Perjury

Perjury generally means knowingly making a false statement under oath or solemn affirmation in a setting where the law allows or requires that kind of statement.

That setting matters. Perjury is not simply telling a lie. It applies where a person has promised to tell the truth in a way the law recognises — for example, under oath, by solemn affirmation, in an affidavit or solemn declaration, in a deposition, or when giving evidence orally before someone who is authorized to take it.

Two things have to be true about the person's state of mind:

• the person must have known the statement was false; and
• the person must have intended to mislead.

A person cannot be convicted of perjury if they honestly believed the statement was true when they made it. A statement that is actually true is not perjury, even if it is misleading or does not fully answer the question.

Section 131(3) limits when the perjury section applies.

This is an application-limiting rule. It narrows when the section applies. It is not a defence and should not be described as one.

"The Crown" is the prosecutor — the government lawyer who brings the charge. To convict you of perjury, the prosecutor must prove, beyond a reasonable doubtThe standard that must be exceeded to find someone guilty, that:

1. you made a false statement in one of the settings the law covers, such as under oath or solemn affirmation;
2. you knew the statement was false; and
3. you intended to mislead.

Canada deals with criminal charges in two main ways:

• Summary convictionUsed for lesser offences — the process used for less serious cases, with lower maximum penalties.
• Indictable — the process used for more serious cases, with higher maximum penalties.

Some offences are hybrid, which means the prosecutor can choose either of those two ways. Perjury is not hybrid. It is an indictable offenceA more serious type of Canadian criminal offence. only.

Perjury is an indictable offence with a maximum of 14 years in prison.

Filing a false police report, misleading police, giving false information in another setting, or making a false statement outside the settings covered by perjury may raise different offences or legal issues. Those should be checked separately.

Perjury is not the only offence that deals with dishonesty in a legal setting. It is easy to confuse them, but they are separate offences with different rules.

• Perjury applies to a false statement made under oath or solemn affirmation, in a setting the law recognises, when the person knew it was false and meant to mislead.
• Public mischief can apply when someone, with intent to mislead, makes a false accusation or a false report that causes a peace officerPeople involved in upholding justice to start or continue an investigation. It does not need to be under oath.
• Fabricating evidence is a separate offence that can apply when evidence is created with intent to mislead.

Which offence applies depends on the setting, what was said or done, and the facts.