Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

2 In this Act,

company

entreprise

company means a person

• (a) who is engaged in the business of manufacturing vehicles or equipment in Canada,

• (b) who is engaged in the business of selling to other persons, for the purpose of resale by those persons, vehicles or equipment obtained directly from a person described in paragraph (a) or the agent of such a person, or

• (c) who imports a vehicle or article of equipment into Canada for the purpose of sale; (entreprise)

equipment

équipement

equipment means any equipment set out in Schedule I that is designed for use in or on a vehicle; (équipement)

inspector

inspecteur

inspector means a person designated as an automotive inspector pursuant to section 14; (inspecteur)

manufacture

fabrication ou construction

manufacture, in relation to a vehicle, includes any process of assembling or altering the vehicle prior to its sale to the first retail purchaser; (fabrication ou construction)

Minister

ministre

Minister means the Minister of Transport; (ministre)

national safety mark

marque nationale de sécurité

national safety mark means the expression “Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard” or “Norme de sécurité des véhicules automobiles du Canada”, the abbreviation “CMVSS” or “NSVAC”, or the symbol set out in Schedule II; (marque nationale de sécurité)

prescribed

Version anglaise seulement

prescribed means prescribed by regulations made under section 11; (Version anglaise seulement)

sell

vente

sell includes to offer for sale or lease, have in possession for sale or lease or deliver for sale or lease; (vente)

standard

norme

standard means a standard that governs the design, construction, functioning or marking of vehicles or equipment for the purpose of reducing the risk of death, injury or property damage from vehicle use; (norme)

vehicle

véhicule

vehicle means any vehicle that is capable of being driven or drawn on roads by any means other than muscular power exclusively, but does not include any vehicle designed to run exclusively on rails. (véhicule)

National Safety Marks

Marginal note:National trade-marks

• 3 (1) The national safety marks are hereby declared to be national trade-marks and, except as provided in this Act, the exclusive property in and right to the use of those marks are vested in Her Majesty in right of Canada.

• Marginal note:Use of marks

  (2) A company authorized by the Minister, as provided for in the regulations, may apply a national safety mark to a vehicle or equipment, as provided for in the regulations.

• Marginal note:Provision of address

  (2.1) The company shall provide the Minister with the address of the premises at which the national safety mark is to be applied.

• Marginal note:Prohibition

  (3) No person shall use a national safety mark except as authorized by this Act.

• Marginal note:Confusing marks

  (4) No person shall use a mark other than a national safety mark in such a manner that it is likely to be mistaken for a national safety mark.

Marginal note:Interprovincial shipments

4 Except as otherwise provided by the regulations, no company shall ship from one province to another, or deliver to any person for the purpose of being so shipped, any vehicle or equipment of a prescribed class manufactured in Canada unless it has a national safety mark applied to it in accordance with section 3.

Vehicle and Equipment Requirements

Marginal note:Compliance by companies

• 5 (1) No company shall apply a national safety mark to any vehicle or equipment, sell any vehicle or equipment to which a national safety mark has been applied, or import into Canada any vehicle or equipment of a prescribed class unless

  • (a) the vehicle or equipment conforms to the standards prescribed for vehicles or equipment of its class at the time the main assembly of the vehicle was completed or the equipment was manufactured;

  • (b) evidence of that conformity has been obtained and produced as provided for in the regulations or, if the regulations so provide, to the Minister’s satisfaction;

  • (c) [Repealed, 1999, c. 33, s. 351]

  • (d) prescribed information is marked on the vehicle or equipment as provided for in the regulations;

  • (e) prescribed documentation or prescribed accessories accompany the vehicle or equipment as provided for in the regulations;

  • (f) prescribed information relating to the operation of the vehicle or equipment is disseminated as provided for in the regulations;

  • (g) records are maintained and furnished, as provided for in the regulations, in relation to the design, manufacture, testing and field performance of the vehicle or equipment, for the purpose of

    • (i) enabling an inspector to determine whether the vehicle or equipment conforms to all requirements applicable to it, and

    • (ii) facilitating the identification and analysis of defects referred to in subsection 10(1); and

  • (h) in the case of equipment, the company maintains, as provided for in the regulations, a registration system by which any person who has purchased equipment manufactured, imported or sold by the company and who wishes to be identified may be so identified.

