who is involved in the investigation of an offence under an Act of Parliament,

  • (x) an employee of a federal or provincial correctional service, a parole supervisor and any other person who is involved in the administration of a sentence under the supervision of such a correctional service and a person who conducts disciplinary hearings under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, and

  • (xi) an employee and a member of the Parole Board of Canada and of a provincial parole board, and

• (c) a person who plays a role in respect of proceedings involving

  • (i) security information,

  • (ii) criminal intelligence information,

  • (iii) information that would endanger the safety of any person if it were disclosed,

  • (iv) information that is obtained in confidence from a source in Canada, the government of a foreign state, an international organization of states or an institution of such a government or international organization, or

  • (v) potentially injurious information or sensitive information as those terms are defined in section 38 of the Canada Evidence Act; (personne associée au système judiciaire)

magistrate

magistrate[Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 2]

mental disorder

mental disorder means a disease of the mind; (troubles mentaux)

military

military shall be construed as relating to all or any of the Canadian Forces; (militaire)

military law

military law includes all laws, regulations or orders relating to the Canadian Forces; (loi militaire)

motor vehicle

motor vehicle means a vehicle that is drawn, propelled or driven by any means other than muscular power, but does not include railway equipment; (véhicule à moteur)

municipality

municipality includes the corporation of a city, town, village, county, township, parish or other territorial or local division of a province, the inhabitants of which are incorporated or are entitled to hold property collectively for a public purpose; (municipalité)

newly-born child

newly-born child means a person under the age of one year; (enfant nouveau-né ou nouveau-né)

night

night means the period between nine o’clock in the afternoon and six o’clock in the forenoon of the following day; (nuit)

nuclear facility

nuclear facility means

• (a) any nuclear reactor, including a reactor installed on a vessel, vehicle, aircraft or space object for use as an energy source in order to propel the vessel, vehicle, aircraft or space object or for any other purpose, and

• (b) any plant or conveyance used for the production, storage, processing or transport of nuclear material or radioactive material; (installation nucléaire)

nuclear material

nuclear material means

• (a) plutonium, except plutonium with an isotopic concentration of plutonium-238 that is greater than 80%,

• (b) uranium-233,

• (c) uranium containing uranium-233 or uranium-235 or both in an amount such that the abundance ratio of the sum of those isotopes to the isotope uranium-238 is greater than 0.72%,

• (d) uranium with an isotopic concentration equal to that occurring in nature, except uranium in the form of ore or ore-residue, and

• (e) any substance containing any material described in paragraphs (a) to (d); (matière nucléaire)

offence-related property

offence-related property means any property, within or outside Canada,

• (a) by means or in respect of which an indictable offence under this Act or the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act is committed,

• (b) that is used in any manner in connection with the commission of such an offence, or

• (c) that is intended to be used for committing such an offence; (bien infractionnel)

offender

offender means a person who has been determined by a court to be guilty of an offence, whether on acceptance of a plea of guilty or on a finding of guilt; (contrevenant)

offensive weapon

offensive weapon has the same meaning as weapon; (arme offensive)

organization

organization means

• (a) a public body, body corporate, society, company, firm, partnership, trade union or municipality, or

• (b) an association of persons that

  • (i) is created for a common purpose,

  • (ii) has an operational structure, and

  • (iii) holds itself out to the public as an association of persons; (organisation)

peace officer

peace officer includes

• (a) a mayor, warden, reeve, sheriff, deputy sheriff, sheriff’s officer and justice of the peace,

• (b) a member of the Correctional Service of Canada who is designated as a peace officer pursuant to Part I of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, and a warden, deputy warden, instructor, keeper, jailer, guard and any other officer or permanent employee of a prison other than a penitentiary as defined in Part I of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act,

• (c) a police officer, police constable, bailiff, constable, or other person employed for the preservation and maintenance of the public peace or for the service or execution of civil process,

• (c.1) a designated officer as defined in section 2 of the Integrated Cross-border Law Enforcement Operations Act, when

  • (i) participating in an integrated cross-border operation, as defined in section 2 of that Act, or

  • (ii) engaging in an activity incidental to such an operation, including travel for the purpose of participating in the operation and appearances in court arising from the operation,

• (d) an officer within the meaning of the Customs Act, the Excise Act or the Excise Act, 2001, or a person having the powers of such an officer, when performing any duty in the administration of any of those Acts,

• (d.1) an officer authorized under subsection 138(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act,

• (e) a person designated as a fishery guardian under the Fisheries Act when performing any duties or functions under that Act and a person designated as a fishery officer under the Fisheries Act when performing any duties or functions under that Act or the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act,

