Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)

Marginal note:Permitted lotteries

• 207 (1) Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Part relating to gaming and betting, it is lawful

  • (a) for the government of a province, either alone or in conjunction with the government of another province, to conduct and manage a lottery scheme in that province, or in that and the other province, in accordance with any law enacted by the legislature of that province;

  • (b) for a charitable or religious organization, pursuant to a licence issued by the Lieutenant Governor in Council of a province or by such other person or authority in the province as may be specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council thereof, to conduct and manage a lottery scheme in that province if the proceeds from the lottery scheme are used for a charitable or religious object or purpose;

  • (c) for the board of a fair or of an exhibition, or an operator of a concession leased by that board, to conduct and manage a lottery scheme in a province where the Lieutenant Governor in Council of the province or such other person or authority in the province as may be specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council thereof has

    • (i) designated that fair or exhibition as a fair or exhibition where a lottery scheme may be conducted and managed, and

    • (ii) issued a licence for the conduct and management of a lottery scheme to that board or operator;

  • (d) for any person, pursuant to a licence issued by the Lieutenant Governor in Council of a province or by such other person or authority in the province as may be specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council thereof, to conduct and manage a lottery scheme at a public place of amusement in that province if

    • (i) the amount or value of each prize awarded does not exceed five hundred dollars, and

    • (ii) the money or other valuable consideration paid to secure a chance to win a prize does not exceed two dollars;

  • (e) for the government of a province to agree with the government of another province that lots, cards or tickets in relation to a lottery scheme that is by any of paragraphs (a) to (d) authorized to be conducted and managed in that other province may be sold in the province;

  • (f) for any person, pursuant to a licence issued by the Lieutenant Governor in Council of a province or such other person or authority in the province as may be designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council thereof, to conduct and manage in the province a lottery scheme that is authorized to be conducted and managed in one or more other provinces where the authority by which the lottery scheme was first authorized to be conducted and managed consents thereto;

  • (g) for any person, for the purpose of a lottery scheme that is lawful in a province under any of paragraphs (a) to (f), to do anything in the province, in accordance with the applicable law or licence, that is required for the conduct, management or operation of the lottery scheme or for the person to participate in the scheme; and

  • (h) for any person to make or print anywhere in Canada or to cause to be made or printed anywhere in Canada anything relating to gaming and betting that is to be used in a place where it is or would, if certain conditions provided by law are met, be lawful to use such a thing, or to send, transmit, mail, ship, deliver or allow to be sent, transmitted, mailed, shipped or delivered or to accept for carriage or transport or convey any such thing where the destination thereof is such a place.

• Marginal note:Terms and conditions of licence

  (2) Subject to this Act, a licence issued by or under the authority of the Lieutenant Governor in Council of a province as described in paragraph (1)(b), (c), (d) or (f) may contain such terms and conditions relating to the conduct, management and operation of or participation in the lottery scheme to which the licence relates as the Lieutenant Governor in Council of that province, the person or authority in the province designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council thereof or any law enacted by the legislature of that province may prescribe.

• Marginal note:Offence

  (3) Every one who, for the purposes of a lottery scheme, does anything that is not authorized by or pursuant to a provision of this section

  • (a) in the case of the conduct, management or operation of that lottery scheme,

    • (i) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or

    • (ii) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction; or

  • (b) in the case of participating in that lottery scheme, is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

• Marginal note:Definition of lottery scheme

  (4) In this section, lottery scheme means a game or any proposal, scheme, plan, means, device, contrivance or operation described in any of paragraphs 206(1)(a) to (g), whether or not it involves betting, pool selling or a pool system of betting other than

  • (a) three-card monte, punch board or coin table;

  • (b) bookmaking, pool selling or the making or recording of bets, including bets made through the agency of a pool or pari-mutuel system, on any horse-race; or

  • (c) for the purposes of paragraphs (1)(b) to (f), a game or proposal, scheme, plan, means, device, contrivance or operation described in any of paragraphs 206(1)(a) to (g) that is operated on or through a computer, video device, slot machine or a dice game.

• Marginal note:Definition of slot machine

  (4.01) In paragraph 4(c), slot machine means any automatic machine or slot machine, other than any automatic machine or slot machine that dispenses as prizes only one or more free games on that machine, that

  • (a) is used or intended to be used for any purpose other than selling merchandise or services; or

  • (b) is used or intended to be used for the purpose of selling merchandise or services if

    • (i) the result of one of any number of operations of the machine is a matter of chance or uncertainty to the operator,

    • (ii) as a result of a given number of successive operations by the operator, the machine produces different results, or

    • (iii) on any operation of the machine, it discharges or emits a slug or token.

• Marginal note:Exception — charitable or religious organization

  (4.1) The use of a computer for the sale of a ticket, selection of a winner or the distribution of a prize in a raffle, including a 50/50 draw, is excluded from paragraph (4)(c) in so far as the raffle is authorized under paragraph (1)(b) and the proceeds are used for a charitable or religious object or purpose.

• Marginal note:Exception re: pari-mutuel betting

  (5) For greater certainty, nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the making or recording of bets on horse-races through the agency of a pari-mutuel system other than in accordance with section 204.

