Harassment isn’t always easy to identify. It can start with late-night texts. Unexpected appearances. Unwanted attention. At first, it may seem like bad behaviour or poor boundaries. What starts as an annoyance can become something much more serious, sometimes crossing into criminal territory.
A recent CBC report detailed how a Vancouver journalist was subjected to months of harassing communications, threats, and intimidation after reporting on gang violence. In another case, female police officers in British Columbia spoke publicly about internal harassment and how the systems in place did little to protect them. These examples raise an important question: when does harassment become a criminal matter? What does it take for persistent or inappropriate conduct to cross the line into criminality?
The Criminal Code of Canada clearly outlines what constitutes criminal harassment. But confusion still exists, particularly around the distinctions between workplace harassment, sexual harassment, and criminal harassment.
In this post, we’ll break down the legal definition, explore the different forms of harassment (and what constitutes criminal harassment), and answer common questions about charges, sentencing, and related offences. Whether you’re looking for clarity on a situation you’re involved in or simply want to understand the law better, this guide provides a grounded, practical overview of criminal harassment in British Columbia.
What Is Harassment Under the Criminal Code?
Section 264 of the Criminal Code defines criminal harassment. The law makes it a criminal offence to engage in conduct that causes someone to reasonably fear for their safety, or the safety of someone they know.
The section of the Criminal Code reads:
No person shall, without lawful authority and knowing that another person is harassed or recklessly as to whether the other person is harassed, engage in conduct referred to in subsection (2) that causes that other person reasonably, in all the circumstances, to fear for their safety or the safety of anyone known to them.
(2) The conduct mentioned in subsection (1) consists of
(a) repeatedly following from place to place the other person or anyone known to them;
(b) repeatedly communicating with, either directly or indirectly, the other person or anyone known to them;
(c) besetting or watching the dwelling-house, or place where the other person, or anyone known to them, resides, works, carries on business or happens to be; or
(d) engaging in threatening conduct directed at the other person or any member of their family.
The key legal test is whether a reasonable person, in all the circumstances, would fear for their safety.
What Is the Difference Between Criminal, Sexual, and Workplace Harassment?
This is where many people get confused.
- Criminal harassment is a criminal offence, prosecuted by the Crown. It’s about unwanted behaviour that causes fear for personal safety. It often involves stalking, threats, or obsessive contact.
- Sexual harassment, while sometimes overlapping with criminal conduct, refers to unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature.
- Workplace harassment is typically governed by provincial legislature (such as B.C.’s Workers Compensation Act). It could involve bullying, undermining, or verbal abuse that creates a toxic work environment.
What Are Some Examples of Criminal Harassment?
Criminal harassment is often about repeated behaviour that makes someone fear for their safety. Police may look at the full history between the people involved, including the calls, messages, visits, threats, timing, and location of the conduct.
Examples may include:
- Repeated calls, texts, emails, or social media messages after being told to stop
- Going to someone’s home, workplace, school, or another place they regularly attend
- Leaving threatening voicemails or sending messages that cause fear
- Following someone on foot or in a vehicle
- Watching someone, waiting nearby, or confronting them more than once
There may be a lawful reason for certain contact, such as serving court documents, arranging parenting responsibilities, or attending a shared location for a specific purpose. Those facts matter, especially when repeated contact, anger, threats, late-night visits, or unwanted approaches are part of the complaint.
What Are the Legal Consequences?
Criminal harassment is a hybrid offence in Canada. That means the Crown can choose to proceed either by summary conviction or as an indictable offence, depending on the severity of the conduct and the accused’s criminal history.
- For an offence punishable on summary conviction, the maximum penalty is 24 months imprisonment.
- If prosecuted as an indictable offence, the person is liable to imprisonment for up to 10 years.
Where there’s an element of physical violence, use of a restricted firearm, or a breach of a recognizance referred to in prior court proceedings, those are considered aggravating factors.
At sentencing, the court imposing punishment will consider many factors. All details shape the outcome.
