Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park Act (S.C. 1997, c. 37)

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

17 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) for the protection, control and management of the park;

• (b) for the protection of ecosystems, and any elements of ecosystems, in the park;

• (c) for the protection of the cultural resources submerged in the park;

• (d) for public protection, health and safety inside the park;

• (e) setting out the characteristics of each type of zone in the park;

• (f) setting out the terms and conditions under which each type of zone may be used, the boundaries of each type of zone and any time limits respecting zones;

• (g) determining the conditions under which various activities may be undertaken in each type of zone in the park;

• (h) determining the activities that are prohibited in the park;

• (i) for the closing of park zones or for prohibiting activities in those zones;

• (j) authorizing the superintendent to prohibit or restrict activities that may be undertaken in park zones under paragraph (g) or to close park zones or prohibit access to those zones, despite any regulation made under this section, in order to protect park ecosystems and elements of park ecosystems;

• (k) for the issuance, renewal, revocation and suspension of permits and other authorizing instruments required to carry on any activity under this Act or the regulations, and any conditions of those permits and instruments;

• (l) for the determination of charges for the permits or other authorizing instruments required to carry on any activity under this Act or the regulations;

• (m) for limiting the number of persons who may hold the permits and authorizations at any one time;

• (m.1) designating provisions of the regulations for the purpose of subsection 20(1);

• (n) prescribing offences in respect of which section 23 applies and the manner in which they may be described in tickets;

• (o) prescribing the amount of the fine for offences in respect of which section 23 applies, which amount shall not exceed $2,000;

• (p) determining the conditions under which aircraft may take off, fly over and land within park boundaries; and

• (q) in respect of any other matters that are necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

Arrest, Search and Seizure

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.

Marginal note:Liability for costs

19.2 If a thing is seized under this Act, the person who owned the thing at the time it was seized, the person who had charge or control of the thing immediately before it was seized and the person who possessed it immediately before it was seized are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable for all the costs of seizure, detention, maintenance and forfeiture, including any destruction or disposal costs, incurred by Her Majesty in right of Canada in relation to the thing in excess of any proceeds of its disposition, if any.

Offences and Punishment

Marginal note:Offence

• 20 (1) Every person who contravenes any provision of this Act or any provision of the regulations designated by regulations made under paragraph 17(m.1) is guilty of an offence and liable

  • (a) on conviction on indictment,

    • (i) in the case of an individual,

      • (A) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $15,000 and not more than $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both, and

      • (B) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $30,000 and not more than $2,000,000, or to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both,

    • (ii) in the case of a person, other than an individual or a corporation referred to in subparagraph (iii),

      • (A) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $500,000 and not more than $6,000,000, and

      • (B) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $1,000,000 and not more than $12,000,000, and

    • (iii) in the case of a corporation that the court has determined under section 20.4 to be a small revenue corporation,

      • (A) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $75,000 and not more than $4,000,000, and

      • (B) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $150,000 and not more than $8,000,000; or

  • (b) on summary conviction,

    • (i) in the case of an individual,

      • (A) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $300,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and

      • (B) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $600,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both,

    • (ii) in the case of a person, other than an individual or a corporation referred to in subparagraph (iii),

      • (A) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $100,000 and not more than $4,000,000, and

      • (B) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $200,000 and not more than $8,000,000, and

    • (iii) in the case of a corporation that the court has determined under section 20.4 to be a small revenue corporation,

      • (A) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $25,000 and not more than $2,000,000, and

      • (B) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $50,000 and not more than $4,000,000.

• Marginal note:Contravention of other provisions of regulations

  (2) Every person who contravenes any provision of the regulations other than a provision designated by regulations made under paragraph 17(m.1) is guilty of an offence and liable

  • (a) on conviction on indictment,

    • (i) in the case of an individual,

      • (A) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $100,000, and

      • (B) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $200,000,

    • (ii) in the case of a person, other than an individual or a corporation referred to in subparagraph (iii),

      • (A) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $500,000, and

      • (B) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $1,000,000, and

    • (iii) in the case of a corporation that the court has determined under section 20.4 to be a small revenue corporation,

      • (A) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $250,000, and

      • (B) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $500,000; or

  • (b) on summary conviction,

    • (i) in the case of an individual,

      • (A) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $25,000, and

      • (B) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $50,000,

    • (ii) in the case of a person, other than an individual or a corporation referred to in subparagraph (iii),

      • (A) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $250,000, and

      • (B) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $500,000, and

    • (iii) in the case of a corporation that the court has determined under section 20.4 to be a small revenue corporation,

      • (A) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $50,000, and

      • (B) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $100,000.

Marginal note:Continuing offences

20.1 If a contravention of a provision of this Act or of the regulations is committed or continued on more than one day, it constitutes a separate offence for each day on which it is committed or continued.

Marginal note:Offences involving more than one animal, plant or object

20.2 If an offence under this Act involves more than one animal, plant or object, the fine to be imposed in respect of that offence may, despite section 20, be the total of the fines that would have been imposed if each of the animals, plants or objects had been the subject of a separate information.