Glossary
In Criminal Law
A plea bargain is an offer made by the Crown in exchange for a guilty plea. It’s called a “plea bargain” because, if you plead guilty instead of having a trial, you can ask the Crown to drop some of the charges against you, or you can ask for a lighter sentence.
In Criminal Law
A plea inquiry is a series of questions that you must answer before you can plead guilty. The purpose of the plea inquiry is to show the judge that:
- you are pleading guilty voluntarily and that no one has pressured or forced you to plead guilty
- you understand what it means to plead guilty, for example, that you are giving up your right to a trial and to have the Crown prove the charges against you beyond a reasonable doubt
- you are aware of what can happen to you if you plead guilty, for example, that you could go to jail and get a permanent criminal record
In Criminal Law
If you plead guilty, you accept responsibility for the crime you’re charged with. You give up your right to a trial. The Crown won’t have to prove you committed the crime.
After you plead guilty, you will have a sentencing hearing.
If you plead not guilty, you have the right to a trial where the Crown will try to prove the crime against you beyond a reasonable doubt.
In Criminal Law
This means that you deny committing the offence(s) that you are charged with. The Crown must decide to either go to trial or to withdraw the charge.
In Immigration Law, Refugee Law
A port of entry is a place where people can enter Canada. Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) decides if a person can come into the country.
Ports of entry include international airports, land border crossings, such as border crossings from the United States, and maritime ports, such as the ports at Vancouver and Halifax.
In Refugee Law
A port of entry is an official entry point into Canada. For example, an international airport or an official land border crossing.If you do not pay what a court order says you owe right away, you will have to pay extra money called post-judgement interest. The interest continues to increase from the time that the judgment is made until you pay all the money that you owe.
Postpaid services are cellphone services that you pay for after you use the service. You pay for the amount of service that you used since your last payment. Most monthly cellphone contracts are postpaid. If you have a monthly plan that you pay for after you use the services, you are using postpaid services.
Some prepaid services also have monthly contracts.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Elder abuse, Health and Disability, Elder abuse, Wills and Powers of Attorney, Wills, Power of Attorney for Personal Care, Power of Attorney for Property
A Power of Attorney for Personal Care is a legal document that lets you name someone to make decisions for you if you become mentally incapable. It’s sometimes called a “personal power of attorney”.
You’re called the grantor. The person you name is called your attorney.
Your attorney can make:
- decisions about your personal care, such as where you live, what you eat, getting dressed, washing and having a bath, and staying safe
- decisions about your health care that deal with:
- health-care treatments
- moving into a long-term care home
- personal care services in a long-term care home
In Abuse and Family Violence, Elder abuse, Health and Disability, Elder abuse, Wills and Powers of Attorney, Wills, Power of Attorney for Personal Care, Power of Attorney for Property
A Power of Attorney for Property is a legal document that lets you name someone to deal with your money and property. You’re called the grantor. The person you name is called your attorney.
Your attorney can make decisions, such as:
- doing your banking
- signing cheques
- buying, selling, or leasing real estate
- buying consumer goods and services
They cannot:
- make or change your will
- make or change who’s a beneficiary on your insurance policy or a registered plan, such as your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP)
- make a new Power of Attorney for you
A Power of Attorney for Property can start working as soon as you sign it. Or, you can set limits. For example, you can make a Power of Attorney that lets your attorney only sign documents that are needed to sell your home or that lasts only while you’re on vacation.