• (2) [Repealed, 2014, c. 20, s. 216]

• Marginal note:Time of compliance

  (3) Unless otherwise provided by the regulations, a company may apply a national safety mark to, or import into Canada, a vehicle that does not satisfy a requirement of subsection (1) if that requirement is satisfied before the vehicle leaves the possession or control of the company and before the vehicle is presented for registration under the laws of a province.

• Marginal note:Certification by foreign agency

  (4) Where the regulations so provide in relation to a prescribed standard that corresponds to a prescribed enactment of a foreign government, a vehicle shall be deemed to conform to the standard if a prescribed agency of that government has certified that the vehicle conforms to the enactment as applied by the agency, unless the Minister determines that the vehicle does not conform to that enactment as so applied.

Marginal note:Compliance by all persons importing vehicles

6 No person shall import into Canada a vehicle of a prescribed class unless the requirements of paragraphs 5(1)(a), (b), (d) and (e) are satisfied in respect of the vehicle.

Marginal note:Exceptions for certain importations

• 7 (1) Sections 5 and 6 do not apply in respect of the importation of a vehicle or equipment if

  • (a) the person importing the vehicle or equipment makes a declaration in the prescribed form and manner that the vehicle or equipment will be used in Canada solely for purposes of exhibition, demonstration, evaluation or testing and will remain in Canada for not longer than one year or such other period as the Minister specifies in relation to the vehicle or equipment; or

  • (b) the vehicle or equipment is passing through Canada to another country or is exclusively for use by a visitor to Canada.

• Marginal note:Exception — temporary importation

  (1.1) Sections 5 and 6 do not apply to a resident of Canada who imports a vehicle that is licensed in the United States if the vehicle is rented in the United States from a vehicle rental business and is being imported into Canada for non-commercial purposes.

• Marginal note:Importer to remove vehicle from Canada

  (1.2) A resident of Canada who imports a vehicle under subsection (1.1) shall remove the vehicle from Canada within a period of 30 days, or any other prescribed period, beginning on the day on which the vehicle is imported.

• Marginal note:Rental business to remove vehicle from Canada

  (1.3) If, within the period referred to in subsection (1.2), the resident of Canada delivers the vehicle to a vehicle rental business in Canada with the consent of the business, then the vehicle rental business shall remove the vehicle from Canada before the end of that period.

• Marginal note:Subsection (1.2) does not apply

  (1.4) For greater certainty, if a vehicle rental business is required under subsection (1.3) to remove the vehicle from Canada, subsection (1.2) does not apply to the resident of Canada.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (1.5) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) respecting vehicles imported under subsection (1.1);

  • (b) respecting the importation or removal of vehicles under subsections (1.1) to (1.4); and

  • (c) defining, for the purposes of those subsections, any term used in them.

• Marginal note:Vehicles purchased in United States

  (2) Except as otherwise provided by the regulations, a vehicle that has been sold at the retail level in the United States and that fails to satisfy an applicable requirement of section 5 or 6 may be imported into Canada notwithstanding that section if the person importing the vehicle makes a declaration in the prescribed form and manner that, before the vehicle is presented for registration under the laws of a province, the vehicle

  • (a) will be made to conform to that requirement; and

  • (b) will be certified in the prescribed form and manner to so conform by such person as may be designated by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Change in standard since manufacture

  (3) A vehicle that does not conform to a standard prescribed for vehicles of its class at the time of its main assembly may be imported notwithstanding section 5 or 6 if, at the time of its importation, the standard is no longer in effect and

  • (a) the vehicle conforms to the corresponding standard prescribed for vehicles of its class at that time; or

  • (b) there is no corresponding standard at that time.

