Out of Province Arrest Warrants
| This page was last substantively updated or reviewed November 2023. (Rev. # 87639) |
General Principles
It has been said that all types of warrants can have application in any province. A provincial judge in any jurisdiction may validate a warrant from another jurisdiction under s. 461.[1]
- "Canada-wide" Warrants
Canada-wide warrants are warrants that are not attached to particular jurisdictions. This typically refers to warrants issued under s. 703, which can only be ordered by a judge of a superior court or appellate court.
Section 703 states:
- Warrant effective throughout Canada
703 (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a warrant of arrest or committal that is issued out of a superior court of criminal jurisdiction, a court of appeal, an appeal court within the meaning of section 812 [definition of appeal court] or a court of criminal jurisdiction other than a provincial court judge acting under Part XIX [Pt. XIX – Indictable Offences – Trial Without a Jury (ss. 552 to 572)] may be executed anywhere in Canada.
- Warrant effective in a province
(2) Despite any other provision of this Act but subject to subsections 487.0551(2) [warrant jurisdiction on breach of DNA order], 490.03121(3) and 705(3) [warrant effective throughout Canada], a warrant of arrest or committal that is issued by a justice or provincial court judge may be executed anywhere in the province in which it is issued.
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 703; R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 149; 2007, c. 22, s. 22; 2023, c. 28, s. 33.
[annotation(s) added]
- ↑
R v Cardinal, 1985 ABCA 157 (CanLII), 21 CCC (3d) 254, per Kerans JA, at para 8
Transferring Local Warrants to Different Provinces
Where no Canada-wide warrant is issued and a regular 514 warrant has been issued in another jurisdiction, under s. 528 the local court may endorse the foreign warrant (sometimes referred to as "backing" a warrant):
- Endorsement of Warrant
- Endorsing warrant
528 (1) Where a warrant for the arrest or committal of an accused, in any form set out in Part XXVIII [Pt. XXVIII – Miscellaneous (ss. 841 to 849)] in relation thereto, cannot be executed in accordance with section 514 [execution of warrant] or 703 [territorial scope of warrant], a justice within whose jurisdiction the accused is or is believed to be shall, on application and proof on oath or by affidavit of the signature of the justice who issued the warrant, authorize the arrest of the accused within his jurisdiction by making an endorsement, which may be in Form 28 [forms], on the warrant.
- Copy of affidavit or warrant
(1.1) A copy of an affidavit or warrant submitted by a means of telecommunication that produces a writing has the same probative force as the original for the purposes of subsection (1) [endorsing warrant – grounds to issue warrant].
- Effect of endorsement
(2) An endorsement that is made upon a warrant pursuant to subsection (1) [endorsing warrant – grounds to issue warrant] is sufficient authority to the peace officers to whom it was originally directed, and to all peace officers within the territorial jurisdiction of the justice by whom it is endorsed, to execute the warrant and to take the accused before the justice who issued the warrant or before any other justice for the same territorial division.
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 528; R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 93; 1994, c. 44, s. 51.
[annotation(s) added]
This section allows either local police or the police of the other jurisdiction to arrest the accused, who is located locally, and be transported to the jurisdiction of the original warrant.
The application should use Form 28.[1]
- ↑
e.g. see R v Charles, 2012 SKCA 34 (CanLII), 289 CCC (3d) 168, per Smith JA, at para 11
see List of Criminal Code Forms