What's already a crime, and what's coming

Hannah is twenty-five, a dental hygienist in London, Ontario. She ended things with her ex, Cole, in the spring. Since then he's turned up at her gym, at her sister's birthday, and at the coffee shop she goes to on Saturdays. Each time he says it's a coincidence. Last week she found out why it isn't. Her location was still shared with him, from when they were together.

So here's the question. When does an ex who won't let go stop being sad, and start breaking the law?

First, the fine print. This is general information, not legal advice. I'm describing Canadian federal law. Laws differ in the United States, and they change. For your own situation, talk to a lawyer or a legal clinic.

Here's what changed. On July eighteenth, twenty twenty-six, most of a new federal law, Bill C-16, took effect. It rewrote the crime of criminal harassment. The list of harassing conduct now includes monitoring someone's location, movements, actions or social interactions, in person, by phone or any other means. That covers tracking apps, shared locations and hidden tracking tags.

The test changed too. Before, the victim had to have actually feared for her safety. Now, in Justice Canada's words, the question is whether a reasonable person in the victim's circumstances would fear for their safety. The law also says a person's safety includes their psychological safety. Criminal harassment carries up to ten years in prison.

Two more changes took effect the same day. It's now a crime in Canada to threaten to share someone's intimate images, even if they're never shared. And fake intimate images made with artificial intelligence count, if they're realistic enough to be mistaken for a real recording. The law also now treats murdering an intimate partner, in a pattern of coercive or controlling conduct, as first-degree murder.

Now, his side. Cole probably doesn't think of himself as a stalker. He thinks he misses her, that he just needs to talk, that turning up proves he still cares. Our companion course for men tells guys plainly. If she didn't reply, that means stop. Checking her location and showing up where she is isn't missing her. It's monitoring her, and the Criminal Code now names it.

Now, what's coming. Canada has passed a law making coercive control a crime. It takes effect by June twenty twenty-eight at the latest, or sooner if the federal cabinet picks an earlier date. It will cover a pattern of controlling a partner, like tracking her, controlling her money, her job or what she wears, or threatening self-harm, when it could make her fear for her safety. It isn't in force yet.

Let's change one fact. Hannah and Cole are still together. He set up the location sharing, goes through her messages and decides which friends are okay. The coercive-control crime doesn't exist yet. But some of that, like monitoring her location and movements, may already fit criminal harassment. Whether it does depends on the facts, which is exactly what a lawyer is for.

In Ontario, the Independent Legal Advice program gives survivors of partner violence, or of intimate images shared without consent, free legal advice by phone or video, whether or not they go to police. Elsewhere, start with a legal clinic. Going to police is your choice to make.

The trap to avoid is thinking it has to be violent, or that you have to prove you were terrified, before it counts. The law no longer asks that.

Here's the rule, in one breath. In Canada, tracking and turning up can already be criminal harassment, threats to share intimate images are a crime, and coercive control becomes one by June twenty twenty-eight.

This week, if it's safe for you, check which people and apps can see your location, and turn off anything you didn't choose. Next time, green flags, and why boring lasts.