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Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (S.C. 1999, c. 33)

Act current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2023-06-22. Previous Versions

PART 10Enforcement (continued)

Offences and Punishment (continued)

Marginal note:Offence — failure to comply with designated regulations

  •  (1) Every person who fails to comply with a provision of a regulation designated under section 286.1 for the purpose of this subsection commits an offence and is liable

    • (a) on conviction on indictment,

      • (i) in the case of an individual, to a fine determined in accordance with the regulations or to imprisonment for a term of not more than three years, or to both, and

      • (ii) in the case of a person, other than an individual, to a fine determined in accordance with the regulations; or

    • (b) on summary conviction,

      • (i) in the case of an individual, to a fine determined in accordance with the regulations or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and

      • (ii) in the case of a person, other than an individual, to a fine determined in accordance with the regulations.

  • Marginal note:Regulations

    (2) The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing the method of calculating the fine in respect of the offence referred to in subsection (1) committed by individuals, other persons and corporations determined under section 272.3 to be small revenue corporations, which method may be based on a monetary range specified in the regulations.

  • Marginal note:Compliance units

    (3) If a person is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) by reason of having failed to comply with a provision that requires the remission or the cancellation of compliance units described in regulations made under section 326, the court shall, in addition to any other punishment that may be imposed under that subsection, make an order requiring the person to remit or cancel compliance units of the type and number determined in accordance with regulations made under subsection (4) or, if there are no regulations made under subsection (4), in accordance with subsection (5). In the case of an order to remit, the court shall specify in the order the name of the person or entity to whom the compliance units are to be remitted.

  • Marginal note:Regulations

    (4) The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing the types of compliance units described in regulations made under section 326 that a person may be required to remit or cancel in an order made under subsection (3) and the manner of determining the number of those compliance units that the person may be required to remit or cancel.

  • Marginal note:Absence of regulations

    (5) If there are no regulations made under subsection (4), the court shall require the person to remit or cancel compliance units of a type and in the number that, in the court’s opinion, the person failed to remit or cancel.

Marginal note:Determination of small revenue corporation status

 For the purpose of sections 272, 272.1 and 272.2, a court may determine a corporation to be a small revenue corporation if the court is satisfied that the corporation’s gross revenues for the 12 months immediately before the day on which the subject matter of the proceedings arose — or, if it arose on more than one day, for the 12 months immediately before the first day on which the subject matter of the proceedings arose — were not more than $5,000,000.

  • 2009, c. 14, s. 72

Marginal note:Offence — ships

  •  (1) Every ship commits an offence if it contravenes

    • (a) section 123, subsection 124(1.1), 125(1), (2.1) or (3.1) or 126(1.1) or (3);

    • (b) any provision of the regulations designated by regulations made under section 286.1; or

    • (c) any order or a direction made under this Act, including one made by a court.

  • Marginal note:Penalty — ships of 7 500 tonnes deadweight or over

    (2) Every ship of 7 500 tonnes deadweight or over that commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable,

    • (a) on conviction on indictment,

      • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $500,000 and not more than $6,000,000, and

      • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $1,000,000 and not more than $12,000,000; or

    • (b) on summary conviction,

      • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $100,000 and not more than $4,000,000, and

      • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $200,000 and not more than $8,000,000.

  • Marginal note:Penalty — other ships

    (3) Every other ship that commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable,

    • (a) on conviction on indictment,

      • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $75,000 and not more than $4,000,000, and

      • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $150,000 and not more than $8,000,000; or

    • (b) on summary conviction,

      • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $25,000 and not more than $2,000,000, and

      • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $50,000 and not more than $4,000,000.

  • 2009, c. 14, s. 72

Marginal note:Offences — ships

  •  (1) Every ship commits an offence if it contravenes

    • (a) any provision of this Act that expressly applies to ships, other than a provision the contravention of which is an offence under subsection 272.4(1); or

    • (b) any provision of the regulations other than a provision the contravention of which is an offence under subsection 272.4(1).

