A fine is an amount of money that an offender must pay to the court. It is different from restitution or a charitable donation. If an offender is given a fine, they will have a conviction registered against them and will have to apply for a pardon to have the fine removed from their record….

Probation is a type of sentence and an alternative to jail. It is court order to do (or not do) certain things for a period of time. It is usually called a probation order. An offender who gets a conditional discharge or a suspended sentence will always have a probation order that they must follow….

Like a conditional discharge, a suspended sentence involves following conditions in a probation order for a period of one to three years. The main difference between a conditional discharge and a suspended sentence is that an offender who gets a suspended sentence has a conviction registered against them. This means that the offender who gets a…

An absolute discharge is the lowest‑level adult sentence that an offender can get. If an offender gets an absolute discharge, then a finding of guilt is made but no conviction is registered, and they are not given any conditions to follow (i.e. a probation order). The offender is finished with their case. The person does…

There are several types of sentences that a judge can give an offender. The most common sentences are: Absolute discharge Conditional discharge Suspended sentence Probation Fine Imprisonment (jail) Intermittent sentence (“weekends”) Conditional sentence (”house arrest”)

A bail hearing is when a judge decides whether you should either be kept in jail or allowed to go back to the community while your case is in criminal court. After a bail hearing, you may get bail, which is a court order that lets you stay in the community while your case is…

If one or more of the conditions of a peace bond are broken, either by not obeying one of the conditions or by getting charged with a criminal offence, the person can be charged with a separate criminal offence of “breach of recognizance” or “disobeying a court order.” They may also lose some or all…

No. A person does not plead guilty when they enter into a peace bond. There is no finding of guilt made or conviction registered if a person agrees to a peace bond. One of the reasons why a person may agree to enter a peace bond is to avoid a criminal record. While a peace…

For an accused to enter into a peace bond, the following steps will typically occur in criminal court: The court clerk will read out the peace bond information (sometimes called an “810” after section 810 of the Criminal Code). This will probably sound very strange because old legal language is used. At the end of…

Generally, a person entering into a peace bond doesn’t have to deposit money with the court. However, they do need to pledge an amount of money to the court—usually $500 or $1000, but the amount can be higher or lower. A peace bond is a recognizance, similar to a recognizance of bail. By pledging money,…