Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada

Search

Contraventions Act (S.C. 1992, c. 47)

Full Document:  

Act current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2019-12-18. Previous Versions

Evidence

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note:Ticket as evidence

 A ticket that is filed in the office of the contraventions court or the youth court, including any notes that purport to have been made by, and any portions that purport to have been completed by, an enforcement authority in respect of matters of which the authority has personal knowledge, is evidence of the facts alleged in the ticket without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have completed the ticket.

 [Repealed, 1996, c. 7, s. 23]

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note:Evidence of vehicle’s ownership

 A statement purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the registrar of motor vehicles of a province and certifying that a person was the owner of a vehicle at the time specified in the statement is evidence that the person owned the vehicle at that time, without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed the statement.

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note:Notice

  •  (1) Except as otherwise provided, a notice or document required or authorized to be given or delivered under this Act may be given or delivered personally or by ordinary mail.

  • Marginal note:Evidence of notice

    (2) Evidence that a notice or document required or authorized to be given or delivered to a person under this Act was sent by ordinary mail to the person at his or her address appearing on a ticket, certificate of service or other document in the court file is evidence that the notice or document was given or delivered to the person.

Sentence

Marginal note:Fines

  •  (1) A person who is convicted in a proceeding commenced by means of a ticket is liable to a fine in an amount not exceeding the amount established under section 8 or to any sentence prescribed by law other than a fine.

  • Marginal note:No imprisonment

    (2) A person who is convicted in a proceeding commenced by means of a ticket is not liable to imprisonment and, accordingly, subsection 806(2) of the Criminal Code does not apply.

  • Marginal note:Minimum punishment

    (3) Where a defendant in a proceeding commenced by means of a ticket requests a trial but does not appear for it or a resumption of it and is convicted, a contraventions or youth court or a justice of the peace shall impose the fine in the amount established under section 8.

  • Marginal note:Punishment on default

    (4) Where a defendant in a proceeding commenced by means of a ticket does not respond to the ticket, a contraventions or youth court or a justice of the peace shall impose the fine in the amount established under section 8.

  • 1992, c. 47, s. 42
  • 1996, c. 7, s. 24

 [Repealed, 1996, c. 7, s. 25]

Default Proceedings

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note:Default convictions

  •  (1) For the purpose of obtaining a default conviction, a proceeding in respect of a contravention may be commenced by filing a ticket in the office of the contraventions court if

    • (a) the place specified in the ticket for the purposes of pleading guilty, pleading guilty but making representations or requesting a trial is not the office of the court;

    • (b) more than thirty but not more than sixty days have elapsed since the date of service of the ticket;

    • (c) the person alleged to have committed the contravention has not exercised any of the options referred to in section 21; and

    • (d) the person alleged to have committed the contravention is not a young person.

  • Marginal note:Examination of ticket

    (2) The contraventions court or a justice of the peace shall examine a ticket that has been filed in the office of the court under subsection (1) or paragraph 18(a) if

    • (a) more than thirty days have elapsed since the date of service of the ticket;

    • (b) the person alleged to have committed the contravention has not exercised any of the options referred to in section 21; and

    • (c) the person alleged to have committed the contravention is not a young person.

  • Marginal note:Default convictions

    (3) The contraventions court or justice of the peace shall

    • (a) if the ticket is complete and regular on its face, convict the defendant and impose a fine and the applicable fees in the amounts provided for under section 8; or

    • (b) quash the proceeding, if the ticket is not complete and regular on its face.

  • Marginal note:Notice of conviction

    (4) As soon as practicable after an offender whose address appears on the ticket, the certificate of service or other document in the court file is convicted under paragraph (3)(a), the clerk of the court shall cause a notice of the conviction to be sent to the offender by ordinary mail.

  • 1992, c. 47, s. 44
  • 1996, c. 7, s. 26
The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note:Young persons

  •  (1) An enforcement authority may, for the purpose of compelling the appearance of a young person so that a trial can take place, commence a proceeding in respect of a contravention by filing a ticket in the office of the youth court or, in a province the lieutenant governor in council of which has made an order under subsection 17(2), in the office of the contraventions court if

    • (a) the place specified in the ticket for the purposes of pleading guilty, pleading guilty but making representations or requesting a trial is not the office of the court;

    • (b) more than thirty but not more than sixty days have elapsed since the date of service of the ticket;

    • (c) the person alleged to have committed the contravention has not exercised any of the options referred to in section 21; and

    • (d) the person alleged to have committed the contravention is a young person.

  • Marginal note:Examination of ticket

    (2) The youth or contraventions court or a justice of the peace shall examine a ticket that has been filed in the office of the court under subsection (1) or paragraph 18(a) if

    • (a) more than thirty days have elapsed since the date of service of the ticket;

    • (b) the person alleged to have committed the contravention has not exercised any of the options referred to in section 21; and

    • (c) the person alleged to have committed the contravention is a young person.

  • Marginal note:Summons or warrant

    (3) The youth or contraventions court or justice may issue a summons or a warrant for the arrest of the young person to compel the young person to attend before the court or justice or some other justice for the same territorial division.

  • Marginal note:Deeming

    (4) The summons or warrant is deemed to have been issued under section 507 of the Criminal Code.

Removal of Convictions

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note:Application to contraventions court

  •  (1) A defendant who is convicted by the contraventions court or a justice of the peace in a proceeding commenced by means of a ticket or the Attorney General may apply to the court, within thirty days after becoming aware of the conviction, to set it aside.

