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Failure to provide necessaries / abandoning a childVerified against official source
This range was checked against the official legal text. Last verified: 2026-10-19.
Statutory range
s. 215 — failure to provide necessaries — indictable
- Imprisonment
- 0 (no mandatory prison) – 5 years
- Fine
- No fine stated
0 = the law sets no minimum prison term. The court is not required to impose prison. Depending on the offence, jurisdiction, and case, it may instead impose a non-custodial sentence — e.g. a suspended sentence, community order / probation, a fine, or a discharge.
s. 215 — failure to provide necessaries — summary conviction
- Imprisonment
- 0 (no mandatory prison) – 2 years less a day (s. 787 default)
- Fine
- Fine $0–$5,000 (s. 787 default)
0 = the law sets no minimum prison term. The court is not required to impose prison. Depending on the offence, jurisdiction, and case, it may instead impose a non-custodial sentence — e.g. a suspended sentence, community order / probation, a fine, or a discharge.
s. 218 — abandoning/exposing a child under 10 — indictable
- Imprisonment
- 0 (no mandatory prison) – 5 years
- Fine
- No fine stated
0 = the law sets no minimum prison term. The court is not required to impose prison. Depending on the offence, jurisdiction, and case, it may instead impose a non-custodial sentence — e.g. a suspended sentence, community order / probation, a fine, or a discharge.
s. 218 — abandoning/exposing a child under 10 — summary conviction
- Imprisonment
- 0 (no mandatory prison) – 2 years less a day (s. 787 default)
- Fine
- Fine $0–$5,000 (s. 787 default)
0 = the law sets no minimum prison term. The court is not required to impose prison. Depending on the offence, jurisdiction, and case, it may instead impose a non-custodial sentence — e.g. a suspended sentence, community order / probation, a fine, or a discharge.
Summary tiers use the s. 787 general summary penalty.