• (4) [Repealed, 2014, c. 20, s. 217]

• Marginal note:Declarations binding

  (5) No person who makes a declaration referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or subsection (2) in respect of a vehicle or equipment shall use or dispose of the vehicle or equipment in a manner contrary to the terms of that declaration.

Marginal note:Analytical aids

8 A company that applies a national safety mark to any vehicle or equipment or that imports any vehicle or equipment of a class for which standards are prescribed shall, on the Minister’ request, provide the Minister with the means to retrieve and analyse information created or recorded by the vehicle or equipment.

Vehicle Exemptions

Marginal note:Exemption from standards

• 9 (1) On application by a company as provided for in the regulations, the Governor in Council may, by order, grant an exemption for a specified period, in accordance with any conditions specified in the order, for any model of vehicle manufactured or imported by the company from conformity with any prescribed standard if conformity with that standard would, in the opinion of the Governor in Council,

  • (a) create substantial financial hardship for the company;

  • (b) impede the development of new safety features that are equivalent to or superior to those that conform to prescribed standards; or

  • (c) impede the development of new kinds of vehicles, vehicle systems or components.

• Marginal note:Period and extent of exemption

  (2) An exemption for a model may be granted for a period not exceeding

  • (a) three years, where paragraph (1)(a) applies; or

  • (b) two years, in respect of a stated number of units of that model not exceeding one thousand units, where paragraph (1)(b) or (c) applies.

• Marginal note:Conditions for granting exemption

  (3) An exemption may not be granted for a model if the exemption would substantially diminish the safe performance of the model or if the company applying for the exemption has not attempted in good faith to bring the model into conformity with all prescribed standards applicable to it.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (4) An exemption applied for by a company for any period may not be granted on the basis referred to in paragraph (1)(a) where

  • (a) the world production of vehicles manufactured by the company or by the manufacturer of the model that is the subject of the application exceeded ten thousand vehicles in the twelve month period beginning two years before the beginning of that period; or

  • (b) the total number of vehicles manufactured for, or imported into, the Canadian market by the company exceeded one thousand vehicles in that twelve month period.

• Marginal note:Renewal of exemption

  (5) On expiration of the period of an exemption, a new exemption may be granted in accordance with this section.

Notice of Defect and of Non-Compliance

Marginal note:Notice of defect

• 10 (1) A 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 shall, as provided for in the regulations, give notice of any defect in the design, manufacture or functioning of the vehicle or equipment that affects or is likely to affect the safety of any person to

  • (a) the Minister, on becoming aware of the defect; and

  • (b) the current owner and any other prescribed person, within the period provided for in the regulations.

• Marginal note:Notice already given

  (2) A company is not required to give notice of a defect

  • (a) for which notice has already been given by another company that manufactured, sold or imported the vehicle or equipment; or

  • (b) for which a notice of non-compliance has been given under section 10.1.

• Marginal note:Subsequent notice

  (2.1) If the Minister determines that a defect has not been corrected in an adequate number of vehicles or equipment for which notice was given under subsection (1), the Minister may, by order, require the company to provide, in accordance with any conditions specified in the order, a subsequent notice to those persons who have not had the defect corrected. In making this determination, the Minister shall take into consideration, among other things,

  • (a) the nature of the defect;

  • (b) the safety risk arising from it; and

  • (c) the total number of vehicles or equipment affected.

• Marginal note:Unknown owner

  (3) If the Minister is satisfied that the current owner of a vehicle or equipment cannot reasonably be determined by a company,

  • (a) the company shall give notice in any other manner that is acceptable to the Minister; or

  • (b) the Minister may exempt the company from the requirement to give notice to the current owner.

• Marginal note:Power to order

  (4) 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 give notice of a defect in the manner specified in the order, if the Minister considers that it is in the interest of safety.

• Marginal note:Statutory Instruments Act

  (4.1) The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply to an order made under subsection (2.1) or (4).

