International Boundary Waters Treaty Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. I-17)

Marginal note:Authority of analyst

• 20.3 (1) An analyst may, at an inspector’s request, accompany them into a place for the purpose of assisting them to verify compliance with this Act.

• Marginal note:Powers on entry

  (2) The analyst may, for that purpose,

  • (a) examine anything in the place;

  • (b) take samples of anything in the place; and

  • (c) conduct tests on, or take measurements of, anything in the place.

Marginal note:Disposition of sample

20.4 An inspector or analyst may dispose of a sample taken in the place in any manner that they consider appropriate.

Marginal note:Entry on private property

• 20.5 (1) For the purpose of gaining entry to a place referred to in subsection 20.2(1), an inspector and any analyst accompanying them may enter private property and pass through it, and are not liable for doing so. For greater certainty, no person has a right to object to that use of the property and no warrant is required for the entry, unless the property is a dwelling-house.

• Marginal note:Accompanying person

  (2) A person may, at the inspector’s request, accompany the inspector to assist them to gain entry to the place referred to in subsection 20.2(1) and is not liable for doing so.

Marginal note:Assistance

20.6 The owner or person in charge of the place and every person in the place shall give all assistance that is reasonably required to enable the inspector to verify compliance with this Act and shall provide any documents, data or information that is reasonably required for that purpose.

Marginal note:Certificate

20.7 The Minister shall provide every inspector and analyst with a certificate of designation and, on entering a place, they shall produce the certificate to the person in charge of the place on request.

Marginal note:Immunity

20.8 An inspector and an analyst are not personally liable for anything they do or omit to do in good faith in carrying out their functions.

Marginal note:Production of documents and samples

• 20.9 (1) The Minister may, for the purpose of verifying compliance with this Act, by registered letter or by a demand served personally, require any person, within any reasonable time and in any reasonable manner that may be stipulated in the letter or demand,

  • (a) to produce at a place specified by the Minister any sample taken or any document; or

  • (b) to conduct any tests or take any measurements or samples there.

• Marginal note:Compliance

  (2) Any person who is required to do anything under subsection (1) shall, despite any law to the contrary, comply with the requirement.

Regulations and Orders

Marginal note:Regulations

• 21 (1) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations

  • (a) specifying what constitutes a use, obstruction, diversion or work for the purposes of this Act;

  • (b) defining, for the purposes of this Act, any word or expression used in sections 11 to 42 that is not defined in this Act;

  • (c) [Repealed, 2013, c. 12, s. 8]

  • (d) specifying exceptions to the application of subsections 11(1) and 12(1);

  • (e) prescribing classes of licences and determining the persons who are eligible to hold licences of any particular class;

  • (f) respecting applications for licences, including the form of the applications, the information to be provided in respect of the applications and the manner in which the applications are to be filed, processed and disposed of;

  • (g) respecting the form of licences and the information they must include and requiring licensees to publish or otherwise make them available for public inspection;

  • (h) prescribing fees, or the manner of calculating fees, in respect of licences and prescribing the manner in which the fees are to be paid;

  • (i) prescribing the duration of licences;

  • (j) respecting the renewal and amendment of licences;

  • (k) prescribing uses, obstructions, diversions and works for which a licence may not be issued; and

  • (l) [Repealed, 2013, c. 12, s. 8]

  • (m) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.

• Marginal note:Ordinary meaning applies

  (2) For greater certainty, regulations made under paragraph (1)(a) do not restrict the ordinary meaning of the words “use”, “obstruction”, “diversion” or “work”.

Marginal note:Order — Schedule 3

• 21.01 (1) The Governor in Council may, by order, on the Minister’s recommendation, amend Schedule 3 by adding, deleting or amending the name of any transboundary waters.

• Marginal note:Consultation

  (2) Before recommending that Schedule 3 be amended, the Minister is to consult with the appropriate Minister of the province where the transboundary waters are located.

Aboriginal and Treaty Rights

Marginal note:Rights of aboriginal peoples

21.1 For greater certainty, nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to abrogate or derogate from the protection provided for existing aboriginal or treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada by the recognition and affirmation of these rights in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Obstruction and False Information

Marginal note:Obstruction

22 Obstructing a person designated under section 20.1 or hindering them in carrying out their functions under this Act is prohibited.

Marginal note:Knowingly providing false or misleading information, etc.

• 23 (1) It is prohibited to, with respect to any matter related to this Act, knowingly

  • (a) provide any person with false or misleading information, results or samples; or

  • (b) file a document that contains false or misleading information.

• Marginal note:Negligently providing false or misleading information, etc.

  (2) It is prohibited to, with respect to any matter related to this Act, negligently

  • (a) provide any person with false or misleading information, results or samples; or

  • (b) file a document that contains false or misleading information.

Offences and Punishment

Marginal note:Offence

• 24 (1) Every person commits an offence who contravenes

  • (a) subsection 11(1), 12(1) or 13(1) or (2) or section 22;

  • (b) an order made by the Minister under section 19;

  • (c) subsection 23(1); or

  • (d) an order made by a court under this Act.

• Marginal note:Penalty — individuals

  (2) Every individual who 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 $15,000 and not more than $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both, and

    • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $30,000 and not more than $2,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both; or

  • (b) on summary conviction

    • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $300,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and

    • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $600,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.

• Marginal note:Penalty — other persons

  (3) Every person, other than an individual or a corporation referred to in subsection (4), who 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 — small revenue corporations

  (4) Every corporation that commits an offence under subsection (1) and that the court determines under section 29 to be a small revenue corporation 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.

Marginal note:Offence

• 25 (1) Every person commits an offence who contravenes any provision of the Act or the regulations, other than a provision the contravention of which is an offence under subsection 24(1).

• Marginal note:Penalty — individuals

  (2) Every individual who 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 $100,000, and

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

  • (b) on summary conviction

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

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

• Marginal note:Penalty — other persons

  (3) Every person, other than an individual or a corporation referred to in subsection (4), 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 — small revenue corporations

  (4) Every corporation that commits an offence under subsection (1) and that the court determines under section 29 to be a small revenue corporation 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.

Marginal note:Due diligence

26 A person is not to be convicted of an offence under paragraph 24(1)(a), (b) or (d) or subsection 25(1) if they establish that they exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

Marginal note:Continuing offence

27 If an offence under this Act is committed or continued on more than one day, it constitutes a separate offence for each day on which it is committed or continued.

Marginal note:Deeming — second and subsequent offence

• 28 (1) For the purposes of sections 24 and 25, 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 water resource management — of a substantially similar offence.

• Marginal note:Application

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

Marginal note:Determination of small revenue corporation status

29 For the purposes of sections 24 and 25, 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.