Inchoate Offences in Canadian Criminal Law: Conspiracy and Counselling

November 9, 2014

The Criminal Code of Canada is a systematically arranged body of law that defines various acts

as crimes in Canadian society. It also serves as the legal doctrine that describes the assorted

criminal behaviours specific to each criminal offence, as well as the correlating sentence to be

administered upon an individual found to be in violation of the law. While some provisions

under the Code address crimes that are ultimately perpetrated, such as the offence of robbery

found under s.343 (1985), the Code also outlines offences in which a criminal act has yet to be

physically carried out, or is “incomplete” (Verdun-Jones, 2011, p.180). These crimes are defined

as inchoate offences, and represent a distinctive class of criminal offences in which the actions

that precede detrimental conduct but “do not necessarily inflict harmful consequences in and of

themselves” are deemed unlawful (Verdun-Jones, 2011, p.180).

Consider a case involving the inchoate offence of conspiracy, or specifically, to commit a

robbery. Two individuals (for this example named Slammer and Provis) agree to carry out an

armed robbery, contrary to the provisions of s.343 of Criminal Code (1985). However, prior to

attempting to commit the robbery, both Slammer and Provis are arrested due to the effective

surveillance efforts by police (both individuals were cellmates in a provincial prison and were

recently released) and are subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, an offence

listed under section 465(1) of the Criminal Code. In order to achieve a successful conviction,

Crown Counsel must first prove that the defendants intended to commit a crime that is identified

under