Welcome to JFCY’s Legal Wiki which provides information about the legal rights of children and youth in Ontario. Click here to download this information from our Publications page. Please contact us if you have any questions or trouble finding the information that you seek. You should speak to a lawyer for legal advice since laws often change.
No. There are a number of other things that the police or prosecutor can use to hold you responsible for your actions. These are called Extrajudicial Measures.
They are measures that are designed to hold you responsible for having done something wrong without creating a youth “criminal” record. There are a number of different options as outlined below.
Before charging you a police officer must consider whether it would be appropriate in the situation to give you a warning or a caution (some places may have special caution programs), or if you agree send you to a community program that will help you to stop committing offences.
If the warning, caution or referral would be a good way of holding you responsible for what you have done wrong; if dealing with the problem right away would be better than the long court process for getting you to change your behaviour; if you are able to repair any harm you’ve done through a warning, caution, or referral; if this allows the community and the victim to be involved in dealing with harmful behaviour of young people. These will usually be used for minor offences.
No. The crown attorney or prosecutor can also give you a caution instead of having you charged, or can withdraw the charge and give you a caution instead.
Then there are other Extrajudicial Sanctions that may be used instead of charging you. These may be used only if a warning, caution or referral is not enough to hold you responsible because the offence is too serious, or you have a record of too many other serious offences.
A sanction is a consequence or a punishment. An extrajudicial sanction means that you will get some punishment for your actions, but you will not go through the court system. You will not be punished by a judge. If you have already been charged by the police you may have to appear in court once. If you are accepted into the program, you will be required to complete the program as the consequence for your action. The program will be much quicker than going through the court process.
You can get an extrajudicial sanction only if:
An extrajudicial sanction cannot be used if:
In these situations, your case will remain in the court system.
You may be asked to do some kind of community service, participate in a conference, write an essay or letter of apology, go to workshops, do a mediation, or perhaps do something else that would be relevant to you or the offence.
Then any charge that has been laid against you will be dismissed and you will not have to return to court on this matter.
The crown attorney could still bring the matter back to the court, and the judge may or may not dismiss the charges against you depending on the circumstances. The closer you have come to completing the program the more likely the charges will be dismissed. The more it is your own fault you did not complete the program, the less likely it is that the charges will be dismissed.
No. This is one of the advantages of extrajudicial sanctions. A record will be kept of your participation in the program for 2 years.
Yes. If you participate in an extrajudicial sanction program your parent(s) will be informed, and if the victim makes a request they will be told your name and how the offence was dealt with.
The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) provides unique rights and procedures for young people between the ages of 12 - 17 who are charged with a criminal offence in Canada.
No. There are a number of other things that the police or prosecutor can use to hold you responsible for your actions. These are called Extrajudicial Measures.
They are measures that are designed to hold you responsible for having done something wrong without creating a youth “criminal” record. There are a number of different options as outlined below.
Before charging you a police officer must consider whether it would be appropriate in the situation to give you a warning or a caution (some places may have special caution programs), or if you agree send you to a community program that will help you to stop committing offences.
If the warning, caution or referral would be a good way of holding you responsible for what you have done wrong; if dealing with the problem right away would be better than the long court process for getting you to change your behaviour; if you are able to repair any harm you’ve done through a warning, caution, or referral; if this allows the community and the victim to be involved in dealing with harmful behaviour of young people. These will usually be used for minor offences.
No. The crown attorney or prosecutor can also give you a caution instead of having you charged, or can withdraw the charge and give you a caution instead.
Then there are other Extrajudicial Sanctions that may be used instead of charging you. These may be used only if a warning, caution or referral is not enough to hold you responsible because the offence is too serious, or you have a record of too many other serious offences.
A sanction is a consequence or a punishment. An extrajudicial sanction means that you will get some punishment for your actions, but you will not go through the court system. You will not be punished by a judge. If you have already been charged by the police you may have to appear in court once. If you are accepted into the program, you will be required to complete the program as the consequence for your action. The program will be much quicker than going through the court process.
You can get an extrajudicial sanction only if:
An extrajudicial sanction cannot be used if:
In these situations, your case will remain in the court system.
You may be asked to do some kind of community service, participate in a conference, write an essay or letter of apology, go to workshops, do a mediation, or perhaps do something else that would be relevant to you or the offence.
Then any charge that has been laid against you will be dismissed and you will not have to return to court on this matter.
The crown attorney could still bring the matter back to the court, and the judge may or may not dismiss the charges against you depending on the circumstances. The closer you have come to completing the program the more likely the charges will be dismissed. The more it is your own fault you did not complete the program, the less likely it is that the charges will be dismissed.
No. This is one of the advantages of extrajudicial sanctions. A record will be kept of your participation in the program for 2 years.
Yes. If you participate in an extrajudicial sanction program your parent(s) will be informed, and if the victim makes a request they will be told your name and how the offence was dealt with.
Going to school is a legal requirement for young people between the ages of 6 and 17. The Education Act gives parents and children specific rights in the publicly funded school system.
In Ontario, you can choose where you live when you are 16 years old. The decision to leave is often not easy and can lead to difficulties in getting all your belongings, having enough money to support yourself and attending school.
Become informed about your legal rights when it comes to decisions about your healthcare and mental healthcare treatment. This includes any procedure carried out or prescribed by a health practitioner to diagnose or treat a physical or mental health condition.
The Ontario Human Rights Code protects you from discrimination on many grounds and in many social areas. Specific legal concerns raised by youth identifying in LGBTQI2S communities are about GSAs, Trans and Gender Inclusive Spaces and changing their ID.
You can be given a ticket for breaking a provincial law if you are over the age of 16. Some of the common laws that young people are given tickets for is covered in this section.
Emergency help, criminal court, civil remedy and other supports
In family law, the rights of children are unique. Become informed about going into and being in the care of a Children's Aid Society, when parents can assault you (corporal punishment / spanking exemption to assault), and your right to be heard when your parents are splitting up.
JFCY's Childhood Arrivals and Support & Advocacy Program (CASA) provides services to young people who arrived in Canada as children and are living in Ontario without immigration status.
Street Youth Legal Services (SYLS) is a program that provides information and services for homeless youth between the ages of 16 - 25. These are some of the common issues that the SYLS lawyer is asked about.
