Of the 26 offences which may be disposed of by PND, 4 are Notifiable & Recordable Crimes (Retail Theft; Destroying or Damaging Property; Causing Harrassment, Alarm or Distress; Possession of Controlled Drug Class B - Cannabis) and a PND for these cannot be issued without an arrest. This does not mean being taken to a custody suite and detained there; even if the PND was issued "on-the-spot" an Arrest/Summons (A/S) number must be entered in Part 4 of the PND. This A/S along with a crime report is logged on PNC. Furthermore a PND for the 4 Notifiable & Recordable Crimes can be issued only after the constable has informed the suspect that a crime has been recorded and detected, with them being registered as responsible for it.
Thus a PND for shoplifting involves both a recorded arrest and a recorded crime.
Does a PND signify a criminal conviction ---> NO
Can you "legally" enter the US ---> recorded arrest = NO
Can you "legally" enter Canada ---> recorded crime = NO
Can the US or Canada check this data on the PNC ---> NO