What Are Schedule 1 Offences Under the Criminal Records Act?

Schedule 1 offences under the Criminal Records Act are sexual offences committed against children, and a conviction for one carries a consequence no other criminal conviction in Canada carries: the person is permanently ineligible to apply for a record suspension. The conviction stays visible on background checks for life, and even in the rare case where a suspension is granted, special rules can surface it again whenever the person seeks to work or volunteer with children.

What Schedule 1 Covers

Schedule 1 is split into two parts, and the split is the single most important thing to understand about it.

Part 1 lists Criminal Code provisions that are, by definition, offences against children. Every conviction under a Part 1 section is automatically a Schedule 1 offence because the offence itself targets a minor.

Part 2 lists broader sexual offences — sexual assault, voyeurism, incest, and others — that apply to victims of any age. A Part 2 offence only triggers Schedule 1 consequences when the victim was a child. A sexual assault conviction involving an adult complainant does not fall under Schedule 1 and follows the normal record suspension rules.¹

The practical effect of this structure is that essentially any sexual offence committed against a child, whether the Criminal Code section mentions minors or not, can land a person in the Schedule 1 category.

Which Offences Fall Under Each Part

Part 1 covers offences inherently about harming or exploiting a child. The most commonly charged include:

Sexual interference under s. 151, which covers touching a person under 16 for a sexual purpose.²
Invitation to sexual touching under s. 152, which covers encouraging a person under 16 to touch anyone for a sexual purpose.³
Sexual exploitation under s. 153, where a person in a position of trust or authority engages in sexual activity with a young person aged 16 or 17.⁴
Offences involving child sexual abuse material under s. 163.1, including making, distributing, and possession.⁵
Luring a child under s. 172.1, which covers using a computer or other means to communicate with a young person for the purpose of committing a sexual offence.
Trafficking a person under 18 under s. 279.011.
Obtaining sexual services from a person under 18 under s. 286.1(2).

Part 1 also captures several less commonly charged provisions, including procuring by a parent or guardian, permitting sexual activity by a householder, sending sexually explicit material to a child, corrupting children, and removing a child from Canada to commit a sexual offence abroad.¹

Part 2 covers the general sexual offences that qualify only when a child was the victim:

Sexual assault under s. 271.
Sexual assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm under s. 272.
Aggravated sexual assault under s. 273.
Incest under s. 155.
Voyeurism under s. 162.
Indecent acts under s. 173(1).

Attempts and conspiracies to commit any listed offence are also captured, as are certain repealed Criminal Code provisions related to prostitution involving minors.¹

Why Schedule 1 Status Matters

For most criminal convictions in Canada, there is an eventual off-ramp. A person convicted of a summary offence can apply for a record suspension five years after completing their sentence; a person convicted of an indictable offence can apply after ten.⁶

Schedule 1 overrides that framework. Section 4(2) of the Criminal Records Act makes a person convicted of a Schedule 1 offence permanently ineligible to apply, no matter how many years have passed since the sentence ended.⁷

The downstream effect is lifetime visibility. The conviction appears on every criminal record check. Employers, licensing bodies, volunteer organizations, and border agencies will see it. Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, a suspended or pardoned conviction is a protected ground against discrimination; an active conviction is not. An employer can lawfully decline to hire someone based on an active Schedule 1 conviction on their record.⁸

The One Exception: Section 4(3)

There is exactly one path around the lifetime ban, and it is drawn narrowly. Under section 4(3), a person convicted of a Schedule 1 offence can apply for a record suspension only if the Parole Board of Canada is satisfied that all three of the following were true at the time of the offence:⁷

The applicant was not in a position of trust or authority over the victim, and the victim was not dependent on them. This cuts out teachers, coaches, babysitters, parents, foster parents, and anyone else with supervisory power over the child.
The applicant did not use, threaten, or attempt to use violence, intimidation, or coercion.
The applicant was less than five years older than the victim.

All three must be satisfied at the same time. Failing even one keeps the lifetime ban in place. In practice the exception is aimed at a narrow fact pattern: two young people close in age where no authority relationship, force, or coercion was involved.

Section 4(4) puts the burden of proof entirely on the applicant. The Parole Board does not investigate on anyone’s behalf. The applicant has to produce court records, police reports, and whatever other documentation establishes each of the three conditions. If the original court file is ambiguous on any point, that ambiguity cuts against the applicant.

Even if the Parole Board accepts that section 4(3) is met, the application still has to clear the normal record suspension criteria, including a demonstration of sustained good conduct. Meeting the threshold only gets the file through the door.

How the Conviction Can Still Surface After a Suspension

A record suspension for a Schedule 1 offence does not seal the conviction the way an ordinary suspension does. Section 6.3 of the Criminal Records Act creates a disclosure mechanism tied to vulnerable sector checks, which are required for paid or volunteer positions involving trust or authority over children or other vulnerable people.⁹

The RCMP flags individuals who hold a record suspension for a sexual offence listed in Schedule 2 of the Act. When a police service runs a vulnerable sector check, it can see whether the applicant has that flag. If one exists, the record goes to the Minister of Public Safety, who may authorize disclosure of some or all of the conviction information to the police service and, with the applicant’s written consent, to the organization requesting the check.⁹

A vulnerable sector check goes beyond a standard criminal record check by specifically searching for these suspended sexual offence records.¹⁰ Someone with a suspended Schedule 1 conviction who applies to coach a children’s team or volunteer at a school can still have that history surfaced. The receiving organization may only use the disclosure to assess the specific application; sharing it further is prohibited.

When a Suspension Can Be Revoked

A record suspension is not permanent once granted. Under section 7 of the Criminal Records Act, the Parole Board can revoke it if the person is convicted of a new summary offence under a federal act, if evidence satisfies the Board that the person is no longer of good conduct, or if evidence shows the person knowingly made a false statement or hid a material fact in the original application.

Revocation restores the original conviction to the person’s criminal record as though the suspension had never been granted.¹¹ For someone who navigated the section 4(3) exception in the first place, revocation returns them to the permanent ineligibility that applies to every other Schedule 1 conviction.

1
Justice Laws Website. Criminal Records Act – Schedule 1
2
Department of Justice. Criminal Code – Section 151
3
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code RSC 1985 c C-46 Section 152
4
Department of Justice. Criminal Code – Section 153
5
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code RSC 1985 c C-46 Section 163.1
6
Justice Laws Website. Criminal Records Act RSC 1985 c C-47 – Section 4
7
Justice Laws Website. Criminal Records Act – Section 4
8
Department of Justice Canada. Canadian Human Rights Act
9
Justice Laws Website. Criminal Records Act RSC 1985 c C-47 – Section 6.3
10
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Vulnerable Sector Checks
11
Parole Board of Canada. Pardons/Record Suspension Decision-Making Policy Manual – Chapter 12