Environment Canada's Enforcement Branch Organization, Role and Responsibilities

Sylvie El Hamarneh
Senior Regulatory Analyst
Enforcement Branch
June 23, 2009

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To enforce the legislation administered by EC in order to protect the environment, biodiversity, wildlife and health of Canadians.

• In June 2005, Environment Canada took steps to reorganize its enforcement functions by creating the Enforcement Branch (headed by a Chief Enforcement Officer) and obtaining supplementary funding to hire and train enforcement officers.
• To enforce both environmental and wildlife protection laws, Environment Canada has close to 300 designated enforcement officers located in offices across the country.

• Environmental Enforcement Division (Inspections, Investigations and Intelligence)

• Regulatory Analysis Division
• Operational Policies Division
• Learning and Development Division

• Wildlife Enforcement Division (Inspections, Investigations and Intelligence)

• Strategic Policy Division
• Engagement and Coordination Division
• Planning and Reporting Division

To guide enforcement officers in the fair, predictable and consistent application of the law, a series of departmental compliance and enforcement policies are used:

• Compliance and Enforcement Policy for the Canadian Environment Protection Act, 1999
• Compliance and Enforcement Policy for the Habitat Protection and Pollution Prevention Provisions of the Fisheries Act
• Compliance and Enforcement Policy for Wildlife Legislation
• Compliance and Enforcement Policy for the Species at Risk Act (draft)

While there are four distinct policies, they share the following core principles:

• Compliance with the Acts and regulations is mandatory;
• EOs will apply the Acts in a fair, predictable and consistent manner;
• EOs will administer the Acts with an emphasis on the protection of biodiversity, prevention of damage to the environment and/or risks to health;
• EOs will examine every suspected violation of which they have knowledge and take action consistent with policy;
• The public is encouraged to report suspected violations.

• Environment Canada's (EC) Enforcement Branch (EB) uses a consultation process to determine its annual enforcement priorities.
• Through the National Enforcement Plan processes, EC regulatory partners (i.e., risk managers for regulations) are engaged to identify regulations, sectors and geographic areas requiring priority enforcement attention.
• Every year, submissions are provided to EB where risk managers provide justification, via a number of established criteria, why their regulations should be an enforcement priority.
  
  Examples of criteria are:
  • the level of risk posed to the environment and/or human health
  • compliance history
  • the coming into force of new risk management instruments or amendments to current regulations
  • federal/provincial/territorial and international commitments
  • government priorities
  • scale and goal of the regulations and size of the regulated community
• At the end of the consultation process, a plan is created (approved by EC senior management) outlining where the EB will focus enforcement activities in a given fiscal year.

Verify compliance with Acts and associated regulations.

An inspection becomes an investigation when there are reasonable grounds to believe a violation has been committed. Evidence relevant to a suspected violation is gathered. An investigation can also be triggered by intelligence reports or public complaints/requests.

On-going information collection and analysis of compliance activities and emerging non-compliance issues within regulated sectors. Preparation of intelligence summaries for internal purposes and sharing of information with national and international partners, as needed.

• Enter, open receptacles, take samples.
• Conduct tests and measurements.
• Have access to information, including electronic data.
• Seek inspection warrants for private dwelling-place or non-dwelling:
  • to which entry has been refused; or
  • that have been found locked or abandoned.
• Stop conveyances.
• Redirect ships to Canadian waters or ports for inspection.
• Seizure during an inspection.

• Search with or without a search warrant (latter under exigent circumstances).
• Seizure under the authority of a search warrant or without a warrant (latter under exigent circumstances).
• Redirect ships to Canadian waters or ports for investigation (for foreign ship, permission of Attorney General of Canada is necessary and must be in the Exclusive Economic Zone).

• Authority to seek general warrant under the Criminal Code
• Authority to do searches at and around the perimeter of a property
• Authority to mark items for tracking
• Authority to search in anticipation of a violation
• Authority to seek warrant for electronic surveillance
• Authority to arrest with or without warrant

• Where an EO determines, based on available evidence, that a violation either has taken place or is imminent, an enforcement action may be warranted.
• In selecting an appropriate enforcement measure, EOs consider the following criteria outlined in the compliance and enforcement policies:
  • Nature of the violation: seriousness of harm, intent of the violator, compliance history, etc.
  • Effectiveness of the measure in achieving the desired result: general result sought is compliance within the shortest time with no further occurrence
  • Consistency in enforcement: consistency, so similar situations are dealt with in a similar fashion

The following list includes measures available to address violations:

• Warnings
• Tickets
• Directions/Directives
• Ministerial orders
• Prohibition orders involving new substances
• Recall orders
• Detention orders for Ships
• Environmental protection compliance orders
• Laying of charges

Once a charge has been laid, the file lead is transferred to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, but the EO remains involved with the file by:

• Providing testimony in court proceedings
• Providing advice to Crown Counsel in negotiating an Environmental protection alternative measure with violators in situations where it is in the public interest to pursue alternatives to court trials
• Recommending appropriate penalties and court orders upon conviction

For more information, visit the following web sites:

Enforcement Branch

CEPA 1999 Compliance and Enforcement Policy