Participating in a Criminal Organization

Section 467.11 of the Criminal Code makes it a crime to participate in the activities of a criminal organization. The Code defines a criminal organization as a group, however organized, that is composed of three or more people in or outside Canada and has as one of its main purposes or main activities the facilitation or commission of serious offences that would likely result in a direct or indirect material benefit, including a financial benefit, to the group or its members. It does not include a group that forms randomly for the immediate commission of a single offence. The organization must have some internal structure. Most international organized crimeA organization whose members work together on criminal activities groups are active within Canada, including outlaw motorcycle gangs and a variety of domestic groups. Charges that relate to criminal organizations include: Recruitment of Members by a Criminal Organization Section 467.111 of the Code makes it a crime to recruit, solicit, encourage, coerce or invite a person to join the criminal organization. Commission of Offence for a Criminal Organization Section 467.12(1) of the Code makes it a crime to commit an indictable offence for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization. Instructing Commission of Offence for a Criminal Organization Section 467.13 of the Code makes it a crime for someone who belongs to a criminal organization to instruct others to commit a criminal offence.

Canadian courts deal with offences in two ways. Summary offences are for less serious crimes while indictable offences include murder, sexual assault and aggravated assault. The charge of being involved in a criminal organization can be dealt with as either a summary offenceLess-serious criminal offences or an indictable offenceA more serious type of Canadian criminal offence., but other related charges, such as ordering that a criminal act be committed, are indictable offences.

In determining whether you have participated in or contributed to any activity of a criminal organization, the court will consider factors such as if you:

• used a name, word, symbol or other representation that identifies, or is associated with, the criminal organization;
• frequently associated with any of the persons who constitute the criminal organization;
• received any benefit from the criminal organization; or
• repeatedly engaged in activities at the instruction of any of the persons who constitute the criminal organization.

It is not necessary for the Crown prosecutorA lawyer who conducts a criminal prosecution on behalf of the public. to prove that the criminal organization actually committed an indictable offence or that you enhanced the ability of the criminal organization to commit an indictable offence. It also does not matter if you knew the identity of all of the people in the criminal organization.

Those found guilty of participating in a criminal organization or helping it operate can face up to five years in prison if the Crown proceeds by indictment. If the Crown proceeds by summary convictionLess-serious criminal offences, the maximum penalty is two years less a day in jail and/or a fine of up to $5,000.

The charge of recruiting, soliciting, encouraging or inviting a person to join a criminal organization is always treated as an indictable offence. If the recruited person is under 18 years of age, the maximum punishment is five years in prison, with a minimum punishment of six months in jail. If the person recruited was above 18, the maximum sentence is the same but there is no minimum sentence.

The charge of committing an indictable offence for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization is always an indictable offence with a maximum punishment of 14 years in prison.

The charge of instructing others to commit a criminal act on behalf of a criminal organization is always an indictable offence, with life imprisonment the maximum penalty.

The Criminal Code has a specific definition of 'criminal organization' in s. 467.1. It does not mean any group of people; the statutory definition has specific requirements.