Motor Vehicle Safety Act (S.C. 1993, c. 16)

Marginal note:Available measures and benefits

10.52 For greater certainty, any person, including an automobile dealer, may benefit from any measure referred to in section 10.51 and any payment of costs under subsection 10.6(1).

Marginal note:Agreement

10.53 For greater certainty, nothing prevents a company that is subject to an order under subsection 10.1(7) or 10.4(4), section 10.5 or subsection 10.6(1) from entering into an agreement with any person, including an automobile dealer, in respect of any matter related to the order — including, in the case of a vehicle or equipment that has not been sold to the first retail purchaser, in respect of the reimbursement of reasonable costs incurred — in addition to complying with any terms and conditions specified in the order.

Marginal note:Rights not affected

10.54 For greater certainty, a correction to a vehicle or equipment in accordance with section 10.51 does not affect the right of any person, including an automobile dealer, to exercise any other right or remedy available at law, including a right or remedy to recover reasonable costs incurred as a result of an order under section 10.5.

Marginal note:Power to order payment of costs

• 10.6 (1) The Minister may, by order, require any company that applies a national safety mark to any vehicle or equipment, sells any vehicle or equipment to which a national safety mark has been applied or imports any vehicle or equipment of a class for which standards are prescribed to pay the costs of correcting a defect or non-compliance, in accordance with any terms and conditions specified in the order, if a notice of defect or non-compliance has been given.

• Marginal note:Time limit

  (2) This section does not apply to any vehicle or equipment that was manufactured 15 years or more before the date of an order under subsection (1).

Marginal note:Power to prohibit offering for sale — defect or non-compliance

• 10.61 (1) The Minister may, by order, require a company to ensure that any defect or non-compliance in a vehicle or equipment is corrected before the vehicle is offered for sale to the first retail purchaser, in accordance with any terms and conditions specified in the order.

• Marginal note:For greater certainty

  (2) For greater certainty, a company is not prohibited from doing any promotion activities prior to offering for sale any vehicle or equipment under subsection (1).

Marginal note:Process

• 10.7 (1) For the purposes of subsections 10(4) and 10.1(7) and sections 10.5 to 10.61, the Minister shall, before issuing any order,

  • (a) make a preliminary determination, on the basis of testing, analysis, inspection, examination or research that the Minister considers appropriate and in consultation with the company, that an order may be necessary in the interest of safety;

  • (b) notify the company of the preliminary determination, including the rationale on which it is based, and invite the company to provide information in writing, in the time and manner specified by the Minister; and

  • (c) publish a notice of preliminary determination and invite any person to make comments in writing, within the time that the Minister specifies.

• Marginal note:Final decision

  (2) The Minister shall not make a final decision that an order is necessary unless the Minister has taken into account information that he or she considers relevant.

• Marginal note:Notice to company

  (3) After making a final decision, the Minister shall notify the company of the decision and the rationale on which it is based.

• Marginal note:Publication

  (4) After making a final decision, the Minister shall publish a notice of it through the Internet or by any other means that he or she considers appropriate.

Marginal note:Power to vary or revoke order

10.8 The Minister may vary or revoke an order if new relevant information becomes available.

Marginal note:Statutory Instruments Act

10.9 The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply to an order made under section 10.4, 10.5, 10.6 or 10.61.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

• 11 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act, including regulations

  • (a) respecting the keeping of records and the provision of information to the Minister; and

  • (b) prescribing or providing for anything that by this Act is to be prescribed or provided for by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Progressive application

  (2) Regulations prescribing a standard may be made applicable in respect of a specified proportion of vehicles of any class before those regulations are made applicable in respect of all vehicles of that class.

• Marginal note:Incorporation by reference

  (3) Regulations made under this section may, in whole or in part, incorporate by reference, as it is amended from time to time or as it exists on a particular date,

  • (a) a document produced by a person or body other than the Minister; or

  • (b) a technical or explanatory document produced by the Minister including specifications, classifications, illustrations, graphs, test methods, procedures, operational standards and performance standards.

• Marginal note:No registration or publication

  (4) For greater certainty, a document that is incorporated by reference in a regulation is not required to be transmitted for registration or published in the Canada Gazette under the Statutory Instruments Act by reason only that it is incorporated by reference.

Definition of technical standards document

• 12 (1) In this section, technical standards document means a document that is published by the Minister, as provided for in the regulations, that adapts, or that reproduces in whole or in part in the official languages of Canada, an enactment of a foreign government or material produced by an international organization. The adaptations may include amendments to the content of the originating enactment or material.

• Marginal note:Incorporation of document

  (2) Regulations made under this Act may, in whole or in part, incorporate by reference a technical standards document as it is amended from time to time or as it exists on a particular date.

