The answer is no, a victim cannot make the decision to have the charges dropped. The victim’s view is just one of a constellation of considerations that go into the decision to prosecute criminal charges.
Firstly, the police are tasked with the investigative part of the process. The charges are laid based on the Police having reasonable and probable grounds that an offence has been committed. Once the investigation has completed, the charges are then prosecuted by the local Provincial and/or Federal prosecutors. A Prosecutor in Canada is styled as a “Crown Attorney”.
The decision to continue with a prosecution is decided by the Crown Attorney.
In most cases the Crown Attorney’s decision to continue with a prosecution will depend on the following:
A) Whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction;
B) Whether it is in the public interest to continue with the prosecution.
There are rules and there are always exceptions, but generally this is the test for proceeding with a prosecution. If you ask me to define “a reasonable prospect of conviction” with respect to a case that involves a victim: I would say that a prosecutor would typically need the spoken testimony of a credible, reliable, and consistent witness.
If the Victim does not want to testify in Court, what happens?
The case will certainly be an uphill battle for the prosecutor. There are Applications wherein an adverse witness’ statement could be played in lieu of their actual testimony. In practice this does not occur often, but it is certainly possible. The Prosecutor could also seek a “Material Witness Warrant” which grants police the power to detain and procure a pivotal witness to Court.
My own experience has been that once an individual receives a subpoena compelling their testimony (which also notes the consequences of not showing up), they more often than not show up.
If you have charges you would like to discuss with me, call me at 613-893-5673.