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Summary Navigating the Canadian Criminal Justice System
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its regular notes on "Navigating the Canadian Criminal Justice System", 4 pages
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Navigating…notesCompared to the rights of the accused, victims have very few "rights" in the criminal justice system. While the
federal government makes the law, the provinces administer it. Therefore, much of the contact victims have
with the criminal justice system is determined by the provinces. Most provinces have a victims' bill of rights,
but most only talk about what victims "should" have, and do not provide a complaint mechanism.
Canada has a Basic Statement of Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime based on the 1985 UN
Declaration, which promotes the fair treatment of victims in all the provinces and territories. These
principles are to be reflected in federal/provincial/territorial laws, policies and procedure. It is important to
note the language used in the Basic Statement. Among other things, it declares that victims “should” be
informed and treated with compassion and respect. Unfortunately, no formal rights or remedies have
been guaranteed to victims.
The language of the legislation uses terms such as "victims should have access
to..." or "Subject to limits...". It does not truly entrench the right of victims to receive services or be
guaranteed a certain type of treatment. Thus, the “rights” of victims are not truly enforceable
The Criminal Code of Canada classifies crimes as summary conviction offences, indictable offences or hybrid
offences. Summary conviction offences (e.g. causing a disturbance) do not allow preliminary inquiries and
have much shorter sentences than indictable offences (maximum fine of $5000 or
imprisonment for six months or both). Indictable offences involve serious crimes including aggravated
assault and murder. If an offence is classified as a hybrid (e.g. assault, sexual assault), the Crown Attorney
may choose whether to proceed with the case as either summary or indictable.
There is an important distinction between summary and indictable offences.
Summary conviction proceedings shall not be instituted more than six months after the time when the
subject matter of the proceedings arose. This means that the proceedings against an accused must begin
within six months of the offence.
There is no time limit, however, for the institution of proceedings in relation to indictable offences. Summary
conviction offences may only be tried by a Provincial Court judge sitting alone. Indictable offences may be
tried in a number of different courts, depending on a number of factors, including the seriousness of the
offence and the choice of the accused.
When an offender is charged with multiple offences and/or breaches, why are some of the charges and/or
breaches dropped?
The Crown counsel has discretion with respect to proceeding with charges against an accused. If they do
not feel that there is enough evidence to convict, some of the charges may be dropped. As the Crown
wants to present the strongest case possible, it may not be beneficial to proceed with all of the charges
against an accused. In some cases, charges may be reduced to lesser charges, based on either the
evidence, or possibly a plea bargain.
Section 515 of the Criminal Code sets out criteria for the judicial interim release (or bail) for an accused.
Generally speaking the accused will only be detained if they are a flight risk, a threat to public safety, or their
release would undermine the confidence in the administration of justice. It is up to the Crown to ensure that
an accused is denied bail. In order to do so they must show just cause (or legally sufficient reason)
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