  • Marginal note:Penalty — ship of 7 500 tonnes deadweight or over

    (2) Every ship of 7 500 tonnes deadweight or over that commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable,

    • (a) on conviction on indictment,

      • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $500,000, and

      • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $1,000,000; or

    • (b) on summary conviction,

      • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $250,000, and

      • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $500,000.

  • Marginal note:Penalty — other ships

    (3) Every other ship that commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable,

    • (a) on conviction on indictment,

      • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $250,000, and

      • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $500,000; or

    • (b) on summary conviction,

      • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $50,000, and

      • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $100,000.

  • 2009, c. 14, s. 72

Marginal note:Relief from minimum fine

 The court may impose a fine that is less than the minimum amount provided for in subsection 272(2), (3) or (4) or 272.4(2) or (3) if it is satisfied, on the basis of evidence submitted to the court, that the minimum fine would cause undue financial hardship. The court shall provide reasons if it imposes a fine that is less than the minimum amount provided for in any of those subsections.

  • 1999, c. 33, s. 273
  • 2009, c. 14, s. 72

Marginal note:Deeming — second and subsequent offence

  •  (1) For the purposes of subsections 272(2) to (4), 272.1(2) to (4), 272.4(2) and (3) and 272.5(2) and (3), a conviction for a particular offence under this Act is deemed to be a conviction for a second or subsequent offence if the court is satisfied that the offender has been previously convicted — under any Act of Parliament, or any Act of the legislature of a province, that relates to environmental or wildlife conservation or protection — of a substantially similar offence.

  • Marginal note:Application

    (2) Subsection (1) applies only to previous convictions on indictment and to previous convictions on summary conviction, and to previous convictions under any similar procedure under any Act of the legislature of a province.

  • 2009, c. 14, s. 72

Marginal note:Damage to environment and risk of death or harm to persons

  •  (1) Every person is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction on indictment to a fine or to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both, who, in committing an offence under this Act,

    • (a) intentionally or recklessly causes a disaster that results in a loss of the use or the non-use value of the environment; or

    • (b) shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons and thereby causes a risk of death or harm to another person.

  • Marginal note:Criminal negligence

    (2) Every person who, in committing an offence under this Act, shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons and thereby causes death or bodily harm to another person is subject to prosecution and punishment under section 220 or 221 of the Criminal Code.

  • 1999, c. 33, s. 274
  • 2009, c. 14, s. 72

Marginal note:Additional fine

 If a person or ship is convicted of an offence and the court is satisfied that, as a result of the commission of the offence, the person — or, if the offender is a ship, the owner or operator of the ship — acquired any property, benefit or advantage, the court shall order the offender to pay an additional fine in an amount equal to the court’s estimation of the value of that property, benefit or advantage. The additional fine may exceed the maximum amount of any fine that may otherwise be imposed under this Act.

  • 2009, c. 14, s. 72

Marginal note:Notice to shareholders

 If a corporation that has shareholders is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court shall make an order directing the corporation to notify its shareholders, in the manner and within the time directed by the court, of the facts relating to the commission of the offence and of the details of the punishment imposed.

  • 2009, c. 14, s. 72

Marginal note:Limitation period

 No proceedings by way of summary conviction in respect of an offence under this Act may be instituted more than five years after the day on which the subject matter of the proceedings arose, unless the prosecutor and the defendant agree that they may be instituted after the five years.

  • 1999, c. 33, s. 275
  • 2009, c. 14, s. 72

Marginal note:When consent of Attorney General of Canada required

 A proceeding that is commenced in respect of an offence arising out of a contravention of Division 3 of Part 7 or of any regulation made under that Division, or in respect of an offence under the Criminal Code that is committed in the course of enforcement of this Act, shall not be continued if the offence was committed in an area of the sea referred to in paragraph 122(2)(c) and the accused is either a ship that is not a Canadian ship or a foreign national who was on board such a ship when the offence was committed, unless the Attorney General of Canada consents to the continuation no later than eight days after the proceeding is commenced.

