Someone you love has been arrested in Halifax, Dartmouth, Sydney or anywhere across the province — or you have — and the questions are coming fast. When is the bail hearing? Can the police hold you this long? Is this a summary or an indictable charge? Will you get out tonight? You do not have to sit in the dark guessing. Criminal law in Canada is federal — the same Criminal Code applies in every province and territory — but it is run through Nova Scotia's own courts and its independent prosecution service, and the first 24 hours matter more than almost anything that follows. Our AI legal assistant, trained on the Criminal Code of Canada and Nova Scotia procedure, can walk you through exactly what happens next, in plain English. Free legal information — call our line now and ask as many questions as you like.
Free legal information. Not legal advice. Available 24/7 across Nova Scotia.
Do two things right now. First: say nothing to the police beyond identifying yourself. Under section 10(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms you have the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be told of that right — ask to speak to a lawyer and stop talking until you have. In Nova Scotia, after-hours telephone duty counsel is available to arrested or detained people 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can get free legal advice even in the middle of the night. Second: count the clock. If you are held in custody, the police must bring you before a justice without unreasonable delay, and within 24 hours if a justice is available (Criminal Code s.503). That first bail hearing is where your release is decided, so getting clear information before it happens is everything.
This is the trap most people never see coming. Since the December 2018 reforms, impaired driving and "over 80" carry a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment when the Crown proceeds by indictment (Criminal Code s.320.19). Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA s.36), an offence with a maximum of 10 years or more is "serious criminality" — and inadmissibility turns on that maximum, not on the sentence you actually receive. So a permanent resident who pleads to a first-offence impaired charge and gets only the $1,000 minimum fine can still face the same immigration consequences as someone sent to jail, and "deemed rehabilitation" is not available. If you are not a citizen, the criminal and immigration sides of your case have to be handled together from the very first appearance in Nova Scotia's courts — not after a plea. Get clear information before you decide anything.
If you cannot afford a private lawyer, Nova Scotia has a real safety net — legal aid, duty counsel and free public legal information. These are independent organisations, not Legal Hotline, but they are the right doors to know.
How long can the police hold me before I get a bail hearing in Nova Scotia?
If you are held in custody, the police must bring you before a justice without unreasonable delay, and within 24 hours if a justice is available (Criminal Code s.503). Wherever possible the bail hearing is completed on your first appearance in the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia. In the meantime, free after-hours telephone duty counsel is available to arrested or detained people 24/7 in Nova Scotia. To understand your specific timeline, get clear legal information before bail court.
Is my charge a summary or an indictable offence — and what is a hybrid offence?
Summary conviction offences are the less serious ones (default maximum under s.787: a $5,000 fine and/or up to two years less a day). Indictable offences are more serious, with higher maximums. Many Criminal Code offences are "hybrid," meaning the Crown chooses whether to proceed summarily or by indictment — and that choice changes your penalty and trial options. In Nova Scotia that election is made by the independent Public Prosecution Service after the police lay the charge. We can explain which category your charge falls into.
Which court will my criminal case be heard in — Provincial Court or the Supreme Court?
Most adult criminal matters in Nova Scotia start and stay in the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia, which handles summary offences, many indictable offences and most bail hearings, judge alone. The most serious indictable matters, jury trials, and the s.469 offences such as murder are heard in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia — which is the province's superior trial court (Nova Scotia calls it the "Supreme Court," not the Court of King's Bench used elsewhere). For many indictable charges you get to elect your court and mode of trial.
What happens at a bail hearing, and what does 'reverse onus' mean?
Under Criminal Code s.515 the starting point is release on the least onerous conditions (the "ladder principle" from R. v. Antic), and the Crown normally has to justify keeping you in custody on the primary, secondary or tertiary grounds. For certain "reverse onus" charges the burden flips and you must show why you should be released. Understanding which applies to you before the hearing matters.
Why does Nova Scotia have an 'independent' Public Prosecution Service?
