Charges · Criminal harassment · Ontario
What happens after a criminal harassment charge in Ontario?
What it means, what usually happens next, and what to bring to the first call.
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In short
- A no-contact condition almost always comes with release - and one message, even a friendly one, can be a breach and a new charge.
- In Ontario, the Crown’s intimate partner violence directive covers criminal harassment between partners and makes safety a paramount factor at bail.
- Police often hold the person for a bail hearing or release them with strict conditions.
What usually happens next
- Step 1
Arrest and the station You have the right to talk to a lawyer in private. You do not have to answer police questions.
- Step 2
Police decide Police can release you with conditions and a court date, or hold you for a bail hearing.
What should you bring to the first call?
How it works in Ontario
Which court hears it in Ontario
An Ontario criminal harassment charge starts in the Ontario Court of Justice. Between partners in Toronto, the Integrated Domestic Violence Court is for families with a summary criminal domestic charge and a family separation at the same time.
Bail in Ontario
Ontario’s intimate partner violence directive (D. 23) defines that violence to include criminal harassment in an intimate relationship, and makes the complainant’s safety a paramount factor at bail.
Programs and diversion in Ontario
Under D. 23, early intervention counselling is possible only in narrow cases; on probation the Partner Assault Response program may be ordered. For youth, criminal harassment is presumptively ineligible for extrajudicial sanctions without Crown Attorney approval.
The local process in Ontario
An Ontario prosecutor must not withdraw a partner-related charge solely because the complainant asks. The Ministry of the Attorney General offers the Victim/Witness Assistance Program in all 54 Ontario court districts.
What do people ask about criminal harassment charges?
Do I have to talk to the police?
No - a person does not have to answer police questions, and anyone arrested or detained has the right to speak to a lawyer, and police must tell them that.
What is the maximum penalty for criminal harassment?
Under s. 264 of the Criminal Code, criminal harassment is up to ten years by indictment, or it can be prosecuted summarily.
Sources
Ontario sources
- Ontario Court of Justice, criminal court overview, accessed October 15, 2026
- Ontario Court of Justice, specialized courts, accessed October 15, 2026
- Ontario Crown Prosecution Manual, D. 23 Intimate Partner Violence, accessed October 15, 2026
- Ontario, Partner Assault Response program, accessed October 15, 2026
- Ontario Crown Prosecution Manual, 38(a) Extrajudicial Sanctions, accessed October 15, 2026
- Ontario, Victim/Witness Assistance Program, accessed October 8, 2026
- Ontario Court of Justice, accessed October 15, 2026
- Steps to Justice (CLEO), criminal law, accessed October 15, 2026
- Ontario Crown Prosecution Manual — D. 24 Judicial Interim Release (Bail), accessed October 15, 2026
- Legal Aid Ontario, accessed October 15, 2026
Federal law sources
- Criminal Code (Canada), s. 264, accessed October 15, 2026
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