  • Marginal note:Application to youth court

    (2) A defendant who is convicted by the youth court in a proceeding commenced by means of a ticket or the Attorney General may apply to the court, within thirty days after becoming aware of the conviction, to set it aside.

  • 1992, c. 47, s. 46
  • 1996, c. 7, s. 27
The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note:Review of convictions entered in defendant’s absence

  •  (1) If the defendant was convicted in his or her absence, the contraventions court may

    • (a) set aside the conviction if the court is satisfied that

      • (i) the defendant was not served with the ticket,

      • (ii) the defendant was not notified of the time and place of the trial although the defendant requested a trial,

      • (iii) the conviction was entered as a result of administrative error and through no fault of the defendant, or

      • (iv) the court lacked jurisdiction to enter the conviction; or

    • (b) dismiss the application.

  • Marginal note:Review of convictions entered after trial

    (2) If the defendant was convicted after a trial, the contraventions or youth court may

    • (a) set aside the conviction if the court is satisfied that

      • (i) the conviction is unreasonable or cannot be supported by the evidence,

      • (ii) the conviction should be set aside on the ground of a wrong decision on a question of law, or

      • (iii) there was a miscarriage of justice; or

    • (b) dismiss the application if

      • (i) the application is not decided in favour of the defendant on any ground mentioned in paragraph (a),

      • (ii) the court is satisfied that no substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice occurred despite being satisfied that the application might be decided in favour of the defendant on any ground mentioned in paragraph (a), or

      • (iii) the court is satisfied that the defendant suffered no prejudice by any procedural irregularity at the trial.

  • Marginal note:Effect of removal of conviction

    (3) A court that sets aside a conviction under subsection (1) or (2) shall direct that a trial be held.

  • Marginal note:Transfer to proper court

    (4) A court that sets aside a conviction under subparagraph (1)(a)(iv) may make an order under section 28 in addition to or in lieu of directing that a trial be held.

  • Marginal note:Trial — contraventions court

    (5) As soon as practicable after the contraventions court directs that a trial be held, the court, the clerk of the court or a justice of the peace shall fix the time and place of the trial and cause the defendant and the Attorney General to be notified of its time and place.

  • Marginal note:Trial — youth court

    (6) As soon as practicable after the youth court directs that a trial be held, the court shall fix the time and place of the trial and cause the defendant and the Attorney General to be notified of its time and place.

  • 1992, c. 47, s. 47
  • 1996, c. 7, s. 28

 [Repealed, 1996, c. 7, s. 29]

Election of Crown

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note:Election of Crown

  •  (1) Where a proceeding in respect of a contravention is commenced by laying an information, the Attorney General may elect that the proceeding be dealt with and disposed of as if it had been commenced by filing a ticket.

  • Marginal note:Effect of election

    (2) Where the Attorney General makes an election, this Act applies as if the defendant were served with a ticket on the day on which the defendant is notified of the election, even if that day is more than thirty days after the day on which the contravention was committed.

  • Marginal note:Notice of election

    (3) As soon as practicable, the clerk of the court shall notify the defendant of the election.

  • Marginal note:Contents of notice

    (4) A notice of election must have the contents required of a ticket by section 16 and state that, where a defendant entered into, was issued or was given, as the case may be, an undertaking, release order, summons or appearance notice, the requirement to attend court in accordance with a summons, appearance notice, undertaking or release order, the conditions in the undertaking or release order and the obligation to appear, for the purposes of the Identification of Criminals Act, as required by the summons, appearance notice or undertaking, as the case may be, cease to have effect.

  • Marginal note:Cessation of effect — conditions and obligations

    (5) The requirement to attend court in accordance with a summons, appearance notice, undertaking or release order, the conditions in an undertaking or release order and the obligation to appear, for the purposes of the Identification of Criminals Act, as required by a summons, appearance notice or undertaking, as the case may be, that was entered into by, issued to or given to a defendant, cease to have effect on the defendant’s being notified of the election.

Practice and Procedure

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note:Rules

  •  (1) A contraventions or youth court may, subject to the approval of the lieutenant governor in council of the province, make rules governing the practice and procedure in proceedings under this Act.

  • Marginal note:Consistency

    (2) The rules shall not be inconsistent with this Act or the regulations but may be inconsistent with the practice and procedure in proceedings under the Criminal Code.

  • Marginal note:Prepublication

    (3) A court that proposes to make rules under this section

    • (a) shall give notice of the proposed rules by publishing them in the Canada Gazette and shall, in the notice, invite any interested person to make representations in writing with respect to the proposed rules within sixty days after the day of that publication; and

    • (b) may, after the expiration of the sixty days referred to in paragraph (a) and subject to the approval of the lieutenant governor in council of the province, make the rules either as originally published or as revised in any manner that the court considers advisable having regard to any representations so made.

  • Marginal note:Publication

    (4) The rules shall be published in the Canada Gazette.

  • Marginal note:Quorum, etc. for making rules

    (5) Subsection 22(2) of the Interpretation Act applies in respect of making the rules as if the Act of the legislature of the province establishing the contraventions court or youth court were an enactment within the meaning of the Interpretation Act.

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note:Fees

  •  (1) In proceedings commenced by means of a ticket, a contraventions or youth court or a justice of the peace may award such costs provided for under paragraph 8(1)(e) as the court or justice considers appropriate.

  • Marginal note:Criminal Code limitations on fees and allowances inapplicable

    (2) Section 840 of the Criminal Code does not apply in respect of proceedings commenced by means of a ticket and, accordingly, subsection 809(1) of that Act does not restrict the power to award costs under this section.

  • 1992, c. 47, s. 52
  • 1996, c. 7, s. 31
 

Date modified: