Criminal Code
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 307 — Fair reports of parliamentary or judicial proceedings
No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes in good faith, for the information of the public, a fair report of the proceedings of the Senate or House of…
Section 308 — Fair report of public meeting
No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes in good faith, in a newspaper, a fair report of the proceedings of any public meeting if the meeting is…
Section 309 — Public benefit
No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes defamatory matter that, on reasonable grounds, he believes is true, and that is relevant to any subject of…
Section 310 — Fair comment on public person or work of art
No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes fair comments on the public conduct of a person who takes part in public affairs; or on a published book or…
Section 311 — When truth a defence
No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel where he proves that the publication of the defamatory matter in the manner in which it was published was for the public benefit at the time…
Section 312 — Publication invited or necessary
No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes defamatory matter on the invitation or challenge of the person in respect of whom it is published, or that it…
Section 313 — Answer to inquiries
No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes, in answer to inquiries made to him, defamatory matter relating to a subject-matter in respect of which the…
Section 314 — Giving information to person interested
No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes to another person defamatory matter for the purpose of giving information to that person with respect to a…
Section 315 — Publication in good faith for redress of wrong
No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes defamatory matter in good faith for the purpose of seeking remedy or redress for a private or public wrong or…
Section 316 — Proving publication by order of legislature
An accused who is alleged to have published a defamatory libel may, at any stage of the proceedings, adduce evidence to prove that the matter that is alleged to be defamatory was contained in a paper…
Section 317 — Verdicts in cases of defamatory libel
Where, on the trial of an indictment for publishing a defamatory libel, a plea of not guilty is pleaded, the jury that is sworn to try the issue may give a general verdict of guilty or not guilty on…
Section 318 — Advocating genocide
Every person who advocates or promotes genocide is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years. In this section, genocide means any of the…
Section 319 — Public incitement of hatred
Every one who, by communicating statements in any public place, incites hatred against any identifiable group where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace is guilty of an…
Section 320 — Warrant of seizure
A judge who is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds for believing that any publication, copies of which are kept for sale or distribution in premises within the…
Section 320.1 — Warrant of seizure
If a judge is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is material that is hate propaganda within the meaning of subsection 320(8) or computer data…
Section 320.101 — Definition of conversion therapy
In sections 320.102 to 320.104, conversion therapy means a practice, treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual; change a person’s gender identity to…
Section 320.102 — Conversion therapy
Everyone who knowingly causes another person to undergo conversion therapy — including by providing conversion therapy to that other person — is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to…
Section 320.103 — Promoting or advertising
Everyone who knowingly promotes or advertises conversion therapy is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years; or guilty of an offence…
Section 320.104 — Material benefit
Everyone who receives a financial or other material benefit, knowing that it is obtained or derived directly or indirectly from the provision of conversion therapy, is guilty of an indictable offence…
Section 320.11 — Definitions
The following definitions apply in this Part. analyst means a person who is, or a person who is a member of a class of persons that is, designated by the Attorney General under subparagraph…
Section 320.12 — Recognition and declaration
It is recognized and declared that operating a conveyance is a privilege that is subject to certain limits in the interests of public safety that include licensing, the observance of rules and…
Section 320.13 — Dangerous operation
Everyone commits an offence who operates a conveyance in a manner that, having regard to all of the circumstances, is dangerous to the public. Everyone commits an offence who operates a conveyance in…
Section 320.14 — Operation while impaired
Everyone commits an offence who operates a conveyance while the person’s ability to operate it is impaired to any degree by alcohol or a drug or by a combination of alcohol and a drug; subject to…
Section 320.15 — Failure or refusal to comply with demand
Everyone commits an offence who, knowing that a demand has been made, fails or refuses to comply, without reasonable excuse, with a demand made under section 320.27 or 320.28. Everyone commits an…
Section 320.16 — Failure to stop after accident
Everyone commits an offence who operates a conveyance and who at the time of operating the conveyance knows that, or is reckless as to whether, the conveyance has been involved in an accident with a…
Section 320.17 — Flight from peace officer
