Fighting Provincial Offences Charges: Various Cases Within Provincial Courts

Question: Are provincial offences in Ontario considered criminal charges?

Answer: In Ontario, provincial offences are generally treated as quasi-criminal regulatory matters prosecuted by the state, and a conviction usually doesn’t create a criminal record, but it can still bring serious fines, licence suspensions, and other penalties; DefendCharges.ca provides Paralegal services across Ontario to review the allegation, explain the court process, and help you respond effectively.  The main procedure is governed by Provincial Offences Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33, and the Rules of the Ontario Court (Provincial Division) in Provincial Offences Proceedings, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 200.

Provincial Offence Allegations as Being Charges Considered as Quasi-Criminal Matters

Provincial offences are quasi-crimes or regulatory offences in that they are violation of laws enacted to regulate individual conduct for the protection of society as a whole and they are prosecuted by a Prosecutor as an agent of the state, meaning as a representative of the people; however, unlike criminal offences, upon conviction of a provincial offence a person avoids establishing a criminal record.  With this said, although conviction for a provincial offence fails to establish a criminal record, the consequences for conviction of a provincial offence may still carry heavy penalties and consequences for the convicted person.

The Provincial Offences Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33, as well as the Rules of the Ontario Court (Provincial Division) in Provincial Offences Proceedings, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 200, provide the procedural law that guides the process by which offences within numerous substantive law statutes are prosecuted.  The range in matters falling under the purview of provincial offences is very broad.  Concerns involving provincial offences include: