Discharges

This page was last substantively updated or reviewed January 2020. (Rev. # 96596)

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General Principles

The granting of a discharge "is a discretionary order based on the weighing and assessing of many factors, including the principles of sentencing and the public interest." The order is only available for offences where the maximum penalty is less than 14 years.

The Criminal Codes describes the discharge as:

Conditional and absolute discharge

730 (1) Where an accused, other than an organization, pleads guilty to or is found guilty of an offence, other than an offence for which a minimum punishment is prescribed by law or an offence punishable by imprisonment for fourteen years or for life, the court before which the accused appears may, if it considers it to be in the best interests of the accused and not contrary to the public interest, instead of convicting the accused, by order direct that the accused be discharged absolutely or on the conditions prescribed in a probation order made under subsection 731(2) [probation order when discharge ordered].

Period for which appearance notice, etc., continues in force

(2) Subject to Part XVI [Pt. XVI – Compelling Appearance of an Accused Before a Justice and Interim Release (ss. 493 to 529.5)], if an accused who has not been taken into custody or who has been released from custody under any provision of that Part pleads guilty to or is found guilty of an offence but is not convicted, the appearance notice, summons, undertaking or release order issued to, given or entered into by the accused continues in force, subject to its terms, until a disposition in respect of the accused is made under subsection (1) [order of discharge] unless, at the time the accused pleads guilty or is found guilty, the court, judge or justice orders that the accused be taken into custody pending such a disposition.
[omitted (3)]

Where person bound by probation order convicted of offence

(4) Where an offender who is bound by the conditions of a probation order made at a time when the offender was directed to be discharged under this section is convicted of an offence, including an offence under section 733.1 [breach of probation order], the court that made the probation order may, in addition to or in lieu of exercising its authority under subsection 732.2(5) [vary or cancel probation order on breach conviction], at any time when it may take action under that subsection, revoke the discharge, convict the offender of the offence to which the discharge relates and impose any sentence that could have been imposed if the offender had been convicted at the time of discharge, and no appeal lies from a conviction under this subsection where an appeal was taken from the order directing that the offender be discharged.
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 730; 1995, c. 22, s. 6; 1997, c. 18, s. 141; 2003, c. 21, s. 17; 2019, c. 25, s. 296.
[annotation(s) added]

– CCC (CanLII), (DOJ)

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Purpose

The discharge was enacted in 1972 to give the courts the power to "relieve against both the fact and stigma of a criminal conviction."

The discharge can serve as both a "carrot" and "stick" to motivate rehabilitation.

Effect

Section 730 states:

730
[omitted (1) and (2)]

Effect of discharge

(3) Where a court directs under subsection (1) [order of discharge] that an offender be discharged of an offence, the offender shall be deemed not to have been convicted of the offence except that

(a) the offender may appeal from the determination of guilt as if it were a conviction in respect of the offence;

(b) the Attorney General and, in the case of summary conviction proceedings, the informant or the informant’s agent may appeal from the decision of the court not to convict the offender of the offence as if that decision were a judgment or verdict of acquittal of the offence or a dismissal of the information against the offender; and

(c) the offender may plead autrefois convict in respect of any subsequent charge relating to the offence.

[omitted (4)]
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 730; 1995, c. 22, s. 6; 1997, c. 18, s. 141; 2003, c. 21, s. 17; 2019, c. 25, s. 296.
[annotation(s) added]

– CCC (CanLII), (DOJ)

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The discharge is not a conviction but rather the offence is discharged absolutely or conditionally with probation. In cannot be paired with a fine or jail. The end result is that there is no criminal record. No record may be disclosed to any person by a federal agency, except for the purpose of verifying fingerprints, without the consent of the Solicitor General after 1 year for a absolute discharge or 3 years for a conditional discharge.

Absolute Discharge

Where an absolute discharge has been granted the record of the offence cannot be disclosed without the approval of the Minister of Public Safety.

Requirements

An offence punishable by less than 14 years and without minimum sentence, the offender may apply to the court for a "conditional discharge" if it is in the "best interests of the accused" and "not contrary to the public interest."

Best Interests of Offender

The best interests of the offender means that deterrence is not relevant nor is rehabilitation beyond what can be achieved by a probation order. Lastly, they should have such character that a conviction will have "significant repercussions."

It is wrong to assume it is always be in the best interest of the offender to have a discharge. This requirement has been interpreted as requiring that (1) specific deterrence is of "no concern" and (2) the accused is of good character.

Generally speaking the effect of the criminal record would be disproportionate to the offence, such as where the offender cannot pursue their chosen profession, education would be affected, etc. The reason for discharge cannot be mere speculation.

The first factor of a discharge presupposes that the offender is of good character and so is without a prior criminal record.

It is generally preferred or sometimes necessary that the court have evidence of the consequence of a criminal record to support a discharge application.

Not Contrary to Public Interest

A discharge does not have to be in the public interest, it simply must not be contrary to the public interest. Accordingly, it is not necessary that the accused prove that it is in the public interest.

The concern of this inquiry is whether the consequences of the conviction (either real or potential) upon the particular individual outweighs the value of the stigma.

The "public interest" includes "a consideration of the principle of general deterrence with attention being paid to the gravity of the offence, its incidence in the community, public attitudes towards it and public confidence in the effective enforcement of the criminal law."

The factors to determine the "public interest" and the weight "will vary depending on the circumstances of the offence and of the offender."

The second factor considers:

• the gravity of the offence;
• the frequency/prevalence of the offence in the community
• the public attitudes to the offence
• amount of planning of the offence
• value of property (if property-related offence)
• whether there was personal gain from the offence
• the effect on the public confidence in the law

It is not necessary that the offence be trivial to not be contrary to the public interest.

The more serious the offence the less likely a discharge will be appropriate.

Unusual circumstances of a particular offender may warrant a discharge where it would not otherwise be warranted.

It is an error of law to confuse "public interest" with "expressions of public concern."

Where applied

Cases for a variety of offences have been considered:

• possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose (s.88)
• break and enter
• possession of marijuana (4(1))
• theft under $5,000

Factors such as the accused's immigration status are valid considerations but are not determinative.

It is not prohibited to grant a discharge where a prior discharge has already been granted. Nor is it prohibited to grant a discharge where a prior record exists. Nevertheless the granting of a discharge in these cases is exceptional.

It should not be order solely because of adverse immigration consequences where it would otherwise be inappropriate.

Absolute vs Conditional

An absolute discharge order discharges the offence without any additional requirements of probation. It is usually granted in the cases of lesser seriousness of offences or where the personal circumstances are exceptional.

Offences of violence

Without a prior record, a Court will grant a discharge for common assault. However, it should only be given in extraordinary circumstances. Assault causing bodily harm can be available for discharges in only limited circumstances.

Curative Discharges

• See Curative Discharges