Everyone commits an offence who operates a motor vehicle or vessel while being pursued by a peace officer and who fails, without reasonable excuse, to stop the motor vehicle or vessel as soon as is…
Section 320.18 — Operation while prohibited
Everyone commits an offence who operates a conveyance while prohibited from doing so by an order made under this Act; or by any other form of legal restriction imposed under any other Act of…
Section 320.19 — Punishment
Every person who commits an offence under subsection 320.14(1) or 320.15(1) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years and to a minimum…
Section 320.2 — Punishment in case of bodily harm
Every person who commits an offence under subsection 320.13(2), 320.14(2), 320.15(2) or 320.16(2) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years…
Section 320.21 — Punishment in case of death
Everyone who commits an offence under subsection 320.13(3), 320.14(3), 320.15(3) or 320.16(3) is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life and to a minimum punishment of, for a…
Section 320.22 — Aggravating circumstances for sentencing purposes
A court imposing a sentence for an offence under any of sections 320.13 to 320.18 shall consider, in addition to any other aggravating circumstances, the following: the commission of the offence…
Section 320.23 — Delay of sentencing
The court may, with the consent of the prosecutor and the offender, and after considering the interests of justice, delay sentencing of an offender who has been found guilty of an offence under…
Section 320.24 — Mandatory prohibition order
If an offender is found guilty of an offence under subsection 320.14(1) or 320.15(1), the court that sentences the offender shall, in addition to any other punishment that may be imposed for that…
Section 320.25 — Stay of order pending appeal
Subject to subsection (2), if an appeal is taken against a conviction or sentence for an offence under any of sections 320.13 to 320.18, a judge of the court to which the appeal is taken may direct…
Section 320.26 — Earlier and subsequent offences
In determining, for the purpose of imposing a sentence for an offence under subsection 320.14(1) or 320.15(1), whether the offence is a second, third or subsequent offence, any of the following…
Section 320.27 — Testing for presence of alcohol or drug
If a peace officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has alcohol or a drug in their body and that the person has, within the preceding three hours, operated a conveyance, the peace…
Section 320.28 — Samples of breath or blood — alcohol
If a peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has operated a conveyance while the person’s ability to operate it was impaired to any degree by alcohol or has committed an offence…
Section 320.29 — Warrants to obtain blood samples
A justice may issue a warrant authorizing a peace officer to require a qualified medical practitioner or a qualified technician to take the samples of a person’s blood that, in the opinion of the…
Section 320.3 — Testing blood — drug or alcohol
Samples of a person’s blood that are taken for the purposes of this Part may be analyzed to determine the person’s blood alcohol concentration or blood drug concentration, or both.
Section 320.31 — Breath samples
If samples of a person’s breath have been received into an approved instrument operated by a qualified technician, the results of the analyses of the samples are conclusive proof of the person’s…
Section 320.32 — Certificates
A certificate of an analyst, qualified medical practitioner or qualified technician made under this Part is evidence of the facts alleged in the certificate without proof of the signature or the…
Section 320.33 — Printout from approved instrument
A document that is printed out from an approved instrument and signed by a qualified technician who certifies it to be the printout produced by the approved instrument when it made an analysis of a…
Section 320.34 — Disclosure of information
In proceedings in respect of an offence under section 320.14, the prosecutor shall disclose to the accused, with respect to any samples of breath that the accused provided under section 320.28,…
Section 320.35 — Presumption of operation
In proceedings in respect of an offence under section 320.14 or 320.15, if it is proved that the accused occupied the seat or position ordinarily occupied by a person who operates a conveyance, the…
Section 320.36 — Unauthorized use of bodily substance
No person shall use a bodily substance obtained under this Part for any purpose other than for an analysis under this Part. No person shall use, disclose or allow the disclosure of the results…
Section 320.37 — Refusal to take sample
No qualified medical practitioner or qualified technician shall be found guilty of an offence by reason only of their refusal to take a sample of blood from a person for the purposes of this Part if…
Section 320.38 — Regulations
The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing the qualifications required for a peace officer to act as an evaluating officer and respecting the training of evaluating officers;…
Section 320.39 — Approval — Attorney General of Canada
The Attorney General of Canada may, by order, approve a device that is designed to ascertain the presence of alcohol in a person’s blood; equipment that is designed to ascertain the presence of a…
Section 320.4 — Designation — Attorney General
The Attorney General may designate a person as qualified, for the purposes of this Part, to operate an approved instrument; a person or class of persons as qualified, for the purposes of this Part,…
Section 321 — Definitions
In this Part, break means to break any part, internal or external, or to open any thing that is used or intended to be used to close or to cover an internal or external opening; ( effraction ) credit…