Failure to comply with undertaking

​

145(4) Every person is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years or an offence punishable on summary conviction who,

(a) is at large on an undertaking and who fails, without lawful excuse, to comply with a condition of that undertaking; or

(b) is at large on an undertaking that has been confirmed by a justice under section 508 and who fails, without lawful excuse, to appear at the time and place stated in the undertaking for the purposes of the Identification of Criminals Act or to attend court in accordance with the undertaking

 

Failure to comply with order

​

145(5) Every person is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years, or is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction, who

(a) is at large on a release order and who fails, without lawful excuse, to comply with a condition of that release order other than the condition to attend court; or

b) is bound to comply with an order under subsection 515(12), 516(2) or 522(2.1) and who fails, without lawful excuse, to comply with that order.

 

An accused who is released following arrest will often be placed on certain conditions, depending on the type of release.

 

Often, an accused may be placed on conditions to:

• Reside in a certain location;

• refrain from communicating with certain individuals;

• refrain from visiting certain locations; and/or

• report to a peace officer on certain dates or where there are changes to contact information.

 

The Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused: (1) was bound by conditions through an undertaking or order and (2) knowingly, voluntarily, and without lawful excuse doing that which the accused is aware is by the condition forbidden to do.

 

Fresh criminal charges are important for bail purposes, especially those that point to bail compliance issues. Depending on the circumstances, an individual charged with fresh offences while on bail may face a reverse onus at his or her bail hearing: see s. 515(6)(a)(i) and R. v. Morales, 1992 CanLII 53 (SCC). Charges under ss. 145(2) to (5) always result in a reverse onus bail situation: s. 515(6)(c). This would mean the burden is for the accused at a bail hearing, not the Crown, to show cause why the accused should be released into the community.

Call us now at 1-866-720-2245.