Share and view ideas: Proposed amendments to the Contraventions Regulations

From: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Current status: Closed

This consultation ran from April 21, 2022 to May 31, 2022.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is seeking comments on the proposed amendments to the Contraventions Regulations.

Background

Environment and Climate Change Canada would like to amend offences for several regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) and the Canada Wildlife Act (CWA) to be enforced through the Contraventions Regime.

The objective of the amendments is to designate offences as contraventions to allow for their enforcement through the Contraventions Regime, which is to say by means of a contraventions ticket that can be issued to the offender by an enforcement officer. The Contraventions Regulations will specify the short-form description for these offences, which will be reproduced on the ticket issued to the offender along with the fine amount. The proposed fine amounts for these regulations range between $100 and $500 and are consistent with similar fine amounts prescribed for comparable offences.

Who is the focus of this consultation

We would like to engage with:

Natural Resources Industry
Manufacturers
Small and medium businesses transportation organizations
Provinces/Territories
Canadians
Other Federal departments and agencies
Indigenous organizations

Join in: how to participate

Send us an email

We are inviting stakeholders and members of the public to submit comments by email to DGAL-EB-Consultations@ec.gc.ca.

To learn how we will protect your privacy during this consultation, please carefully review our privacy statement.

Key questions for discussion

Question 1: What is the Contraventions Regime?

In October 1992, Parliament passed the Contraventions Act to establish an alternative to the summary conviction process set out in Part XXVII of the Criminal Code for prosecuting certain federal offences. The Act's regulations identify federal offences that are designated as contraventions, establish a short-form description and set an applicable fine for each of them. The Contraventions regulations are an essential element for the pursuit of the following three objectives underlying the Act:

to decriminalize certain federal offences
to ease the courts’ workload
to improve the enforcement of federal legislation

Question 2: What are the proposed amendments?

The proposed amendments will list new offences and repeal offences that are no longer in force in Schedules I.2 and I.3 to the Contraventions Regulations:

Schedule I.2 – Canada Wildlife Act

Schedule I.3 – Canadian Environmental Protection Act, (1999)

Question 3: How does ticketing work?

As indicated in ECCC’s Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Compliance and Enforcement Policy, tickets are available as an enforcement measure for minor regulatory offences, which have minimal, or no threat to the environment or human life or health. Similarly, the Compliance and Enforcement Policy for wildlife legislation indicates that tickets may be issued for offences that pose no serious or continuing threat to Canadian ecosystems or to the survival of the species involved. Using tickets provides an overall less costly and less time-consuming alternative to summary convictions, to deal with individuals or companies that violate legislation enforced by ECCC. Enforcement officers can only issue tickets for offences that are designated under the Contravention Regulations. This contributes to the Department’s objectives of protecting the environment.

The Contraventions Act allows an alleged offender to enter a plea and make representations or contest the fines associated with the offence before the court. Please refer to the Department of Justice Canada Website to consult the Contraventions Act.

Question 4: What are the types of fines?

All fines for violations to regulations made under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) that are considered for addition are primarily for offences involving the preparation of reports or the regular submission of information. The proposed fine for all of these violations is $500. This is the same fine amount as the fines for violations that are already included in the Contraventions Regulations for regulations made under CEPA.

The fines for violations under wildlife regulations, namely the Wildlife Area Regulations, and the Scott Islands Protected Area Regulations that would be added to the Contraventions Regulations cover a wider range of offences. The proposed fines range from $100 to $500.

Below are common violations under these regulations:

Wildlife Area Regulations

A person is caught operating a conveyance in a National Wildlife Area
A person is caught hunting in a National Wildlife Area

Scott Islands Protected Area Regulations

A person is caught within 300 metres of the low water mark of the Triangle Island.
A person is caught carrying out an activity that is disturbing wildlife

Canadian Environmental Protection Act related regulations

A person fails to prepare, provide, submit, record or make available, a report, a notice, a sample, a calculation or any specified information
A person fails to keep records for a determinate amount of time in a place known by the Minister, if not its principal place of business in Canada

Contact us

Karina Kessaris
A/Executive Director, Wildlife Enforcement Directorate, Enforcement Branch
Environment and Climate Change Canada

Raie Leith
A/Executive Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate, Enforcement Branch
Environment and Climate Change Canada

Submit comments by email to DGAL-EB-Consultations@ec.gc.ca

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Date modified:: 2022-10-05

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