• Marginal note:No registration or publication

  (3) For greater certainty, a technical standards document that is incorporated by reference in a regulation is not required to be transmitted for registration or published in the Canada Gazette under the Statutory Instruments Act by reason only that it is incorporated by reference.

Marginal note:For greater certainty

12.1 For greater certainty, subsections 11(3) and 12(2) do not limit any authority to make regulations incorporating material by reference that exists apart from those subsections.

Marginal note:Interim order

• 13 (1) If an enactment of a foreign government corresponds to regulations made under this Act and that enactment is amended by that government or its operation is affected by a decision of a foreign court, the Minister may issue an order, effective for a period not exceeding three years, suspending or modifying the operation of the regulations to the extent that they are inconsistent with the enactment as amended or given effect. The Minister may renew the order for a further period not exceeding three years.

• Marginal note:Order not a regulation

  (2) An order issued under subsection (1) is not a regulation for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act but no person is required to comply with such an order unless it has been published in the Canada Gazette or that person has received actual notice of it.

Marginal note:Order to suspend, modify or adapt regulation

13.1 The Minister may issue an order, effective for a period not exceeding three years, that suspends, modifies or adapts a regulation, in whole or in part, if the Minister is of the opinion that it is in the public interest to do so, including to promote innovation or for reasons of safety.

Inspection

Marginal note:Inspectors

• 14 (1) The Minister may designate as an automotive inspector any person who, in the Minister’s opinion, is qualified to be so designated.

• Marginal note:Investigation — collisions

  (1.1) For greater certainty, the Minister may designate as a collision investigator any person whom the Minister considers qualified, and that person may collect information with respect to an investigation of any motor vehicle collision.

• Marginal note:Certificate of designation

  (2) The Minister shall furnish every inspector with a certificate of designation, and on entering any place referred to in subsection 15(1) an inspector shall, on demand from the person in charge of that place, produce the certificate for examination by that person.

• Marginal note:Testimony  — civil suits

  (3) An inspector may not be compelled to give testimony in any civil suit, with regard to information obtained by them in the discharge of their duties, without the Minister’s written permission.

Marginal note:Entry by inspector

• 15 (1) For a purpose related to verifying compliance with this Act, an inspector may at any reasonable time enter any place, other than a dwelling-house but including a collision site, in which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds there is

  • (a) any vehicle or equipment of a class for which standards are prescribed;

  • (b) any component that is used or intended to be used in the manufacture of a vehicle or equipment for which safety standards are prescribed; or

  • (c) any record referred to in paragraph 5(1)(g).

• Marginal note:Entry by inspector

  (2) In carrying out their duties, an inspector and any person accompanying the inspector may enter on and pass through or over private property, other than a dwelling-house, without being liable for doing so and without any person having the right to object to that use of the property.

• Marginal note:Power to require attendance of persons

  (3) An inspector who enters a place may require the attendance of persons whom the inspector considers relevant to the carrying out of the inspector’s functions.

• Marginal note:Powers

  (4) The inspector may, for the purpose referred to in subsection (1),

  • (a) examine any vehicle, equipment or component that is in the place;

  • (b) open and examine any package or receptacle that the inspector believes contains any equipment or component referred to in that subsection;

  • (c) examine any document that is in the place, make copies of it or take extracts from it;

  • (d) disassemble and remove any constituent components;

  • (e) order the owner or person having possession, care or control of any vehicle or equipment to which this Act applies that is in the place to move it or, for any time that may be necessary, not to move it or to restrict its movement;

  • (f) use or cause to be used a computer or other device that is in the place to examine data that is contained in or available to a computer system or reproduce it or cause it to be reproduced in the form of a printout or other intelligible output and remove the output for examination or copying;

  • (g) use or cause to be used copying equipment that is in the place and remove the copies for examination;

  • (h) take photographs or make recordings or sketches; and

  • (i) remove any vehicle, equipment or component from the place for the purpose of examination or conducting tests.

• Marginal note:Assistance to inspector

  (5) Any person who owns or has charge of a place entered by an inspector under subsection (1) and every person present there shall answer all of the inspector’s reasonable questions related to the inspection, provide access to all electronic data that the inspector may reasonably require, provide all reasonable assistance in their power to enable the inspector to carry out his or her duties and furnish any information that the inspector reasonably requires for the purposes of the administration of this Act.

• Marginal note:Seizure of property

  (6) An inspector may seize and, subject to sections 489.1 to 491.2 of the Criminal Code, detain any vehicle, equipment or component described in subsection (1)

  • (a) by means of which or in relation to which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds that this Act has been contravened; or

  • (b) that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds will afford evidence in respect of a contravention of this Act.

• Marginal note:Interference with seized property

  (7) Except with the authorization of an inspector, no person shall remove, alter or otherwise interfere with any vehicle, equipment or component seized by an inspector under subsection (6).