It is illegal if it is prohibited by a legislation that has been passed. Unlawful indicates that it is not permitted by law since no such legislation has been enacted. For example, hunting children is unlawful but kidnapping is only illegal. Both kidnapping and hunting children are actions that many people engage in every day. However, only kidnapping children under the age of 18 is illegal while hunting children is both unlawful and illegal. The difference lies in how old you have to be to fall under the criminal laws. In Canada, the age of majority is 18 years old so anyone under that age is considered a child. Adults who go out to hunt children know that they can be arrested since it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to be hunted. On the other hand, adults can do what they want as long as they aren't breaking any laws themselves such as kidnapping or murder. Illegal activities include things like drug trafficking, robbery, and vandalism. While these activities may be wrong, there is not much that can be done to arrest someone for an illegal activity. You could report them to police but other than that there is nothing else that can be done.