Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (S.C. 2001, c. 27)

Act current to 2013-05-26 and last amended on 2013-04-29. Previous Versions

Offences Related to Documents

Marginal note:Documents
  •  (1) No person shall, in order to contravene this Act,

    • (a) possess a passport, visa or other document, of Canadian or foreign origin, that purports to establish or that could be used to establish a person’s identity;

    • (b) use such a document, including for the purpose of entering or remaining in Canada; or

    • (c) import, export or deal in such a document.

  • Marginal note:Proof of offence

    (2) Proof of the matters referred to in subsection (1) in relation to a forged document or a document that is blank, incomplete, altered or not genuine is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof that the person intends to contravene this Act.

Marginal note:Penalty
  •  (1) Every person who contravenes

    • (a) paragraph 122(1)(a) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction on indictment to a term of imprisonment of up to five years; and

    • (b) paragraph 122(1)(b) or (c) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction on indictment to a term of imprisonment of up to 14 years.

  • Marginal note:Aggravating factors

    (2) The court, in determining the penalty to be imposed, shall take into account whether

    • (a) the commission of the offence was for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a criminal organization as defined in subsection 121.1(1); and

    • (b) the commission of the offence was for profit, whether or not any profit was realized.

  • 2001, c. 27, s. 123;
  • 2012, c. 17, s. 44.

General Offences

Marginal note:Contravention of Act
  •  (1) Every person commits an offence who

    • (a) contravenes a provision of this Act for which a penalty is not specifically provided or fails to comply with a condition or obligation imposed under this Act;

    • (b) escapes or attempts to escape from lawful custody or detention under this Act; or

    • (c) employs a foreign national in a capacity in which the foreign national is not authorized under this Act to be employed.

  • Marginal note:Deemed knowledge

    (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c), a person who fails to exercise due diligence to determine whether employment is authorized under this Act is deemed to know that it is not authorized.

  • Marginal note:Due diligence defence

    (3) A person referred to in subsection 148(1) shall not be found guilty of an offence under paragraph (1)(a) if it is established that they exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.