What is your responsibility to obey Canadian laws?

Your responsibility to obey Canadian laws is most often experienced through everyday encounters with the criminal-justice system, not abstract rule-of-law principles. The Criminal Code of Canada (originally enacted in 1892, consolidated in R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46) defines federal offences from theft and assault to homicide, fraud, drug trafficking, and impaired driving. Police lay charges; the Crown decides whether to prosecute; provincial and federal courts try cases; and judges or juries determine guilt and sentence. Most criminal trials are held in provincial courts under the Provincial Offences Act framework or the equivalent provincial statute.

Police forces enforce the law. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is the federal force and serves as the provincial and municipal police in eight provinces and three territories under contract. Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador maintain provincial forces (the Ontario Provincial Police, the Sûreté du Québec, and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary). Major cities run municipal police forces such as the Toronto Police Service, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, the Calgary Police Service, and the Vancouver Police Department. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service handles military offences. Indigenous police services serve about 35 per cent of First Nations communities.

Several core principles protect those accused of breaking the law. Section 11(d) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the presumption of innocence: a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by the Crown beyond a reasonable doubt. Section 7 guarantees the right to fundamental justice, sections 8 to 14 protect against unreasonable search, arbitrary detention, and self-incrimination. Section 10 guarantees the right to know the reason for arrest and to retain counsel. The 2016 Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Jordan set firm time limits on bringing accused persons to trial (18 months in provincial court, 30 months in superior court).

The consequences of breaking the law depend on the severity of the offence. Summary offences (less serious) carry maximum sentences of about two years less a day; indictable offences (more serious) can carry sentences up to life imprisonment. For non-citizens, conviction of a serious offence can lead to inadmissibility and removal under sections 36 and 44 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The Youth Criminal Justice Act of 2003 governs the prosecution of persons aged 12 to 17. Civil law violations (family-law disputes, contract disputes, property matters) are handled separately in superior courts. Most Canadian municipal bylaw infractions (parking, noise, zoning) are quasi-criminal and produce fines or short stays in custody.