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Summary of
Age-Based Legal Milestones For Youth in Ontario, Canada
When can I ...
… be charged for a criminal act?
… see a doctor or talk to a counsellor by myself?
… buy and drink alcohol?
… quit school?
This site gives general information about age-based laws in Ontario.
Speak to a lawyer about specific questions.
UNDER 12
-
Starting School
You can start school when you are 4 (or will be turning 4
between Sept 1st and Dec 31st of that school year) if your school
board offers junior kindergarten, or when you are 5 (or will be
turning 5 between Sept 1st and Dec 31st of that school year) if your
school board offers senior kindergarten.
You are required to attend school at age 6 [Education Act]
-
Your consent is required for you
to be adopted once you turn 7 [Child and Family Services Act]
-
If you have serious criminal-type
behaviour (examples: killing or badly injuring someone, or
destroying property), your parents are supposed to provide treatment
or consent to treatment to correct this behaviour. If your parents
do not do this, you can be taken into the care of a Children’s Aid
Society. [Child and Family Services Act]
-
You can be ordered by a court to
go into a treatment program for a mental health issue. There may be
restrictions on what you can do and where you can go. This requires
consent
by the Minister for Children and Youth Services. [Child and Family
Services Act]
12 & OVER
-
You can consent to sexual activity only with a
person who is less than 2 years olderr, except with a person in a
position of authority or trust [Criminal Code of Canada]
-
- You can be charged for provincial
offences and your parents will be notified. Examples:
skipping school, jaywalking and trespassing. [Provincial Offences Act]
- You can be charged for federal
criminal offences and your parents will be notified. Examples:
shoplifting, assault and having a weapon or drugs.
[Youth Criminal Justice Act]
- Your consent is required to have
your name changed [Change of Name Act]
- Your consent is required if your
parents want to place you with a Children’s Aid Society [Child and
Family Services Act]
- If you are in the care of a
Children’s Aid Society, you can apply to the court to have this
changed [Child and Family Services Act]
- You can see a counselor or
therapist without your parent’s knowledge or consent
[Child and Family Services Act]
- The court can order you into a
treatment program if you have a mental health issue. There may be
restrictions on what you can do and where you can go.
[Child and Family Services Act]
14 & OVER
-
You can consent to sexual activity only with a
person who is within 5 years of your age, except with a person in a
position of authority or trust [Criminal Code of Canada]
-
You can live with someone else against the wishes of
your legal guardian. The other person will not be charged with a
criminal offence as long as they did not assist you in leaving home.
[Criminal Code of Canada]
-
You can be given an adult sentence for more serious
criminal offences. Examples: murder, attempted murder, manslaughter,
and sexual assault involving serious violence [Youth Criminal
Justice Act]
-
Quitting School
The law on quitting school changed on January 1st, 2007.
You are now required to attend school (or an equivalent learning
program approved by the Ministry of Education) until you are 18
years old.
UNDER 16
-
If
there are concerns about your parents providing for your health or
safety, you can be removed from your home and taken to a safe place
or brought into the care of a Children’s Aid Society. The court may
be involved in deciding how to keep you safe.
[Child and Family Services Act & Children’s Law Reform Act]
-
Between
midnight and 6 a.m. you are not allowed to be in a public place
unless you are with your parents (or with another person over 18 and
with your parents’ permission)
[Child and Family Services Act]
-
You are
competent to appoint and instruct your own lawyer for legal
proceedings about your admission into a facility for people with
mental illnesses [Mental Health Act]
-
Your
legal guardian may exercise your rights to privacy and access to
information but not in respect of health care to which you consent
on your own [Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of
Privacy Act]
16 & OVER
- withdraw from your parent’s control (i.e. leave home) but you may
lose your right to financial support [Child and Family Services Act,
Children’s Law Reform Act, & Family Law Act] - apply for a beginners driver’s license [Highway Traffic Act] - get married with your parents’ consent, a court order or
permission from the Minister of Consumer & Business Services
[Marriage Act] - change your name with your parents’ consent or a court order
[Change of Name Act] - provide an advance care directive to
refuse emergency medical treatment [Health Care Consent Act]
- You can consent to sexual activity except with a
person in a position of authority or trust (i.e. teacher, coach,
doctor, lawyer) [Criminal Code of Canada]
- You are
considered an adult under the Provincial Offences Act, i.e. your
parents will
not be notified about any charges
- If you are not
married, you can apply and receive social assistance in special
circumstances. Examples: you are kicked out or forced to leave home
because of abuse.
[Ontario Works Act]
- You are
protected from age discrimination when looking for housing [Ontario
Human Rights Code]
- You can not be
brought into the care of a Children’s Aid Society [Child Family
Services Act]
- You have the
right to be involved in decisions about your special education needs
[Education Act]
- If you have
withdrawn from parental control, you may have the right to appeal
school-related decisions, i.e. suspensions and expulsions [Common
law & Education Act]
- You can
protect your right to privacy of, and exercise access to, your own
personal information. This includes information collected by your
school, libraries and the police. [Municipal Freedom of Information
and Protection of Privacy Act ]
- In case you
become incapable of making decisions, you can appoint a substitute
decision maker for medical treatment and personal care decisions.
