Glossary
In Criminal Law
This is a criminal offence that is committed when a person is compelled to appear in court but fails to do so without a lawful excuse. A person can be compelled to appear in court by an appearance notice, an undertaking, or a recognizance, or by being bound over by a judge.
In Criminal Law
This is a criminal offence. You can be charged with “failing to comply” if you do the following on purpose:
- don’t follow a court order, or
- don’t follow a police undertaking.
For example, you can be charged with failing to comply if you don’t follow the conditions of your recognizance of bail.
In Criminal Law
You could be charged with “failure to comply with a demand” if you refuse to do something that the police have the right to tell you to do. For example, you could be charged if:
- the police have reasonable grounds to believe that you’re driving when you’re impaired and you refuse to give them a breath sample when they say you need to give them one.
In Family Law
A family arbitration award is the decision that an arbitrator makes after hearing from both partners about their family law issues.
An arbitrator has to follow certain rules. For example, they have to keep a record of any notes they made during the arbitration. If these rules are followed, an arbitrator’s award is enforceable. This means that the court can make a court order based on the family arbitration award, and that both partners must follow the order.
There are only certain family members who you can sponsor for permanent residence. They include your spouse and common-law partner. They also include your dependent child, a dependent child of your spouse or common-law partner, and a dependent child of that dependent child.
In Family Law
The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) is a government agency that enforces child support and spousal support payments. They collect support directly from the person who has to pay support, keep a record of the amounts paid, and then pay that amount to the person who has to get support.
If your partner misses payments, the FRO can take action to enforce your court order or separation agreement on support payments. For example, the FRO can take money from their bank account, suspend their driver’s licence, or start a court case that can put them in jail.
In Employment and Work, Discrimination at work
Family status refers to a relationship that’s like that between a parent and a child. It can include similar relationships where you take care of and are responsible for someone and are committed to doing that.
Here are some examples:
- a foster parent caring for a foster child
- a brother caring for a sister with a disability
- an aunt raising her niece
In Abuse and Family Violence, Criminal Law, Family Law
Family violence refers to the many different forms of abuse, neglect, or harm that an adult or child may experience in their close, personal relationships.
It is also called domestic violence or partner abuse when one partner abuses the other partner.
Federal penitentiaries are run by the Government of Canada. They’re also called “correctional institutions”. People serving sentences of 2 years or longer are in these institutions or in halfway houses.
In Criminal Law
A Feeney warrant is a type of arrest warrant that gives the police the power to come onto your property, and into your home or business to arrest the person whose name is in the warrant.