• Marginal note:Particulars to provincial authorities

  (5) Forthwith on receiving any notice under subsection (1), the Minister shall forward full particulars of the notice to the minister or other officer responsible for motor vehicle administration in each province.

• (6) and (7) [Repealed, 2014, c. 20, s. 221]

Marginal note:Notice of non-compliance

• 10.1 (1) A 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 shall, as provided for in the regulations, give notice of any non-compliance of the vehicle or equipment with the regulations to

  • (a) the Minister, on becoming aware of the non-compliance; and

  • (b) the current owner and any other prescribed person, within the period provided for in the regulations.

• Marginal note:Notice already given

  (2) A company is not required to give notice of any non-compliance for which notice has already been given by another company that manufactured, sold or imported the vehicle or equipment.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) If the Minister determines that the non-compliance is inconsequential to safety, the company is not required to give notice under paragraph (1)(b).

• Marginal note:Subsequent notice

  (4) If the Minister determines that a non-compliance has not been corrected in an adequate number of vehicles or equipment, the Minister may, by order, require a company to provide, in accordance with any conditions specified in the order, a subsequent notice to those persons who have not had the non-compliance corrected. In making this determination, the Minister shall take into consideration, among other things,

  • (a) the nature of the non-compliance;

  • (b) the safety risk arising from it; and

  • (c) the total number of vehicles or equipment affected.

• Marginal note:Unknown owner

  (5) If the Minister is satisfied that the current owner of a vehicle or equipment cannot reasonably be determined by a company

  • (a) the company shall give notice in any other manner that is acceptable to the Minister; or

  • (b) the Minister may exempt the company from the requirement to give notice to the current owner.

• Marginal note:Particulars to provincial authorities

  (6) On receiving a notice under subsection (1), the Minister shall forward full particulars of it to the minister or other officer who is responsible for motor vehicle administration in each province.

• Marginal note:Power to order

  (7) 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 give a notice of non-compliance in the manner specified in the order, if the Minister considers that it is in the interest of safety.

• Marginal note:Statutory Instruments Act

  (8) The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply to an order made under subsection (4) or (7).

Marginal note:Follow-up reports

10.2 A company that gives notice to the Minister shall submit reports to the Minister as provided for in the regulations.

Marginal note:Make information available

10.3 A company that gives notice to the Minister in respect of a vehicle shall, as provided for in regulations, make information available for the vehicle in respect of which the notice was given.

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) Where 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 one year, suspending or modifying the operation of the regulations to the extent that they are inconsistent with the enactment as amended or given effect.

• 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.

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: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 inspectors

• 15 (1) For the purpose of verifying compliance with this Act, an inspector may at any reasonable time enter any place in which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds there is

  • (a) any vehicle or equipment of a class for which standards have been prescribed that is owned by, or is on the premises of, a company or a consignee of imported vehicles or imported equipment;

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

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

• Marginal note:Search of premises

  (2) An inspector who enters a place pursuant to subsection (1) may examine any vehicle, equipment or component found there, and may open any package or receptacle in that place that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds contains any equipment or component referred to in that subsection.

• Marginal note:Production of documents

  (3) An inspector may require any person to produce for examination any books, records, reports, test data, shipping bills, bills of lading or other documents or electronically stored data that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds contain any information relevant to the enforcement of this Act or to the identification or analysis of a defect referred to in subsection 10(1), and may make copies of or take extracts from any of them.

• Marginal note:Seizure of property

  (4) 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 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:Assistance to inspectors

• 16 (1) Any person who owns or has charge of a place entered by an inspector pursuant to subsection 15(1) and every person present there shall provide all reasonable assistance in their power to enable the inspector to carry out the inspector’s duties, and shall furnish such information as the inspector reasonably requires for purposes of the administration of this Act.

• Marginal note:False statements

  (2) No person shall knowingly obstruct or hinder, or make any false or misleading statement either orally or in writing to, an inspector engaged in carrying out functions under this Act.

