Failing to Provide the Necessities of Life (Sentencing Cases)
- < Sentencing
- < Cases
| ||||||||
Offence Wording
- Duty of persons to provide necessaries
215 (1) Every one is under a legal duty
- (a) as a parent, foster parent, guardian or head of a family, to provide necessaries of life for a child under the age of sixteen years;
- (b) to provide necessaries of life to their spouse or common-law partner; and
- (c) to provide necessaries of life to a person under his charge if that person
- (i) is unable, by reason of detention, age, illness, mental disorder or other cause, to withdraw himself from that charge, and
- (ii) is unable to provide himself with necessaries of life.
- Offence
(2) Every person commits an offence who, being under a legal duty within the meaning of subsection (1) [duty of persons to provide necessaries], fails without lawful excuse to perform that duty, if
- (a) with respect to a duty imposed by paragraph (1)(a) [duty of persons to provide necessaries – child under 16] or (b) [duty of persons to provide necessaries – partners and spouses],
- (i) the person to whom the duty is owed is in destitute or necessitous circumstances, or
- (ii) the failure to perform the duty endangers the life of the person to whom the duty is owed, or causes or is likely to cause the health of that person to be endangered permanently; or
- (b) with respect to a duty imposed by paragraph (1)(c) [duty of persons to provide necessaries – disabled], the failure to perform the duty endangers the life of the person to whom the duty is owed or causes or is likely to cause the health of that person to be injured permanently.
- Punishment
(3) Every one who commits an offence under subsection (2) [failing to provide necessities of life – offence]
- (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; or
- (b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
[omitted (4)]
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 215; 1991, c. 43, s. 9; 2000, c. 12, ss. 93, 95; 2005, c. 32, s. 11; 2018, c. 29, s. 18; 2019, c. 25, s. 74.
[annotation(s) added]
Case Digests
| Case Name | Prv. | Crt. | Sentence | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R v KD, 2020 SKPC 14 (CanLII), per Hinds J | SK  |
PC | 16 months CSO (KD) 20 months CSO (NGH) |
Find summaries of case. | |
| R v Stephan, 2016 ABQB 353 (CanLII), per Jerke J | AB  |
SC | 4 months + prob. (husband) 3 months CSO (wife) |
The offender parents did not take their 18 month old child to a medical professional for treatment despite serious illness. This contributed to the child's death. Find summaries of case. | |
| R v AN, 2016 BCPC 246 (CanLII) | BC  |
PC | 1 year | "the Court imposed a one-year jail sentence and two years probation for A.N., who pled guilty to the offence of failing to provide the necessities of life to her child B.N. from April 7, 2014 to June 14, 2014. B.N.’s biological father was not present for B.N.’s birth and was not involved in any way in his subsequent care. When B.N. was six months old, A.N. purchased a restaurant. She employed various family members to help run the restaurant. A.N. worked long hours seven days a week in the kitchen and pantry area. B.N. was always at the restaurant with her. Sometimes he would be in the kitchen area and other times he would be placed in a storage room. Despite being employed at the restaurant, A.N.’s family did not help with B.N.’s care. B.N. had regular medical check ups until he was 10 months old. He was seen by a doctor one more time when he was 22 months old at a walk-in clinic. About a month or two before B.N. was taken to a hospital A.N. told a social worker that she had the support of her family. On June 14, 2014, A.N. brought B.N. age two, to a hospital. B.N. was in pre-cardiac arrest, was malnourished and would have died had he not received immediate medical treatment. A.N. left the hospital after she dropped off B.N. She did not return to the hospital. B.N. was removed from his mother’s care on June 16, 2014. B.N. spent over a month in hospital. The hospital staff determined that B.N. had suffered from months of insufficient feeding. The Court determined that A.N. having failed to provide B.N. with appropriate nutrition and care over several months, the near-death state B.N. was in when he was brought to hospital, A.N. being in a position of trust toward B.N., and having lied to the social worker about having support of her family, were all aggravating factors. The Court found several mitigating factors including the fact that A.N. pleaded guilty to the offence, showed great remorse, was a young first-time offender, and had a difficult childhood in which she had experienced emotional neglect." Find summaries of case. | |
| R v J.(S.), 2015 ONCA 97 (CanLII) | ON  |
CA | 6 months | "the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge’s decision to convict the appellant mother and father of failing to provide the necessities of life to their three-year-old child, as well as the decision to impose six months’ imprisonment. In J.(S.), an infant at the age of eight months was sent to India to live with his grandparents. His mother was pregnant with a second child. While H. was in India, a family friend visited H. about once a week at the request of the parents. The friend reported to the parents that H. looked slim and weak. When H. was two years and 10 months old the family friend brought him back to Canada. After giving H. a bath, the mother was concerned about his health and took him to a doctor. The doctor requested a stool sample from the child. The mother did not collect a stool sample. About one month later, the mother took H. to a different doctor. This doctor observed that H. was lethargic and not eating. A month after this, while the mother was seeing the second doctor for a prenatal visit, she told the doctor that H. had fallen and hurt his skin. The doctor prescribed a skin cream and advised the mother to bring H. in for a checkup. The mother did not. Later, H. suffered a seizure and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was observed to be malnourished and anemic. H.’s vitamin C levels were consistent with scurvy, he had three open wounds and scars all over his body. The doctors were unable to date the injuries or determine causation. The trial judge considered a conditional sentence order. However, he was of the view that denunciation required a more severe sentence to show society’s disapproval of the offender’s conduct and, more particularly, society’s response to child neglect." Find summaries of case. | |
| R v MacDonnell, 2013 NSSC 29 (CanLII), per Coady J | NS  |
SC | 2 years imprisonment (aggravated) 2 years (failure) 2 years (global) |
Offender plead guilty to s. 215(2)(b) and 268(1). She was given care of a 22 month old child apprehended by children services. Offender intentionally under-nourished child while at the children's hospital by tampering with the child's food intake. She was diagnosed with Factitious Disorder by Proxy. Court also ordered 3 years probation, a s. 109 weapons order and DNA order. Find summaries of case. | |
| R v Thompson, 2012 ONSC 4346 (CanLII), per Dunnet J | ON |
SC | "the accused was sentenced to a six-month conditional sentence order and placed on probation for three years. Ms. Thompson age 29, pled guilty to charges of failing to provide the necessaries of life to three of her four children. In June 2008, Ms. Thompson adopted a raw vegan diet for herself and her children. The children’s feeding was highly regimented and portion size was strictly controlled by Ms. Thompson. She did not seek medical advice on the appropriateness of the raw vegan diet for infants and small children. Further, the children did not have a family doctor, nor did they receive immunizations. In June 2010, Ms. Thompson sought medical assistance for the purpose of completing government dietary forms in support of her application for additional social assistance benefits. She was referred to a pediatrician but refused to attend. The Children's Aid Society became involved and the children were admitted to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto with diagnoses of severe malnutrition, osteopenia and rickets. Two of the children were discharged from the hospital's "Failure to Thrive Clinic" in June 2011 and a third child was discharged in September 2011. The children were placed by the Children's Aid Society in the care of Ms. Thompson's mother. Ms. Thompson gave birth to another child in March 2011 and that child was also placed in the care of Ms. Thompson’s mother." Find summaries of case. | ||
| R v ET, 2012 SKQB 169 (CanLII), per Gerein J | SK |
SC | 3 years imprisonment | Find summaries of case. | |
| R v BW, 2005 NLTD 173 (CanLII), per Barry J | NL  |
SC | |||