Marginal note:Arrest without warrant

18. A park warden or enforcement officer may, in accordance with the Criminal Code, arrest without warrant any person

• (a) whom the warden or officer finds committing an offence under this Act; or

• (b) who the warden or officer believes, on reasonable grounds, has committed or is about to commit an offence under this Act.

Marginal note:Search and seizure

• 19. (1) A park warden or enforcement officer may

  • (a) enter and search any place and open and examine any package or receptacle in accordance with a warrant issued under subsection (2) at any time during the day or, if so specified in the warrant, during the night; and

  • (b) seize anything that they believe on reasonable grounds is or has been possessed or used in connection with an offence under this Act.

• Marginal note:Authority to issue warrant

  (2) Where on ex parte application a justice of the peace is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is in any place, including any building, boat or other conveyance, or in any package or receptacle, whether in or outside the park,

  • (a) an animal, bird or fish, or any part or egg of an animal, bird or fish, or a firearm, trap or other device for destroying or capturing animals, birds or fish, in respect of which there are reasonable grounds to believe an offence under this Act has been committed, or

  • (b) anything that there are reasonable grounds to believe will provide evidence with respect to an offence under this Act involving a thing referred to in paragraph (a),

  the justice of the peace may issue a warrant authorizing the park warden or enforcement officer named in the warrant to enter and search the place or to open and examine the package or receptacle, subject to any conditions specified in the warrant.

• Marginal note:When warrant not necessary

  (3) A park warden or enforcement officer may exercise any powers under subsection (1) without a warrant if the conditions for obtaining a warrant exist but by reason of exigent circumstances it would not be practical to obtain one.

Marginal note:Custody of things seized

• 19.1 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3) and sections 21.5 and 21.6, if a park warden or enforcement officer seizes a thing under this Act or under a warrant issued pursuant to the Criminal Code,

  • (a) sections 489.1 and 490 of the Criminal Code apply; and

  • (b) the warden or officer, or any person that the warden or officer may designate, shall retain custody of the thing, subject to any order made under section 490 of the Criminal Code.

• Marginal note:Forfeiture if ownership not ascertainable

  (2) If the ownership of or the lawful entitlement to a seized thing cannot be ascertained within 30 days after the day on which it was seized, the thing or any proceeds of its disposition are forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada if the thing was seized by a park warden or an enforcement officer employed in the federal public administration, or to Her Majesty in right of a province if the thing was seized by an enforcement officer employed by a provincial, municipal or local authority or by an aboriginal government.

• Marginal note:Perishable things

  (3) If a seized thing is perishable, the park warden or enforcement officer may dispose of it or destroy it, and any proceeds of its disposition must be paid to the lawful owner or person lawfully entitled to possession of the thing, unless proceedings under this Act are commenced within 90 days after the day on which it was seized, in which case the proceeds must be retained by the warden or officer pending the outcome of those proceedings.