Know the Law: your first year in Canada

Module 145 minutes

How Canadian law works

• Three levels of government make different laws. Federal law covers crime, immigration and tax. Ontario's laws cover most of daily life, like housing, work and driving.
• Most newcomer problems are not criminal. They land in tribunals such as the Landlord and Tenant Board, which are less formal than courts but just as binding.
• The Charter protects everyone in Canada, not only citizens. The Ontario Human Rights Code protects you at work, in housing and in services, with a one-year deadline to act.
• Free help exists. Community legal clinics, Legal Aid Ontario, duty counsel at the courthouse, and a free 30-minute consultation through the Law Society Referral Service.
• Only lawyers, paralegals and licensed consultants can charge for immigration advice. Check anyone on the official public registers before you pay.

Module 260 minutes

Police, your rights, and criminal law

• Know which situation you are in. A casual conversation, a detention and an arrest each come with different rights. In a casual conversation you can generally decline and walk away.
• Ask for a lawyer, clearly. Once you do, police must stop questioning you until you have had a private call. Free 24-hour duty counsel is available.
• Your home and your phone are strongly protected. Police generally need a warrant, your consent or a specific legal power to search them.
• Never physically resist, even an arrest you believe is wrong. Resisting is a separate charge. The place to challenge it is in court, with a lawyer.
• A charge is not a conviction. You are presumed innocent until the Crown proves its case or you plead guilty.

Module 345 minutes

Driving and the road

• You have 60 days. Once you become an Ontario resident, a foreign licence is valid for 60 days. After that you need an Ontario licence.
• Carry three documents: your licence, the vehicle ownership permit, and proof of insurance.
• Just holding a phone while driving is illegal. New drivers with a G1 or G2 face a 30-day suspension for a first conviction.
• Zero alcohol and zero drugs for drivers 21 and under and anyone with a G1 or G2. Refusing a roadside breath test is itself a criminal offence.
• After a collision, stop and help. Report it to police if anyone is hurt or the damage is over $5,000.

Module 460 minutes

Housing and your home

• Most leases must use the Ontario Standard Lease. Any extra term that conflicts with the Residential Tenancies Act cannot be enforced.
• Damage deposits are illegal in Ontario. A landlord can only take a last month's rent deposit of up to one month, and a key deposit at the real cost of the keys.
• Rent can go up only once every 12 months, with 90 days' written notice on Form N1, and most increases are capped by the provincial guideline.
• Your landlord needs 24 hours' written notice to enter, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., except in an emergency.
• A notice is not an eviction. Only the Sheriff, with an order from the Landlord and Tenant Board, can remove you. Lockouts by a landlord are illegal.

Module 560 minutes

Work and your employer

• Know the minimums. Ontario's general minimum wage is $17.95 an hour from October 1, 2026, and overtime is 1.5 times your rate after 44 hours a week.
• You are owed a pay stub every pay period. Unpaid wages can be claimed free through the Ministry of Labour, normally within two years.
• Being called a contractor does not make you one. The real working relationship decides, and misclassification is prohibited.
• You can refuse unsafe work, and workplace injuries must be reported. Cash in place of a WSIB claim can cost you years of benefits.
• Recruiters cannot charge foreign workers any fee. Human rights complaints about work normally have a one-year deadline.

Module 660 minutes

Family, money, and daily life

• A religious ceremony alone is not a legal marriage in Ontario. Couples are generally common law after three years living together, or sooner with a child.
• The limits on discipline are strict. No physical punishment of children under 2 or over 12, no objects, and no blows to the head.
• File a tax return every year, even with no income. Benefits like the Canada Child Benefit depend on it.
• The CRA never threatens arrest by phone or asks for payment in gift cards, crypto or e-transfer.
• Sponsorship is a long promise. Three years for a spouse, twenty for a parent or grandparent, and it continues even if the relationship ends.

Module 760 minutes

Consent, age, and sexual offences

This module covers sexual assault and crimes against children in plain language. You can skip a section or come back to it later.

• Consent means voluntary agreement, at the time, to the specific activity. Someone who is unconscious cannot consent, and nobody can agree on another person's behalf.
• Marriage is never consent. A spouse can be charged with sexual assault, and has been able to be since 1983.
• The age of consent is 16, with narrow close-in-age rules. It rises to 18 where the older person is in a position of trust, like a teacher, coach, employer or relative.
• No one under 16 can marry in Canada, and taking part in a forced marriage is a crime.
• Sexual images of anyone under 18 are illegal, even when a 16 or 17 year old is old enough to consent to sex. Courts allow only a very narrow exception for private images. Since 18 July 2026, sharing intimate images without consent also covers realistic fake images.

Final part30 minutes

Your legal action plan

• Where you stand now: a quick check of your housing, work, driving and status.
• Your document file: the papers to keep safe, and copies to keep elsewhere.
• Three things you will do this month, and the emergency contacts to keep close.