Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)

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.

Marginal note:Restitution to victims of offences

• 738 (1) Where an offender is convicted or discharged under section 730 of an offence, the court imposing sentence on or discharging the offender may, on application of the Attorney General or on its own motion, in addition to any other measure imposed on the offender, order that the offender make restitution to another person as follows:

  • (a) in the case of damage to, or the loss or destruction of, the property of any person as a result of the commission of the offence or the arrest or attempted arrest of the offender, by paying to the person an amount not exceeding the replacement value of the property as of the date the order is imposed, less the value of any part of the property that is returned to that person as of the date it is returned, where the amount is readily ascertainable;

  • (b) in the case of bodily or psychological harm to any person as a result of the commission of the offence or the arrest or attempted arrest of the offender, by paying to the person an amount not exceeding all pecuniary damages incurred as a result of the harm, including loss of income or support, if the amount is readily ascertainable;

  • (c) in the case of bodily harm or threat of bodily harm to the offender’s intimate partner or child, or any other person, as a result of the commission of the offence or the arrest or attempted arrest of the offender, where the intimate partner, child or other person was a member of the offender’s household at the relevant time, by paying to the person in question, independently of any amount ordered to be paid under paragraphs (a) and (b), an amount not exceeding actual and reasonable expenses incurred by that person, as a result of moving out of the offender’s household, for temporary housing, food, child care and transportation, where the amount is readily ascertainable;

  • (d) in the case of an offence under section 402.2 or 403, by paying to a person who, as a result of the offence, incurs expenses to re-establish their identity, including expenses to replace their identity documents and to correct their credit history and credit rating, an amount that is not more than the amount of those expenses, to the extent that they are reasonable, if the amount is readily ascertainable; and

  • (e) in the case of an offence under subsection 162.1(1), by paying to a person who, as a result of the offence, incurs expenses to remove the intimate image from the Internet or other digital network, an amount that is not more than the amount of those expenses, to the extent that they are reasonable, if the amount is readily ascertainable.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (2) The lieutenant governor in council of a province may make regulations precluding the inclusion of provisions on enforcement of restitution orders as an optional condition of a probation order or of a conditional sentence order.

Marginal note:Restitution to persons acting in good faith

739 Where an offender is convicted or discharged under section 730 of an offence and

• (a) any property obtained as a result of the commission of the offence has been conveyed or transferred for valuable consideration to a person acting in good faith and without notice, or

• (b) the offender has borrowed money on the security of that property from a person acting in good faith and without notice,

the court may, where that property has been returned to the lawful owner or the person who had lawful possession of that property at the time the offence was committed, order the offender to pay as restitution to the person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) an amount not exceeding the amount of consideration for that property or the total amount outstanding in respect of the loan, as the case may be.

Marginal note:Ability to pay

739.1 The offender’s financial means or ability to pay does not prevent the court from making an order under section 738 or 739.

Marginal note:Payment under order

739.2 In making an order under section 738 or 739, the court shall require the offender to pay the full amount specified in the order by the day specified in the order, unless the court is of the opinion that the amount should be paid in instalments, in which case the court shall set out a periodic payment scheme in the order.

Marginal note:More than one person

739.3 An order under section 738 or 739 may be made in respect of more than one person, in which case the order must specify the amount that is payable to each person. The order may also specify the order of priority in which those persons are to be paid.

Marginal note:Public authority

• 739.4 (1) On the request of a person in whose favour an order under section 738 or 739 would be made, the court may make the order in favour of a public authority, designated by the regulations, who is to be responsible for enforcing the order and remitting to the person making the request all amounts received under it.

• Marginal note:Orders

  (2) The lieutenant governor in council of a province may, by order, designate any person or body as a public authority for the purpose of subsection (1).

Marginal note:Priority to restitution

740 Where the court finds it applicable and appropriate in the circumstances of a case to make, in relation to an offender, an order of restitution under section 738 or 739, and

• (a) an order of forfeiture under this or any other Act of Parliament may be made in respect of property that is the same as property in respect of which the order of restitution may be made, or

• (b) the court is considering ordering the offender to pay a fine and it appears to the court that the offender would not have the means or ability to comply with both the order of restitution and the order to pay the fine,

the court shall first make the order of restitution and shall then consider whether and to what extent an order of forfeiture or an order to pay a fine is appropriate in the circumstances.