Glossary

• Author: Steve Coughlan
• Pages: 424-431

424

GLOSSARY

absolute jurisdiction offence: An offence listed in section 553 of the

Code. These offences can only be tried by a provincial court judge, and

so the accused has no election.

ancillary powers doctrine: The process through which new police

powers can be created at common law. The test for the creation of an-

cillary powers is drawn from the British case R. v. Waterf‌ield, which is

applied in Canada today in a way quite distinct from the approach in

its country of origin.

arrest: An arrest consists of words of arrest accompanied either by the

touching of the person with a view to detention or by the person sub-

mitting to the arrest. The word “arrest” need not actually be used, pro-

vided the accused can be reasonably supposed to have understood that

she was under arrest. Arrest powers are given in the Criminal Code to

everyone, including private citizens, and additional arrest powers are

given to property owners and peace off‌icers.

Attorney General: A member of cabinet and the chief law off‌icer for

a jurisdiction. The Attorney General has jurisdiction over all or most

matters of criminal law, including law-making and prosecutions. In

most jurisdictions, the Attorney General is also responsible for poli-

cing, although this role is sometimes taken on by the Solicitor General

or some other minister. The Attorney General is given various discre-

tionary powers in the Criminal Code, some of which must be exercised