Questions after a charge

Not automatically. On many first charges, a court can choose a sentence other than jail. Some offences carry a minimum jail term. Sentencing depends on the offence, the circumstances, and the record of the person charged. The Criminal Code directs a court not to deprive an offender of liberty where a less restrictive sanction is appropriate. For some offences, a sentence of under two years can be served in the community rather than in custody.

Those options are closed on some charges. Parliament repealed some mandatory minimums in 2022, and since July 2026 minimums that courts had struck down apply again. A court must now impose a shorter jail term where a minimum, other than life imprisonment, would be cruel and unusual for that offender. Whether a minimum still applies depends on the specific charge. From that date, a community sentence is also unavailable, on indictment, for sexual assault or a sexual offence against someone under 18. The realistic range on a particular charge is a question for the initial consultation. Every case turns on its own facts and evidence.

A charge is not a conviction. A criminal record follows a conviction. A charge that is withdrawn, stayed, or ends in acquittal does not produce one, and in Ontario it does not appear on the two most common types of police record check. A court can also grant an absolute or conditional discharge, which is a finding of guilt but not a conviction. The RCMP removes references to the discharge from its national criminal records system one year after an absolute discharge and three years after a conditional one. Police can still hold a record of the arrest. Ontario's rules on record checks are in the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015, which also limits when non-conviction information can appear on a vulnerable sector check.

Police must bring a person held after arrest before a justice (a justice of the peace or a judge) within 24 hours where one is available, or as soon as possible where not. On most charges the Crown (the prosecution) must show why detention is justified. For certain charges listed in the Criminal Code, the burden reverses: the person charged must show why release is justified. Parliament expanded that list in July 2026. The court then decides whether to release the accused, on what conditions, and whether a surety is required. A defence lawyer puts forward a release plan and asks for the lightest conditions the court will accept.

It depends on the charge, the court, and whether the matter goes to trial. A matter that resolves without a trial can finish in a handful of appearances. A matter set for trial takes much longer. In R. v. Jordan the Supreme Court of Canada set presumptive ceilings on the delay between the charge and the end of trial. In the Ontario Court of Justice the ceiling is 18 months. In the Superior Court of Justice, or after a preliminary inquiry, it is 30 months. Delay caused by the defence does not count toward the ceiling. The Crown can justify exceeding it in exceptional circumstances. Since July 2026, a court that finds unreasonable delay must first consider other remedies. It can stop the case only if no other remedy would be appropriate and just. A realistic timeline for a particular charge is a question for the initial consultation.

Talk to a lawyer before any trip to the U.S. U.S. border officers decide who may enter, and a pending charge or a record can affect that decision. Release conditions can also limit travel outside Ontario or Canada.

Ask a lawyer about a bail variation. That is the process for changing release conditions, such as a no-contact term or a condition to live away from home. Sometimes the Crown (the prosecution) agrees to a change; otherwise a court decides. Until a change is made, the existing conditions still apply, and breaking one is a separate offence.

All the original papers from the charge. That means the charging documents, any undertaking or release order, and the fingerprint instructions. Keep the originals safe. It also helps to write a timeline of everything that happened, in order, and give it to the lawyer at the first meeting.