Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)

Marginal note:Licences, permits, etc.

734.5 If an offender is in default of payment of a fine,

• (a) where the proceeds of the fine belong to Her Majesty in right of a province by virtue of subsection 734.4(1), the person responsible, by or under an Act of the legislature of the province, for issuing, renewing or suspending a licence, permit or other similar instrument in relation to the offender may refuse to issue or renew or may suspend the licence, permit or other instrument until the fine is paid in full, proof of which lies on the offender; or

• (b) where the proceeds of the fine belong to Her Majesty in right of Canada by virtue of subsection 734.4(2), the person responsible, by or under an Act of Parliament, for issuing or renewing a licence, permit or other similar instrument in relation to the offender may refuse to issue or renew or may suspend the licence, permit or other instrument until the fine is paid in full, proof of which lies on the offender.

Marginal note:Civil enforcement of fines, forfeiture

• 734.6 (1) Where

  • (a) an offender is in default of payment of a fine, or

  • (b) a forfeiture imposed by law is not paid as required by the order imposing it,

  then, in addition to any other method provided by law for recovering the fine or forfeiture,

  • (c) the Attorney General of the province to whom the proceeds of the fine or forfeiture belong, or

  • (d) the Attorney General of Canada, where the proceeds of the fine or forfeiture belong to Her Majesty in right of Canada,

  may, by filing the order, enter as a judgment the amount of the fine or forfeiture, and costs, if any, in any civil court in Canada that has jurisdiction to enter a judgment for that amount.

• Marginal note:Effect of filing order

  (2) An order that is entered as a judgment under this section is enforceable in the same manner as if it were a judgment obtained by the Attorney General of the province or the Attorney General of Canada, as the case may be, in civil proceedings.

Marginal note:Warrant of committal

• 734.7 (1) Where time has been allowed for payment of a fine, the court shall not issue a warrant of committal in default of payment of the fine

  • (a) until the expiration of the time allowed for payment of the fine in full; and

  • (b) unless the court is satisfied

    • (i) that the mechanisms provided by sections 734.5 and 734.6 are not appropriate in the circumstances, or

    • (ii) that the offender has, without reasonable excuse, refused to pay the fine or discharge it under section 736.

• Marginal note:Reasons for committal

  (2) Where no time has been allowed for payment of a fine and a warrant committing the offender to prison for default of payment of the fine is issued, the court shall state in the warrant the reason for immediate committal.

• Marginal note:Period of imprisonment

  (2.1) The period of imprisonment in default of payment of the fine shall be specified in a warrant of committal referred to in subsection (1) or (2).

• Marginal note:Compelling appearance of person bound

  (3) The provisions of Parts XVI and XVIII with respect to compelling the appearance of an accused before a justice apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to proceedings under paragraph (1)(b).

• Marginal note:Effect of imprisonment

  (4) The imprisonment of an offender for default of payment of a fine terminates the operation of sections 734.5 and 734.6 in relation to that fine.

Definition of penalty

• 734.8 (1) In this section, penalty means the aggregate of

  • (a) the fine, and

  • (b) the costs and charges of committing and conveying the defaulter to prison, calculated in accordance with regulations made under subsection 734(7).

• Marginal note:Reduction of imprisonment on part payment

  (2) The term of imprisonment in default of payment of a fine shall, on payment of a part of the penalty, whether the payment was made before or after the execution of a warrant of committal, be reduced by the number of days that bears the same proportion to the number of days in the term as the part paid bears to the total penalty.

• Marginal note:Minimum that can be accepted

  (3) No amount offered in part payment of a penalty shall be accepted after the execution of a warrant of committal unless it is sufficient to secure a reduction of sentence of one day, or a whole number multiple of one day, and no part payment shall be accepted until any fee that is payable in respect of the warrant or its execution has been paid.

• Marginal note:To whom payment made

  (4) Payment may be made under this section to the person that the Attorney General directs or, if the offender is imprisoned, to the person who has lawful custody of the prisoner or to any other person that the Attorney General directs.

• Marginal note:Application of money paid

  (5) A payment under this section shall be applied firstly to the payment in full of costs and charges, secondly to the payment in full of any victim surcharge imposed under section 737, and then to payment of any part of the fine that remains unpaid.

Marginal note:Fines on organizations

• 735 (1) An organization that is convicted of an offence is liable, in lieu of any imprisonment that is prescribed as punishment for that offence, to be fined in an amount, except where otherwise provided by law,

  • (a) that is in the discretion of the court, where the offence is an indictable offence; or

  • (b) not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars, where the offence is a summary conviction offence.

• Marginal note:Application of certain provisions — fines

  (1.1) A court that imposes a fine under subsection (1) or under any other Act of Parliament shall make an order that clearly sets out

  • (a) the amount of the fine;

  • (b) the manner in which the fine is to be paid;

  • (c) the time or times by which the fine, or any portion of it, must be paid; and

  • (d) any other terms respecting the payment of the fine that the court deems appropriate.

• Marginal note:Effect of filing order

  (2) Section 734.6 applies, with any modifications that are required, when an organization fails to pay the fine in accordance with the terms of the order.

Marginal note:Fine option program

• 736 (1) An offender who is fined under section 734 may, whether or not the offender is serving a term of imprisonment imposed in default of payment of the fine, discharge the fine in whole or in part by earning credits for work performed during a period not greater than two years in a program established for that purpose by the lieutenant governor in council

  • (a) of the province in which the fine was imposed, or

  • (b) of the province in which the offender resides, where an appropriate agreement is in effect between the government of that province and the government of the province in which the fine was imposed,

  if the offender is admissible to such a program.