Marginal note:Exemption — lottery scheme on an international cruise ship

• 207.1 (1) Despite any of the provisions of this Part relating to gaming and betting, it is lawful for the owner or operator of an international cruise ship, or their agent, to conduct, manage or operate and for any person to participate in a lottery scheme during a voyage on an international cruise ship when all of the following conditions are satisfied:

  • (a) all the people participating in the lottery scheme are located on the ship;

  • (b) the lottery scheme is not linked, by any means of communication, with any lottery scheme, betting, pool selling or pool system of betting located off the ship;

  • (c) the lottery scheme is not operated within five nautical miles of a Canadian port at which the ship calls or is scheduled to call; and

  • (d) the ship is registered

    • (i) in Canada and its entire voyage is scheduled to be outside Canada, or

    • (ii) anywhere, including Canada, and its voyage includes some scheduled voyaging within Canada and the voyage

      • (A) is of at least forty-eight hours duration and includes some voyaging in international waters and at least one non-Canadian port of call including the port at which the voyage begins or ends, and

      • (B) is not scheduled to disembark any passengers at a Canadian port who have embarked at another Canadian port, without calling on at least one non-Canadian port between the two Canadian ports.

• Marginal note:Paragraph 207(1)(h) and subsection 207(5) apply

  (2) For greater certainty, paragraph 207(1)(h) and subsection 207(5) apply for the purposes of this section.

• Marginal note:Offence

  (3) Every one who, for the purpose of a lottery scheme, does anything that is not authorized by this section

  • (a) in the case of the conduct, management or operation of the lottery scheme,

    • (i) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years, or

    • (ii) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction; and

  • (b) in the case of participating in the lottery scheme, is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (4) The definitions in this subsection apply in this section.

  international cruise ship

  international cruise ship means a passenger ship that is suitable for continuous ocean voyages of at least forty-eight hours duration, but does not include such a ship that is used or fitted for the primary purpose of transporting cargo or vehicles. (navire de croisière internationale)

  lottery scheme

  lottery scheme means a game or any proposal, scheme, plan, means, device, contrivance or operation described in any of paragraphs 206(1)(a) to (g), whether or not it involves betting, pool selling or a pool system of betting. It does not include

  • (a) three-card monte, punch board or coin table; or

  • (b) bookmaking, pool selling or the making or recording of bets, including bets made through the agency of a pool or pari-mutuel system, on any race or fight, or on a single sporting event or athletic contest. (loterie)

208 [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 32]

Marginal note:Cheating at play

209 Every person who, with intent to defraud any person, cheats while playing a game or in holding the stakes for a game or in betting is guilty of

• (a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years; or

• (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction.

210 [Repealed, 2019, c. 25, s. 73]

211 [Repealed, 2019, c. 25, s. 73]

212 [Repealed, 2014, c. 25, s. 13]

Offences in Relation to Offering, Providing or Obtaining Sexual Services for Consideration

Marginal note:Stopping or impeding traffic

• 213 (1) Everyone is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction who, in a public place or in any place open to public view, for the purpose of offering, providing or obtaining sexual services for consideration,

  • (a) stops or attempts to stop any motor vehicle; or

  • (b) impedes the free flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic or ingress to or egress from premises adjacent to that place.

  • (c) [Repealed, 2014, c. 25, s. 15]

• Marginal note:Communicating to provide sexual services for consideration

  (1.1) Everyone is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction who communicates with any person — for the purpose of offering or providing sexual services for consideration  —  in a public place, or in any place open to public view, that is or is next to a school ground, playground or daycare centre.

• Definition of public place

  (2) In this section, public place includes any place to which the public have access as of right or by invitation, express or implied, and any motor vehicle located in a public place or in any place open to public view.

PART VIIIOffences Against the Person and Reputation

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

214 In this Part,

abandon

abandon or expose includes

• (a) a wilful omission to take charge of a child by a person who is under a legal duty to do so, and

• (b) dealing with a child in a manner that is likely to leave that child exposed to risk without protection; (abandonner ou exposer)

aircraft

aircraft[Repealed, 2018, c. 21, s. 13]

child

child[Repealed, 2002, c. 13, s. 9]

form of marriage

form of marriage includes a ceremony of marriage that is recognized as valid

• (a) by the law of the place where it was celebrated, or

• (b) by the law of the place where an accused is tried, notwithstanding that it is not recognized as valid by the law of the place where it was celebrated; (formalité de mariage)

guardian

guardian includes a person who has in law or in fact the custody or control of a child. (tuteur)

operate

operate[Repealed, 2018, c. 21, s. 13]

vessel

vessel[Repealed, 2018, c. 21, s. 13]

Duties Tending to Preservation of Life

Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note:Offence

  (2) Every person commits an offence who, being under a legal duty within the meaning of subsection (1), fails without lawful excuse to perform that duty, if

  • (a) with respect to a duty imposed by paragraph (1)(a) or (b),

    • (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), 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.

• Marginal note:Punishment

  (3) Every one who commits an offence under subsection (2)

  • (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.

• Marginal note:Presumptions

  (4) For the purpose of proceedings under this section,

  • (a) [Repealed, 2000, c. 12, s. 93]

  • (b) evidence that a person has in any way recognized a child as being his child is, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, proof that the child is his child;

  • (c) evidence that a person has failed for a period of one month to make provision for the maintenance of any child of theirs under the age of sixteen years is, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, proof that the person has failed without lawful excuse to provide necessaries of life for the child; and

  • (d) the fact that a spouse or common-law partner or child is receiving or has received necessaries of life from another person who is not under a legal duty to provide them is not a defence.