Ontario · HTA s.200 · Criminal Code s.320.16
Is fail to remain a criminal charge in Ontario?
Fail to remain is one nickname for two different charges. Under s.200 of the Highway Traffic Act it is aprovincial offence, not a criminal one: Provincial Offences court, and no criminal record on conviction. Under s.320.16 of the Criminal Code — failure to stop after accident — leaving a collision is criminal and carries up to 10 years' imprisonment on indictment even where nobody was hurt. Neither is called "hit and run". The charging document says which you face: a Provincial Offences summons cites the Highway Traffic Act; a criminal charge cites the Criminal Code.
Leaving a collision can be charged under two different laws
Two separate statutes make it an offence to leave the scene of a collision in Ontario, and they run in different courts. Section 200 of the Highway Traffic Act is the provincial charge and a Part III matter: you are served with a summons rather than a set-fine ticket, and the case is heard in Provincial Offences court. A conviction goes on your Ontario driver record, not a criminal record. Section 320.16 of the Criminal Code — failure to stop after accident — is federal criminal law heard in criminal court, and it is hybrid: under s.320.19(5) the Crown chooses summary or indictable procedure, which sets the sentencing ceiling. The s.200 charge is paralegal work. A s.320.16 charge belongs to a criminal lawyer, and thesuspended-licence pagedraws the same line.
What was struck, what you knew and where it happened decide the charge
The wording of the two sections separates them on what was struck, what the driver knew and where it happened — never on the amount of damage.
What was struck:s.200 applies "where an accident occurs on a highway" to every vehicle "directly or indirectly involved" and does not say what must have been hit, while s.320.16 needs an accident "with a person or another conveyance" — a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment under s.320.11 — so a parked car qualifies and a fence, pole or sign does not.
The mental element: s.200 states none on its face (whether you knew a collision had happened is the defence question the fail to remain page deals with); s.320.16 requires that the driver knew, or was reckless as to whether, the conveyance had been in the accident, and then failed "without reasonable excuse" to stop, give a name and address, and offer assistance where anyone was injured or appeared to require it.
Location: s.200 is engaged only where the accident occurs on a highway as s.1(1) defines it; s.320.16 has no place requirement at all.
Highway Traffic Act s.200
- What must have happened
- An accident on a highway in which your vehicle was directly or indirectly involved; the section does not say what must have been struck. A motor vehicle whose open or opening door hits a cyclist, bicycle or moving vehicle is deemed involved, even if it was stationary, stopped or parked (s.200(1.1))
- Mental element written into the section
- None stated
- The duty
- Remain or immediately return; render all possible assistance; on request, give particulars in writing
Criminal Code s.320.16
- What must have happened
- An accident with a person or another conveyance — motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment (s.320.11). No location requirement
- Mental element written into the section
- Knew, or was reckless as to whether, the vehicle had been in the accident
- The duty
- Stop; give name and address; offer assistance if anyone is injured or appears to need it
One ingredient that used to be in the criminal section is gone. Until 18 December 2018 the offence, then s.252, required that the driver failed to stop "with intent to escape civil or criminal liability", and s.252(2) let the Crown treat the failure to stop as proof of that intent absent evidence to the contrary. Parliament repealed s.252 (S.C. 2018, c. 21, s. 14) and enacted s.320.16 in its place (s. 15), in force on the 180th day after royal assent on 21 June 2018. Why the driver left is no longer an ingredient. Nothing in either Act makes the two charges mutually exclusive, so the choice is the officer's and then the Crown's — and only the Criminal Code has aggravated tiers: s.320.16(2) for bodily harm, s.320.16(3) for death.
