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PEMBROKE CRIMINAL LAWYERS

OFFICES & MEETING PLACES NEAR PEMBROKE

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We offer free 30-minute initial consultations to individuals in Ontario. Our criminal defence lawyers are available to review your case at one of our conveniently located meeting places in Pembroke.

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Aitken Robertson Can Defend Against Criminal Allegations in Pembroke

Drinking and Driving (Impaired Driving)

Drinking and Driving (Impaired Driving)

Operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs is illegal as is operating a vehicle with amounts of alcohol or drugs in your blood that are over the legal limits. The penalties for these sorts of offences are severe and include fines, a prohibition on driving and driver’s licence suspension, and possibly jail. (If it’s not your first offence, then definitely jail if convicted.)

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Assaults and Threats

Assaults and Threats

The criminal offence of assault is the act of applying force intentionally, directly or indirectly, to another person without that person’s consent. It is also assault if you accost or impede another person, or beg, while openly carrying a weapon or an imitation weapon.

“Uttering Threats” is the offence committed when someone knowingly utters, conveys or causes any person to receive a threat: to cause death or bodily harm; to burn destroy or damage property; or, to kill poison or injure an animal belonging to any person.

There are many types of assault including:

The penalties will be dependent on the type and severity of the assault.

Domestic Assault

Domestic Assault

Domestic assault is how an assault against an intimate partner or family member is often referred to, although it is not an actual term found in the Criminal Code. It is considered to be a particularly serious type of assault because of the “breach of trust” that occurs when there is violence in such close and dependant relationships. The penalties vary depending upon the seriousness of the assault, will often include weapons prohibitions and at the high end can include jail.

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Sex Assault

Sex Assault

Sex assault is an assault characterized by sexual actions that occur without the victim’s consent, for example, unwanted sexual touching, kissing, groping or intercourse. The penalties are very severe and include registering in and reporting to national and provincial sex offender registries.

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Internet Crimes

Internet Crimes

Internet crime, also known as cybercrime, is crime that occurs through the use of the internet and social media. Some examples of internet crime include child luring, impersonation, identity theft, cyber-bullying, child pornography and revenge porn. As the types of crimes that can occur online can vary widely, so do the penalties.

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Child Sex Assault

Child Sex Assault

Child sex assault is a sexual assault on a person under the age of 16 (see “Sex assault” above). Other related sexual offences involving children include, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, sexual exploitation, bestiality in presence of or by a child, and luring a child. The penalties are very severe and include mandatory jail sentences and registering in and reporting to national and provincial sex offender registries.

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Bail Hearings

Bail Hearings

For some offences some people who get arrested will not be released from the station after being processed. They will instead be held in custody for a bail hearing. The bail hearing will determine if this person can be permitted to be at liberty or should remain in jail during the time the case is being processed by the criminal justice system. If you are not successful at your bail hearing you will have to stay in jail—possibly for months—while your case is working its way through the court process, rather than being able to deal with your case “from the outside.” You only get one shot at a bail hearing.

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Dangerous Driving

Dangerous Driving

In the Criminal Code, this offence is actually called “Dangerous Operation” and it results when someone operates a vehicle in a manner that is dangerous to the public. This definition is admittedly very broad, but the charge is meant to apply to cases of really (dangerously) bad driving and it is a serious matter to be charged with this offence. The penalties are severe and can include a prohibition on driving and even jail.

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Driving While Prohibited

Driving While Prohibited

Driving while prohibited is the criminal offence of driving while under a court order not to drive because you were convicted of a previous criminal offence that carries a driving prohibition as one of its penalties, for example a drinking and driving offence. The penalties for this offence usually include jail and additional periods of prohibition on driving.

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Drugs

Drugs

Drug charges would involve the supplying, importing, exporting, growing, manufacturing, trafficking or possessing of those substances listed in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). The CDSA lists both hard and soft drugs, including heroin, cocaine, “magic mushrooms,” marijuana (in quantities above a certain amount) as well as other substances including precursors to listed drugs. Penalties vary depending on the type and amount of drugs as well as other surrounding circumstances. At the high end, the penalties include lengthy jail sentences. A drug charge on your criminal record will bar you from entry into the U.S.

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Breaches

Breaches

In criminal law, a “breach” is a violation of a condition in a probation order or in a pre-sentence release (such as bail or a Promise to Appear with an undertaking). The breach itself is an additional criminal offence and generally results in serious penalties, often including jail.

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Weapons

Weapons

Weapons offences include using firearms to harm others, possessing illegal firearms and unsafe handling of legally owned firearms. Some objects other than firearms are may in some circumstances be considered weapons, including an object that may have a perfectly legal use, such as a kitchen knife. Some objects are classified as prohibited weapons, as for example brass knuckles or flick knives. Convictions for weapons charges result in severe penalties (although recent amendments to the law have reduced the severity somewhat).

Break and Enter and Property Crimes

Break and Enter and Property Crimes

Break and enter is the crime of breaking and entering into a place with an intent to commit an indictable offence or actually committing an indictable offence in the place. It is a serious offence with serious consequences. If the break and enter is committed in relation to a dwelling-house, the person will be guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for life. Other property offences include arson, burglary, vandalism, theft of personal property, and motor vehicle theft. The penalties for these other offences will vary according to the type, severity and circumstances of the offence.