• (f) the pilot in command of an aircraft

  • (i) registered in Canada under regulations made under the Aeronautics Act, or

  • (ii) leased without crew and operated by a person who is qualified under regulations made under the Aeronautics Act to be registered as owner of an aircraft registered in Canada under those regulations,

  while the aircraft is in flight, and

• (g) officers and non-commissioned members of the Canadian Forces who are

  • (i) appointed for the purposes of section 156 of the National Defence Act, or

  • (ii) employed on duties that the Governor in Council, in regulations made under the National Defence Act for the purposes of this paragraph, has prescribed to be of such a kind as to necessitate that the officers and non-commissioned members performing them have the powers of peace officers; (agent de la paix)

prison

prison includes a penitentiary, common jail, public or reformatory prison, lock-up, guard-room or other place in which persons who are charged with or convicted of offences are usually kept in custody; (prison)

property

property includes

• (a) real and personal property of every description and deeds and instruments relating to or evidencing the title or right to property, or giving a right to recover or receive money or goods,

• (b) property originally in the possession or under the control of any person, and any property into or for which it has been converted or exchanged and anything acquired at any time by the conversion or exchange, and

• (c) any postal card, postage stamp or other stamp issued or prepared for issue under the authority of Parliament or the legislature of a province for the payment to the Crown or a corporate body of any fee, rate or duty, whether or not it is in the possession of the Crown or of any person; (biens ou propriété)

prosecutor

prosecutor means the Attorney General or, where the Attorney General does not intervene, means the person who institutes proceedings to which this Act applies, and includes counsel acting on behalf of either of them; (poursuivant)

provincial court judge

provincial court judge means a person appointed or authorized to act by or pursuant to an Act of the legislature of a province, by whatever title that person may be designated, who has the power and authority of two or more justices of the peace and includes the lawful deputy of that person; (juge de la cour provinciale)

public department

public department means a department of the Government of Canada or a branch thereof or a board, commission, corporation or other body that is an agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada; (ministère public)

public officer

public officer includes

• (a) an officer of customs or excise,

• (b) an officer of the Canadian Forces,

• (c) an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and

• (d) any officer while the officer is engaged in enforcing the laws of Canada relating to revenue, customs, excise, trade or navigation; (fonctionnaire public)

public stores

public stores includes any personal property that is under the care, supervision, administration or control of a public department or of any person in the service of a public department; (approvisionnements publics)

radioactive material

radioactive material means any material that emits one or more types of ionizing radiation, such as alpha or beta particles, neutrons and gamma rays, and that is capable of, owing to its radiological or fissile properties, causing death, serious bodily harm or substantial damage to property or the environment; (matière radioactive)

railway equipment

railway equipment means

• (a) any machine that is constructed for movement exclusively on lines of railway, whether or not the machine is capable of independent motion, or

• (b) any vehicle that is constructed for movement both on and off lines of railway while the adaptations of that vehicle for movement on lines of railway are in use; (matériel ferroviaire)

recognizance

recognizance means a recognizance in Form 32 entered into before a judge or justice; (engagement)

release order

release order means an order in Form 11 made by a judge as defined in section 493 or a justice; (ordonnance de mise en liberté)

representative

representative, in respect of an organization, means a director, partner, employee, member, agent or contractor of the organization; (agent)

senior officer

senior officer means a representative who plays an important role in the establishment of an organization’s policies or is responsible for managing an important aspect of the organization’s activities and, in the case of a body corporate, includes a director, its chief executive officer and its chief financial officer; (cadre supérieur)

serious offence

serious offence has the same meaning as in subsection 467.1(1); (infraction grave)

steal

steal means to commit theft; (voler)

street racing

street racing[Repealed, 2018, c. 21, s. 12]

summons

summons means, unless a contrary intention appears, a summons in Form 6 issued by a judge or justice or by the chairperson of a Review Board as defined in subsection 672.1(1); (sommation)

superior court of criminal jurisdiction

superior court of criminal jurisdiction means

• (a) in the Province of Ontario, the Court of Appeal or the Superior Court of Justice,

• (b) in the Province of Quebec, the Superior Court,

• (c) in the Provinces of Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court,

• (d) in the Provinces of New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the Court of Appeal or the Court of Queen’s Bench,

• (e) in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, the Supreme Court, and

• (f) in Nunavut, the Nunavut Court of Justice; (cour supérieure de juridiction criminelle)

• (g) and (h) [Repealed, 2015, c. 3, s. 44]

territorial division

territorial division includes any province, county, union of counties, township, city, town, parish or other judicial division or place to which the context applies; (circonscription territoriale)

terrorism offence

terrorism offence means

• (a) an offence under any of sections 83.02 to 83.04 or 83.18 to 83.23,

• (b) an indictable offence under this or any other Act of Parliament committed for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group,