The criminal charge is measured in years of jail, the provincial one in months
The penalties are where the two sections stop resembling each other: the Highway Traffic Act counts in months and dollars, the Criminal Code in years.
| What the section says | Highway Traffic Act s.200 — fail to remain (provincial) | Criminal Code s.320.16 — failure to stop after accident (criminal) |
|---|---|---|
| Fine | $400 to $2,000 (s.200(2)) | Up to $5,000 on summary conviction (s.787(1); s.320.2); no statutory fine ceiling on indictment. Bodily harm or death: minimum $1,000 fine on a first offence (s.320.2, s.320.21) |
| Jail | Up to 6 months (s.200(2)) | No injury: up to 10 years on indictment, two years less a day on summary conviction. Bodily harm: up to 14 years on indictment, two years less a day summarily; minimum 30 days on a second offence, 120 days on each subsequent. Death: indictable only, up to life, same minimums |
| Licence suspension | Discretionary — the court may suspend for up to 2 years (s.200(2)) | Automatic under HTA s.41(1): 1 year, then 3 years, then indefinite, for convictions within 10 years of each other; continues until any required conduct review program is completed (s.41(4.1)). The court may extend it (s.41(4)) and add a Criminal Code prohibition (s.320.24(4)): up to 3 years; up to 10 years where the offence as prosecuted carries more than five years; any length where it carries life — each plus the entire period of any jail sentence (s.320.24(5)) |
| Demerit points | 7 — unless the court also suspends your licence, in which case none are recorded (O. Reg. 339/94, s.3(1)) | None. The Table to O. Reg. 339/94 contains only Highway Traffic Act provisions; the licence consequence of a criminal conviction arrives through HTA s.41 instead |
| Criminal record | No | Yes |
The minimum punishments — a $1,000 fine on a first offence, 30 days on a second, 120 days on each subsequent — attach only to the bodily-harm and death tiers (s.320.2, s.320.21); a s.320.16(1) conviction where nobody was hurt carries no minimum. Whether you knew a collision had happened is the s.200 defence question, and thefail to remain pagetakes it up.
The automatic suspension that follows a criminal conviction
A Criminal Code conviction reaches your Ontario licence through s.41 of the Highway Traffic Act, not through the demerit table. Under s.41(1)(b), a s.320.16 conviction committed while driving a motor vehicle suspends the licence "thereupon" — with no order needed — forone year on a first conviction, three years on a first subsequent conviction and indefinitely after that, counting only convictions within 10 years of each other (s.41(3)). Those periods are floors, not end dates: under s.41(4.1) the suspension continues until you complete any conduct review program under s.57 you were required to take. The court can then extend it under s.41(4) — by up to three years, or any period it considers proper where the offence carries life — and add a separate driving prohibition under Criminal Code s.320.24(4).
Under s.200(2) the suspension for the provincial charge is the court's choice: it "may" suspend for up to two years, and nothing makes it automatic. And suspension and points are alternatives: s.3(1) of O. Reg. 339/94 records no demerit points where the court's penalty includes a licence suspension, with exemptions only for ss.78, 78.1 and 172. A s.200 conviction leaves you with either the 7 points or the suspension. If it is the points,the demerit point systemshows where 7 points leave a G driver and where they leave a G2 driver.
Failing to report is a lesser duty, and the only one with a dollar threshold
Failing to report an accident is a third, lesser Highway Traffic Act duty beneath both charges, and the only one of the three with a dollar damage threshold attached. Section 199(1) requires the person in charge of a motor vehicle involved in an accident to report it immediately to the nearest police officer where it results in personal injuries or property damage apparently exceeding $5,000 (Reg. 596, s.11, as amended by O. Reg. 160/24), or where an open or opening door contacts a cyclist, a bicycle or a moving vehicle, even if the vehicle is parked. A conviction carries 3 demerit points (O. Reg. 339/94, item 11). Section 201 separately requires anyone who damages a tree, pole, light, sign or other property on the highway, or a bordering fence, to report it forthwith to a police officer. The $5,000 figure is a reporting threshold only: s.200 has no damage threshold, because the duty to remain is triggered by the accident, not the size of the bill.
Sources:Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8;R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 596;O. Reg. 339/94;Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, and itsformer s.252;S.C. 2018, c. 21. Penalties are current as at the last review date — verify against the current statutes before relying on them. Legal information, not legal advice.