  • 2005, c. 23, s. 38

Marginal note:Continuing offence

 Where an offence under this Act is committed or continued on more than one day, the person who committed the offence is liable to be convicted for a separate offence for each day on which it is committed or continued.

 [Repealed, 2001, c. 26, s. 283]

Marginal note:Regulations

 The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing the manner in which the proceeds or any part of the proceeds resulting from the payment of a fine or the execution of an order in relation to an offence under this Act shall be distributed in order to reimburse any person, government or body that has commenced the proceedings in respect of the offence for costs incurred by that person, government or body in respect of the prosecution of the offence.

Marginal note:Jurisdiction of justices and judges

 A justice or judge in any territorial division in Canada has jurisdiction to authorize, in the same manner as if the offence had been committed in the territorial division, an arrest, an entry, a search or a seizure in relation to

  • (a) an offence arising out of a contravention of Division 3 of Part 7 or of any regulation made under that Division that is committed in an area of the sea referred to in any of paragraphs 122(2)(c), (f) and (g); or

  • (b) an offence under the Criminal Code that is committed in the course of enforcement of this Act in an area of the sea referred to in paragraph 122(2)(c) or in an area of the sea referred to in paragraph 122(2)(g) in the course of hot pursuit that commenced while a ship was in an area of the sea referred to in any paragraphs 122(2)(a) to (e).

  • 2005, c. 23, s. 39

Marginal note:Jurisdiction of court

  •  (1) If an offence arising out of a contravention of Division 3 of Part 7 or of any regulation made under that Division is committed in an area of the sea referred to in any of paragraphs 122(2)(a) to (e), or if an offence under the Criminal Code is committed in the course of enforcement of this Act in an area of the sea referred to in paragraph 122(2)(c), the offence

    • (a) is within the competence of and shall be tried by the court having jurisdiction in respect of similar offences in the territorial division nearest to the place where the offence was committed; and

    • (b) shall be tried in the same manner as if it had been committed within that territorial division.

  • Marginal note:Where offence deemed to have been committed

    (2) An offence to which subsection (1) applies is, for the purpose of that subsection, deemed to have been committed either in the place where the offence was actually committed or in the place in which the accused is found.

  • Marginal note:Jurisdiction of court

    (3) If an offence arising out of a contravention of Division 3 of Part 7 or of any regulation made under that Division is committed in an area of the sea referred to in paragraph 122(2)(f) or (g), or if an offence under the Criminal Code is committed in the course of enforcement of this Act in an area of the sea referred to in paragraph 122(2)(g) in the course of hot pursuit that commenced while a ship was in an area of the sea referred to in any paragraphs 122(2)(a) to (e), the offence

    • (a) is within the competence of and shall be tried by any court having jurisdiction in respect of similar offences committed by persons within the limits of its ordinary jurisdiction; and

    • (b) shall be tried in the same manner as if it had been committed within the jurisdiction of the court before which it is tried.

  • 1999, c. 33, s. 279
  • 2005, c. 23, s. 40

Marginal note:Liability of directors, officer, etc., of corporation

  •  (1) If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, any director, officer, agent or mandatary of the corporation who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence, and is liable on conviction to the penalty provided for by this Act for an individual in respect of the offence committed by the corporation, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted.

  • Marginal note:Liability of masters and chief engineers

    (2) If a ship commits an offence under this Act and the master or chief engineer of the ship directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence, the master or chief engineer, as the case may be, is a party to and guilty of the offence, and is liable on conviction to the penalty provided for by this Act for an individual who commits an offence under subsection 272.1(1), whether or not the ship has been prosecuted or convicted.

  • 1999, c. 33, s. 280
  • 2005, c. 23, s. 41
  • 2009, c. 14, s. 73
 

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