• (c) an indictable offence under this or any other Act of Parliament where the act or omission constituting the offence also constitutes a terrorist activity, or

• (d) a conspiracy or an attempt to commit, or being an accessory after the fact in relation to, or any counselling in relation to, an offence referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c); (infraction de terrorisme)

terrorist activity

terrorist activity has the same meaning as in subsection 83.01(1); (activité terroriste)

terrorist group

terrorist group has the same meaning as in subsection 83.01(1); (groupe terroriste)

testamentary instrument

testamentary instrument includes any will, codicil or other testamentary writing or appointment, during the life of the testator whose testamentary disposition it purports to be and after his death, whether it relates to real or personal property or to both; (acte testamentaire)

trustee

trustee means a person who is declared by any Act to be a trustee or is, by the law of a province, a trustee, and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, includes a trustee on an express trust created by deed, will or instrument in writing, or by parol; (fiduciaire)

undertaking

undertaking means, unless a contrary intention appears, an undertaking in Form 10 given to a peace officer; (promesse)

unfit to stand trial

unfit to stand trial means unable on account of mental disorder to conduct a defence at any stage of the proceedings before a verdict is rendered or to instruct counsel to do so, and, in particular, unable on account of mental disorder to

• (a) understand the nature or object of the proceedings,

• (b) understand the possible consequences of the proceedings, or

• (c) communicate with counsel; (inaptitude à subir son procès)

United Nations operation

United Nations operation means an operation that is established by the competent organ of the United Nations in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and is conducted under United Nations authority and control, if the operation is for the purpose of maintaining or restoring international peace and security or if the Security Council or the General Assembly of the United Nations has declared, for the purposes of the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, that there exists an exceptional risk to the safety of the personnel participating in the operation. It does not include an operation authorized by the Security Council as an enforcement action under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations in which any of the personnel are engaged as combatants against organized armed forces and to which the law of international armed conflict applies; (opération des Nations Unies)

United Nations personnel

United Nations personnel means

• (a) persons who are engaged or deployed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as members of the military, police or civilian components of a United Nations operation, or

• (b) any other officials or experts who are on mission of the United Nations or one of its specialized agencies or the International Atomic Energy Agency and who are present in an official capacity in the area where a United Nations operation is conducted; (personnel des Nations Unies)

valuable mineral

valuable mineral means a mineral of a value of at least $100 per kilogram, and includes precious metals, diamonds and other gemstones and any rock or ore that contains those minerals; (minéraux précieux)

valuable security

valuable security includes

• (a) an order, exchequer acquittance or other security that entitles or evidences the title of any person

  • (i) to a share or interest in a public stock or fund or in any fund of a body corporate, company or society, or

  • (ii) to a deposit in a financial institution,

• (b) any debenture, deed, bond, bill, note, warrant, order or other security for money or for payment of money,

• (c) a document of title to lands or goods wherever situated,

• (d) a stamp or writing that secures or evidences title to or an interest in a chattel personal, or that evidences delivery of a chattel personal, and

• (e) a release, receipt, discharge or other instrument evidencing payment of money; (valeur ou effet appréciable)

victim

victim means a person against whom an offence has been committed, or is alleged to have been committed, who has suffered, or is alleged to have suffered, physical or emotional harm, property damage or economic loss as the result of the commission or alleged commission of the offence and includes, for the purposes of sections 672.5, 722 and 745.63, a person who has suffered physical or emotional harm, property damage or economic loss as the result of the commission of an offence against any other person. (victime)

videoconference

videoconference means any means of telecommunication that allows the judge, justice or chairperson of a Review Board, as defined in subsection 672.1(1), and any individual to engage in simultaneous visual and oral communication in a proceeding; (vidéoconférence)

weapon

weapon means any thing used, designed to be used or intended for use

• (a) in causing death or injury to any person, or

• (b) for the purpose of threatening or intimidating any person

and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, includes a firearm and, for the purposes of sections 88, 267 and 272, any thing used, designed to be used or intended for use in binding or tying up a person against their will; (arme)

wreck

wreck includes the cargo, stores and tackle of a vessel and all parts of a vessel separated from the vessel, and the property of persons who belong to, are on board or have quitted a vessel that is wrecked, stranded or in distress at any place in Canada; (épave)

writing

writing includes a document of any kind and any mode in which, and any material on which, words or figures, whether at length or abridged, are written, printed or otherwise expressed, or a map or plan is inscribed. (écrit)