• Marginal note:Interference with seized property

  (3) 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 pursuant to subsection 15(4).

Offences and Punishment

Marginal note:Offence and punishment

• 17 (1) Every corporation or company that contravenes this Act, the regulations or an order

  • (a) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable to a fine of not more than $200,000; or

  • (b) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to a fine of not more than $2 million.

• Marginal note:Offence and punishment

  (2) Every individual who contravenes this Act, the regulations or an order

  • (a) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable to a fine of not more than $4,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both; or

  • (b) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to a fine of not more than $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years, or to both.

• Marginal note:Defence where more than one manufacturer

  (3) In a prosecution for a contravention of section 4 or subsection 5(1) by a company engaged in the business of assembling or altering vehicles, it is a defence for the company to establish that the contravention occurred as a result of work previously done on a vehicle by another person engaged in the manufacture of the vehicle.

Marginal note:Offence by employee or agent

• 18 (1) In a prosecution under this Act, it is sufficient proof of an offence to establish that it was committed by an employee or agent of the accused whether or not the employee or agent is identified or has been prosecuted for the offence, unless the accused establishes that the offence was committed without the knowledge or consent of the accused and that the accused exercised all due diligence to prevent its commission.

• Marginal note:Time limit

  (2) A prosecution by way of summary conviction under this Act may not be instituted later than two years after the time when the subject-matter of the prosecution arose.

• Marginal note:Venue

  (3) A prosecution under this Act may be instituted, tried and determined by a court in any territorial jurisdiction in which the accused carries on business, regardless of where the subject-matter of the prosecution arose.

Marginal note:Evidence

• 19 (1) In a prosecution under this Act, evidence that a vehicle or equipment bore a name or mark purporting to be the name or mark of a company engaged in the business of manufacturing, importing or selling vehicles or equipment is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof that the vehicle or equipment was manufactured, imported or sold, as the case may be, by that company.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) In a prosecution under this Act, evidence that a vehicle or equipment bearing a national safety mark was manufactured by a company is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof that the national safety mark was affixed by the company.

Research, Analysis, Testing and Fees

Marginal note:Powers of Minister

• 20 (1) The Minister may

  • (a) conduct any research, studies, evaluations and analyses that the Minister considers necessary for the administration and enforcement of this Act;

  • (b) undertake research and development programs for the study of the impact of vehicles, drivers of vehicles, and streets and highways on road safety, energy conservation and the environment and for the promotion of measures to control that impact;

  • (c) establish and operate facilities for the testing of vehicles, equipment and components, and acquire test equipment for that purpose;

  • (d) make the facilities referred to in paragraph (c) and all related materials, parts and services available to any person;

  • (e) collect any information related to vehicles or equipment that the Minister considers to be in the public interest; and

  • (f) publish or otherwise disseminate any information, other than personal information, relating to the activities of the Minister under this section.

• Marginal note:Personal information

  (1.1) For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(a), (b) and (e), the Minister may collect personal information, as defined in section 3 of the Privacy Act, including personal information from third parties.

• Marginal note:Fees and prices to be charged

  (2) The Minister may, by order, determine or establish the manner of determining a fee to be charged for any facility or service made available to any person under paragraph (1)(d), the price to be charged for any material or part referred to in that paragraph, and the terms of payment of fees and prices so charged.

• Marginal note:Application of charges

  (3) Any amount charged pursuant to subsection (2) may be applied against the cost of making facilities, materials, parts and services available to persons under paragraph (1)(d).

• Marginal note:Recovery of charges

  (4) Any amount charged pursuant to subsection (2) may be recovered as a debt due to Her Majesty in the Federal Court.

21 [Repealed, 1999, c. 33, s. 354]

Repeals

22 and 23 [Repeals]

Coming into Force

Marginal note:Coming into force

Footnote ^*24 This Act shall come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

• Return to footnote ^*[Note: Act in force April 12, 1995, see SI/95-40.]

SCHEDULE II(Section 2)National Safety Mark