Appendix D – The List of Offences Under the Criminal Code that Could Equate to Offences of a Sexual Nature and Offences Concerning Violence Against a Family Member

Colin R. Singer
May 16, 2021

Given below is a list of offences that officers will need to use as a guideline for:

Offences of a sexual nature and,
Offences concerning violence against a family member

Officers will need to continue applying the regulations to the facts in each instance. This means that the officers will need to ensure that the authorities have not convicted the sponsor for:

An offence of a sexual nature, or an attempt or a threat to commit such an offence against any person or,
An offence that results in bodily harm, as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code, to any of the following people, or an attempt or a threat to commit such an offence against any of the following individuals, namely:
- A relative of the sponsor, including a dependent child or other family member of the sponsor
- A relative of the sponsor’s spouse or of the sponsor’s common-law partner, including a dependent child or other family member of the sponsor’s spouse or of the sponsor’s common-law partner or,
- The conjugal partner of the sponsor or a relative of that conjugal partner, including a dependent child or other family member of that conjugal partner

The lists given below provide examples of specific offences that could bar a potential sponsor. However, it is worth mentioning that this is not an exhaustive list. Therefore, the officers will need to ensure that they fit the offence / situation etc. within the tests and the spirit of the provisions specified in R133 (1) (e). Situations could arise where officers have concerns about a conviction for an offence not listed. Alternatively, situations could arise where officers have concerns about whether the facts of a case fit within a particular offence. In either of these scenarios, the officers will need to contact Selection Branch for advice.

The list of offences of a sexual nature under the Criminal Code (by section) comprise:

151 – Sexual interference
152 – Invitation to sexual touching
153 – Sexual exploitation
153.1 – Sexual exploitation of person with disability
155 – Incest
160 (3) – Bestiality in the presence of or by a child
163.1 – Child pornography
170 – Parent of guardian procuring sexual activity
171 – Householder permitting sexual activity
172 – Corrupting children
173 – Indecent acts and exposure to children
212 – Procuring
271 – Sexual assault
272 – Sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily harm
273 – Aggravated sexual assault
273.3 – Removal of child from Canada for purpose of sexual act

Family Violence

It is worth highlighting that family violence is against the law in Canada. In addition, it is a term that includes many different forms of abuse that adults or children might experience in their intimate, kinship or dependent relationships.

The Criminal Code does not have a specific ‘family violence offence’. However, the officers have the authority to charge an abuser with an applicable offence. For the purposes of immigration, applicable offences typically include offences that involve bodily harm or an attempt or threat of bodily harm against a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, dependent child of the sponsor or their spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, or a relative of any of these people (such as parents, grandparents etc.)

In section 2 of the Criminal Code, the authorities have defined the term ‘bodily harm’ to denote ‘any hurt or injury to a person that interferes with the health or comfort of the person and that is more than merely transient or trifling in nature’.

The list of family violence types of offences under the Criminal Code (by section) comprise: