Foreigner on Bail

J

Jess1234

Guest
Jurisdiction
Ontario
A friend of mine was arrested in Ontario for an over 80 DUI charge causing bodily harm. No harm was caused to the person involved; however, they are now perusing it in court. My friend was released on bail and allowed to leave the country and travel back to Europe to be with her family where she has been for nearly 1 year.

Because of the incident she has lost her job and has now fallen on real hard times. She has a family to support and no income. She does not have the money to return to Canada for her trial date and will probably not have it for the foreseeable future. She has already paid bail $5,000, and lawyers fees to date $4,250; which have now exhausted all of her savings.

I want to assist her as best I can so need to know the following please:

  1. Can she turn herself in to a Canadian embassy stating the above?
  2. What will the consequences be if she doesn't return to Canada for her trial? Interpol, arrested at airport, etc?
  3. What is the best cause of action for someone in her position?

Just for the record I don't condone drink driving, I just want to help my friend as best as I can so that she can get on with the rest of her life.
 
If she stays out of Canada, nothing more will happen to her.
 
If she stays out of Canada, nothing more will happen to her.
Thank you army judge. What happens if she wants to travel outside of the UK in the future, will she be arrested at the airport and be deported back to Canada or sent to prison in the UK? Her other friends and family are suggesting she turns herself in to the embassy before her trial date. Will the embassy send her back to attend her trial? She wants to do the right thing to clear everything but can't afford to go back there at this moment in time. This is her first offence and none of us have any idea on what to do because it happened while she was on holiday in 2015. Basically, she is trying not to make a bad situation worse. We all know that what she did was wrong but she has been very ill with the stress of losing her job and life savings and I personally think that she has been punished enough that she will not do anything like that again.
 
Thank you army judge. What happens if she wants to travel outside of the UK in the future, will she be arrested at the airport and be deported back to Canada or sent to prison in the UK? Her other friends and family are suggesting she turns herself in to the embassy before her trial date. Will the embassy send her back to attend her trial? She wants to do the right thing to clear everything but can't afford to go back there at this moment in time. This is her first offence and none of us have any idea on what to do because it happened while she was on holiday in 2015. Basically, she is trying not to make a bad situation worse. We all know that what she did was wrong but she has been very ill with the stress of losing her job and life savings and I personally think that she has been punished enough that she will not do anything like that again.


She was charged with a traffic offense, not a crime.
Countries don't bother extraditing bad drivers.
She should be fine as long as she avoids Canada.
 
She was charged with a traffic offense, not a crime.
Countries don't bother extraditing bad drivers.
She should be fine as long as she avoids Canada.
Thanks again Army Judge. The problem is that the charge was over 80 causing bodily harm. I know it sounds like she really hurt someone but the truth is that the person involved had nothing wrong with them; however, they are now claiming that they sustained injuries and that's why it is going to trial because this was not the case and my friend didn't want to plead guilt; although she did plead guilty to the over 80 charge. My friends biggest worry is that the charge carries a custodial sentence and that the prosecution whats her to go to jail for 90 days. Does this make it a crime? I'm really sorry to keep pestering but its really hard to find information in the UK when the incident happened in Canada. I wasn't there when it happened but I believe my friend. The person involved employed a lawyer after the incident and that's why all this happened and they are now claiming that they were injured, when they weren't.

Surely they wouldn't of let her leave the country if it was a serious incident? This happened at the end of 2015.

Thanks again for any information you can provide.
 
I gave you the answer.
It won't change.
Countries won't extradite people for parking tickets and driving offenses.

As long as she doesn't return to Canada, there's absolutely NOTHING the Canadian government can or will do to her.

She also can't be sued for anything SUCCESSFULLY, as long as she doesn't return to Canada.
 
I gave you the answer.
It won't change.
Countries won't extradite people for parking tickets and driving offenses.

As long as she doesn't return to Canada, there's absolutely NOTHING the Canadian government can or will do to her.

She also can't be sued for anything SUCCESSFULLY, as long as she doesn't return to Canada.
Thank you army judge, your assistance has been very helpful. Thanks again. Jess.
 
Thank you army judge, your assistance has been very helpful. Thanks again. Jess.
Dear army judge, I've just been informed that in Canada drink driving is considered a federal criminal offence. Does this mean that her situation will change from what you mention above? Thank you, Jess.
 
Dear army judge, I've just been informed that in Canada drink driving is considered a federal criminal offence. Does this mean that her situation will change from what you mention above? Thank you, Jess.

I am not am official of the Canadian judicial system.
I have represented a couple clients in similar predicaments, a couple were US citizens, another was an Iraqi, an Afghani, and a French national, all working in the US.
None were extradited from Canada's next door neighbor, and one person lived in Washington state.

Nothing in this life is ironclad, but I doubt that Canada will pay the costs to extradite across the Atlantic Ocean someone alleged to have committed drink driving.

If Canada did, it would ultimately be up to the government of the UK to allow its citizen to be extradited, all Canada can do is request.

Don't ever return to Canada, but with 200 odd countries on the planet, why would NOT being able to return to Canada be a problem?
 
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