• Marginal note:Credits and other matters

  (2) A program referred to in subsection (1) shall determine the rate at which credits are earned and may provide for the manner of crediting any amounts earned against the fine and any other matters necessary for or incidental to carrying out the program.

• Marginal note:Deemed payment

  (3) Credits earned for work performed as provided by subsection (1) shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be payment in respect of a fine.

• Marginal note:Federal-provincial agreement

  (4) Where, by virtue of subsection 734.4(2), the proceeds of a fine belong to Her Majesty in right of Canada, an offender may discharge the fine in whole or in part in a fine option program of a province pursuant to subsection (1), where an appropriate agreement is in effect between the government of the province and the Government of Canada.

Marginal note:Victim surcharge

• 737 (1) An offender who is convicted, or discharged under section 730, of an offence under this Act, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act or the Cannabis Act shall pay a victim surcharge for each offence, in addition to any other punishment imposed on the offender.

• Marginal note:Amount of surcharge

  (2) Subject to subsections (2.1) and (3), the amount of the victim surcharge in respect of an offence is

  • (a) 30% of any fine that is imposed on the offender for the offence; or

  • (b) if no fine is imposed on the offender for the offence,

    • (i) $100 in the case of an offence punishable by summary conviction, and

    • (ii) $200 in the case of an offence punishable by indictment.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2.1) Despite subsection (1), the court may, on application of the offender or on its own motion, order an offender to pay no victim surcharge, or to pay a reduced amount, if it is satisfied that the victim surcharge

  • (a) would cause undue hardship to the offender; or

  • (b) would not cause undue hardship to the offender but would be disproportionate to the gravity of the offence or the degree of responsibility of the offender.

• Marginal note:Definition of undue hardship

  (2.2) For the purposes of subsection (2.1), undue hardship means the offender is unable to pay a victim surcharge on account of the offender’s precarious financial circumstances, including because of their unemployment, homelessness, lack of assets or significant financial obligations towards their dependants.

• Marginal note:For greater certainty

  (2.3) For greater certainty, for the purposes of subsection (2.2), the imprisonment of the offender alone does not constitute undue hardship.

• Marginal note:Reasons

  (2.4) When the court makes an order under subsection (2.1), the court shall state its reasons in the record of the proceedings.

• Marginal note:Increase in surcharge

  (3) The court may order an offender to pay a victim surcharge in an amount exceeding that set out in subsection (2) if the court considers it appropriate in the circumstances and is satisfied that the offender is able to pay the higher amount.

• Marginal note:Time for payment

  (4) The victim surcharge imposed in respect of an offence is payable within the time established by the lieutenant governor in council of the province in which the surcharge is imposed. If no time has been so established, the surcharge is payable within a reasonable time after its imposition.

• Marginal note:Amounts applied to aid victims

  (5) A victim surcharge shall be applied for the purposes of providing such assistance to victims of offences as the lieutenant governor in council of the province in which the surcharge is imposed may direct from time to time.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (6) The court shall cause to be given to the offender a written notice setting out

  • (a) the amount of the victim surcharge;

  • (b) the manner in which the victim surcharge is to be paid;

  • (c) the time by which the victim surcharge must be paid; and

  • (d) the procedure for applying for a change in any terms referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) in accordance with section 734.3.

• Marginal note:Enforcement

  (7) Subsections 734(3) to (7) and sections 734.3, 734.5, 734.7, 734.8 and 736 apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, in respect of a victim surcharge imposed under this section and, in particular,

  • (a) a reference in any of those provisions to “fine”, other than in subsection 734.8(5), must be read as if it were a reference to “victim surcharge”; and

  • (b) the notice provided under subsection (6) is deemed to be an order made under section 734.1.

• Marginal note:Application — subsections (2.1) to (2.4)

  (8) Subsections (2.1) to (2.4) apply to any offender who is sentenced for an offence under this Act, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act or the Cannabis Act that was committed after the day on which those subsections come into force.

Restitution

Marginal note:Court to consider restitution order

• 737.1 (1) If an offender is convicted or is discharged under section 730 of an offence, the court that sentences or discharges the offender, in addition to any other measure imposed on the offender, shall consider making a restitution order under section 738 or 739.

• Marginal note:Inquiry by court

  (2) As soon as feasible after a finding of guilt and in any event before imposing the sentence, the court shall inquire of the prosecutor if reasonable steps have been taken to provide the victims with an opportunity to indicate whether they are seeking restitution for their losses and damages, the amount of which must be readily ascertainable.

• Marginal note:Adjournment

  (3) On application of the prosecutor or on its own motion, the court may adjourn the proceedings to permit the victims to indicate whether they are seeking restitution or to establish their losses and damages, if the court is satisfied that the adjournment would not interfere with the proper administration of justice.

• Marginal note:Form

  (4) Victims and other persons may indicate whether they are seeking restitution by completing Form 34.1 in Part XXVIII or a form approved for that purpose by the lieutenant governor in council of the province in which the court is exercising its jurisdiction or by using any other method approved by the court, and, if they are seeking restitution, shall establish their losses and damages, the amount of which must be readily ascertainable, in the same manner.

• Marginal note:Reasons

  (5) If a victim seeks restitution and the court does not make a restitution order, it shall include in the record a statement of the court’s reasons for not doing so.