Young Offenders

Young Offenders

In Canada, criminal offences committed by young people between the ages of 12 and 18, are dealt with under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). While the offences with which young people in this age group can be charged are the same as for adults, the processes of the criminal justice system and the potential consequences, are different for young people.

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Pembroke

Aitken Robertson | Criminal Lawyers in Pembroke

If you have been criminally charged in Pembroke, Renfrew County or in the surrounding area, and need a lawyer, the law firm of Aitken Robertson can help. Aitken Robertson has a team of dedicated lawyers who have over 100 years of combined experience defending people in the Ontario criminal courts. Our legal professionals stay up-to-date on the latest developments in criminal law and the related practices and procedures, by taking continuing legal education courses on a regular basis, even travelling out of the country to get the best training available.

Call us for a 30-minute free consultation to talk to one of our Pembroke criminal lawyers and let us show you how we can help you with your criminal charges.

Our Pembroke Area Team

Richard Aitken Criminal Lawyer

Richard Aitken

Managing Lawyer
Ottawa Criminal Lawyer - Virginia Dolinska

Virginia Dolinska

Sole Practitioner Lawyer Affiliated with Aitken Robertson
Jami Sanftleben - Paralegal

Jami Sanftleben

Licensed Paralegal
Melanie Van Aarde

Melanie Van Aarde

Sole Practitioner Licensed Paralegal Affiliated with Aitken Robertson
Zachary McDonald - Paralegal

Zachary McDonald

Licensed Paralegal

Court Information for Criminal Offences in Pembroke

Criminal offences that arise in Pembroke and the surrounding areas, are heard at the Renfrew County Courthouse located at: 297 Pembroke St East in Pembroke. Both the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice are in this building. The courthouse hours are from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm (closed on weekends and holidays).

Because of COVID-19, some criminal court matters were postponed and some are being dealt with by internet. Normal procedures are slowly resuming, but the situation is changing constantly so to be sure, it’s best to inquire ahead of your court date and ask how your matter will be dealt with. You can contact the court by phone at 613-732-8581 or by email at Pembroke.OCJ.courts@ontario.ca. If you have a lawyer, your lawyer will be able to tell you what the current rules for this court are and will be able to take care of most of your court appearances on your behalf.

There is metered parking in a lot behind the courthouse.

If during your trip to the Renfrew County Courthouse you have time to eat, Pembroke has many of the usual fast-food places, such as McDonalds and Wendy’s but there are also a few restaurants that have earned good reviews, not far from the courthouse. Here are just a few:

  • Pita Shack (no website currently) at 239 Pembroke St. E., is only a minute from the courthouse. It serves Greek food and offers dining in, take-out and delivery.
  • Anthony’s Italian Grill, serves Italian cuisine and offers evening dining in, take-out and delivery.
  • Thai Gardens, serves Thai cuisine and is open for both lunch and dinner and offers dining in, take-out and delivery.

Looking For a Criminal Lawyer in Pembroke?

The City of Pembroke is located in the Ottawa Valley by the Ottawa and Muskrat Rivers, and was established as a village in 1858. Settlers came to this area in the 19th century, drawn by the thriving lumber trade—a major industry in colonial times and such a big part of Canadian history. The Ottawa River (and the Muskrat River, which flows into the Ottawa River), allowed for the floating of timber to markets:

The Ottawa River was the means of transporting logs to Quebec, using timber rafting. Sticks were trapped by a boom “at the mouth of the tributary” to be assembled into cribs, each crib consisting of 30 or more sticks of timber. Then the cribs, up to 100 of them, were joined together into a raft that served as the “riverman’s home for the month-long journey downriver to Quebec. The crew lived in bunk houses right on the raft, and one of the cribs contained the cookery.” The rafts were large enough in some cases that thirty plus men could live aboard, even having quarters for the captain.1

Today the Ottawa River is harnessed for the production of hydro electricity. Forestry, as well as farming, remain mainstays of Pembroke’s economy. Major employers in the area today include the Canadian Forces Base Petawawa and the Chalk River Laboratories of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited in Chalk River.

Pembroke currently has a population of approximately 14,000 people. Because of its setting close to large areas of Ontario wilderness (it sits not far from the eastern edge of Algonquin Provincial Park, which contains 7653 square km of forests, rivers and lakes), the Pembroke area is attractive to nature lovers, campers, paddlers, hikers, bikers, snowmobilers, fishers, and wildlife photographers.

What is the Crime Rate Like in the Pembroke Area?

In Maclean’s magazine’s 2021 ranking of “Canada’s Best Communities,” Pembroke came in at number 161 in the ranking of 415 communities across the country.2 Maclean’s also publishes an annual list of “Canada’s Most Dangerous Places” and the 2020 list (published at the end of 2019) ranked Pembroke at number 43 in a list of 237 communities (so not that far from the top of the list). However, when you look at the number and types of incidents, the statistics are less alarming. The total number of homicides was zero. (Toronto, by comparison, had 103 in that period.) There were 107 assaults, 4 robberies and 26 impaired driving incidents.3 So while Pembroke does have crime, it’s not an extraordinarily dangerous place to live.

 


Footnotes
  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_River_timber_trade#Timber_slides,_cribs,_rafts
  2. https://www.macleans.ca/canadas-best-communities-in-2021-full-ranking/
  3. https://www.macleans.ca/canadas-most-dangerous-places-2020/

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