Nova Scotia created the Public Prosecution Service in 1990 as Canada's first statutorily independent prosecution service, following the Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr., Prosecution — the "Marshall Inquiry" — into the wrongful murder conviction of Donald Marshall Jr. The point of its independence is to keep prosecution decisions free of political influence. In practice, Nova Scotia uses post-charge screening: the police lay the charge, and a Crown Attorney then reviews whether there is a realistic prospect of conviction before the case proceeds.
I was charged with impaired driving or 'over 80' — what are the penalties?
Under Criminal Code s.320.14 a first offence carries a minimum $1,000 fine (more if your blood-alcohol level is higher) and a mandatory minimum one-year driving prohibition, plus a concurrent provincial licence suspension in Nova Scotia. If the Crown proceeds by indictment the maximum is up to 10 years. There is no "DUI" charge in Canada — these are impaired driving and "over 80" offences under the federal Criminal Code.
I'm not a Canadian citizen — can a criminal charge affect my immigration status?
It can, and it is a federal immigration question decided under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, not by the Nova Scotia courts. Under IRPA s.36, an offence with a maximum of 10 years or more is "serious criminality," and inadmissibility turns on that maximum — not the sentence you actually get. So even a first-offence impaired charge with only a fine can threaten a permanent resident's status. The criminal and immigration sides need to be handled together.
How long does a criminal case take, and what is the Jordan rule?
Under R. v. Jordan (2016) a case is presumptively too slow if it takes more than 18 months in the Provincial Court, or 30 months in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, from the charge to the end of trial. Delay beyond those ceilings can lead to the charges being stayed, though defence-caused delay and exceptional circumstances are taken out of the count. Timing can genuinely affect the outcome.
My teenager was charged — how is youth court different?
Young people aged 12 to 17 are dealt with under the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act, heard in Nova Scotia through the Youth Justice Court (part of the Provincial Court). The Act emphasises rehabilitation and reintegration, uses extrajudicial measures (like warnings and referrals) for less serious matters, protects the young person's privacy, and keeps youth records separate with their own access and destruction rules. The approach and the penalties are different from adult court.
Can I get my criminal record cleared in Canada?
Often, yes, through a record suspension (formerly a "pardon") from the Parole Board of Canada under the Criminal Records Act. You become eligible 5 years after completing your sentence for a summary offence, or 10 years for an indictable one, provided you have no new convictions. The application fee is modest and you can apply directly, without a lawyer or paid service.
Does this hotline give legal advice or get me a lawyer?
We give clear, general legal information — not legal advice — and any contact creates no lawyer-client relationship. Legal Hotline is not a law firm and not Nova Scotia Legal Aid. The AI assistant is trained on Canadian criminal law and you can ask as many questions as you like. A paid consultation service connecting you with a Nova Scotia-licensed criminal defence lawyer is coming soon; for now the line gives you free legal information whenever you call.
Are you a Nova Scotia-licensed criminal defence lawyer? We are building our Nova Scotia network ahead of launching paid consultations, connecting worried, urgent callers across Halifax, Dartmouth, Sydney, Truro and the rest of the province with vetted local counsel — at the moment they are ready to retain. If you would like to receive matched client referrals for bail, summary and indictable matters, impaired driving, youth justice and record-relief questions, join our network and we will route consultations your way as the service goes live.
General legal information, not legal advice. We research every page from primary sources — legislation, the courts, and government legal-aid bodies — and check it for accuracy against current Canadian federal and provincial law. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at [email protected].
An arrest does not keep office hours. Whether the bail hearing is hours away, you need to know if this is a summary or an indictable charge, or you are a permanent resident worried about your status, you can get clear, plain-English legal information — free, with no web form and no income test — about your Nova Scotia criminal matter, grounded in the Criminal Code of Canada and how it is applied through Nova Scotia's Provincial Court and Supreme Court. Call our free line now; the independent organisations listed above are also the right doors to know.
Free legal information. Not legal advice.