This person must follow your treatment wishes that you made after
you turned 16. You can also be appointed as a substitute decision
maker for someone else. [Health Care Consent Act & Substitute
Decisions Act]
- You are
considered an adult for the purposes of the Mental Health Act, i.e.
you can apply for a court order to place you in treatment program
for mental health issues. [Child and Family Services Act]
UNDER 18
-
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child applies to
you. This international agreement sets out minimum and basic
standards that all people under 18 should be entitled to. These
standards include your right to protection from abuse and
exploitation, and respect for your views.
-
You are required to attend school or an approved training program
unless you have graduated high school [Education Act]
-
You can be paid reduced minimum wage if you are a student and work
28 hours or less per week [Employment Standards Act ]
-
Your parents may be sued for damages caused by you if they failed to
reasonably supervise and control you, i.e. depending on your
maturity level. [Common Law, Parental Responsibility Act, Age of
Majority and Accountability Act]
-
You can be sued on contracts for necessities (example: housing) and
for goods and services if you benefit from the contract [Common Law,
Age of Majority and Accountability Act]
-
You require a “litigation guardian” (an adult to represent you) to
sue someone or be sued unless a court orders that you be allowed to
do so on your own [Rules of Civil Procedure, Age of Majority and
Accountability Act]
-
A “litigation guardian” may be ordered to represent you in legal
proceedings where you are not a party but your interests require
separate representation [Rules of Civil Procedure]
18 & OVER
- You are
considered an adult under the:
- Criminal Code
of Canada (i.e. your parents will not be notified if you are
charged)
- Age of Majority and Accountability Act (i.e. you can sue or be
sued in your own name)
- Ontario Election Act and Canada Elections Act (i.e. you can vote)
- Education Act (i.e. you can appeal a suspension or expulsion
without your parents’ involvement)
- Children’s Law Reform Act (i.e. your parent’s custody and access
orders about you can no longer be enforced)
- A court can no
longer make child protection orders for you and any existing child
protection orders automatically end unless continued care and
maintenance for you is approved by a Children’s Aid Society [Child
and Family Services Act]
- You are no
longer entitled to financial support from your parents unless you
are in school full time [Family Law Act]
- You are
entitled to receive full minimum wage [Employment Standards Act]
- You are
protected from age discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights
Code. For example:
- an employer should not refuse to hire you for a job simply because
they think a person your age can not handle the responsibilities of
the job - a landlord can not refuse to rent you an apartment because they
think youth can not reliably pay the rent - a doctor or counsellor can not refuse to treat you based on your
age
- You can serve
on a board of directors of a corporation [Business Corporations Act,
Ontario Corporations Act]
- You can also:
- change your name [Change of Name Act] - enter into contracts [Common Law, Sale of Goods Act] - make a will [Succession Law Reform Act] - get married [Marriage Act] - see a restricted movie [Film Classification Act] - buy a lottery ticket [Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation Act] - apply for social assistance without having to show special
circumstances (as described on page 9) [Ontario Works Act] - appoint or be appointed as a substitute decision-maker with
respect to property matters [Substitute Decisions Act] - quit school [Education Act]
19 & OVER
You can:
- buy alcohol [Liquor Licence
Act]
- buy tobacco [Tobacco Control
Act]
- apply for the GST credit
[Income Tax Act]
- be on gaming premises and
take part in gaming activities (i.e. casinos, racetracks) [Ontario
Lottery and Gaming Corporation Act]
NON AGE-BASED
MILESTONES (i.e. it does not matter how old you are)
-
You have a right
to see your Ontario School Record [Education Act]
-
You have a right
to attend school in the school board district where your parents
live. If you are living on your own, you have a right to attend
school in the school board district where you live. [Education Act]
-
You can drink
alcohol in a non-public space if it is supplied by your parents
[Liquor Licence Act]
-
You can consent to
health care treatment according to your ability to understand the
treatment you are seeking and not based on your age [Health Care
Consent Act]
-
Single parents of
any age are eligible for social assistance, if needed [Ontario Works
Act]
-
Parents, married
or common-law persons of any age can claim the GST refund credit
[Income Tax Act]
-
Married persons or
those in the military can make a will at any age [Succession Law
Reform Act]
-
The Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects you from laws that
discriminate against you based on age
-
The Canada Human
Rights Act protects you from age discrimination in working for and
receiving services from federal agencies, such as Canada Post,
national airlines, chartered banks, First Nations employers and
telephone companies.
For
24-hour, toll-free, confidential phone counselling, referral and
information contact the Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868
© May 2008
Justice for Children and Youth |