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

Marginal note:Forfeiture

• 21.4 (1) If a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may, in addition to any punishment imposed, order that any seized thing by means of or in relation to which the offence was committed, or any proceeds of its disposition, be forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada.

• Marginal note:Return if no forfeiture ordered

  (2) If the court does not order the forfeiture, the seized thing or the proceeds of its disposition shall be returned or paid to its lawful owner or the person lawfully entitled to it.

• Marginal note:Retention or sale

  (3) If a fine is imposed on a person who is convicted of an offence, any seized thing, or any proceeds of its disposition, may be retained until the fine is paid or the thing may be sold in satisfaction of the fine and the proceeds applied, in whole or in part, in payment of the fine.

Marginal note:Disposition by Minister

21.5 Any seized thing that has been forfeited under this Act to Her Majesty in right of Canada or abandoned by its owner may be dealt with and disposed of as the Minister may direct.

Marginal note:Compensation for loss of property

• 21.6 (1) If a person has been convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may, at the time sentence is imposed and on the application of the person aggrieved, order the offender to pay to the aggrieved person an amount by way of satisfaction or compensation for loss of or damage to property suffered by that person as a result of the commission of the offence.

• Marginal note:Enforcement

  (2) If the amount ordered to be paid under subsection (1) is not paid without delay, the aggrieved person may, by filing the order, enter as a judgment, in the superior court of the province in which the trial was held, the amount ordered to be paid, and that judgment is enforceable against the offender in the same manner as if it were a judgment rendered against the offender in that court in civil proceedings.

Marginal note:Compensation for cost of remedial or preventive action

• 21.7 (1) A court shall not, under paragraph 21.3(1)(l), order a person to compensate another person for the cost of any remedial or preventive action referred to in that paragraph if the other person is entitled to make a claim for compensation for that cost under the Marine Liability Act.

• Marginal note:Compensation for loss or damage — property

  (2) A court shall not, under subsection 21.6(1), order a person to pay to another person an amount by way of satisfaction or compensation for loss of or damage to property if the other person is entitled to make a claim for compensation for that loss or damage under the Marine Liability Act.

Marginal note:Limitation period

22 No proceedings by way of summary conviction in respect of an offence under this Act may be instituted more than five years after the day on which the subject matter of the proceedings arose, unless the prosecutor and the defendant agree that they may be instituted after the five years.

Marginal note:Contraventions Act

22.1 If an offence under this Act is designated as a contravention under the Contraventions Act, subsection 8(5) of that Act does not apply in respect of the fine that may be established for that contravention.

Marginal note:Publication of information about contraventions

• 22.2 (1) For the purpose of encouraging compliance with this Act and the regulations, the Minister shall maintain, in a registry accessible to the public, information about all convictions of corporations for offences under this Act.

• Marginal note:Retention

  (2) Information in the registry is to be maintained for a minimum of five years.

Marginal note:Review

• 22.3 (1) The Minister shall, 10 years after the day on which this section comes into force and every 10 years after that, undertake a review of sections 20 to 22.2.

• Marginal note:Report to Parliament

  (2) The Minister shall, no later than one year after the day on which the review is undertaken, cause a report on the review to be tabled in each House of Parliament.

Ticketable Offences

Marginal note:Ticketing procedure

• 23 (1) In addition to the procedures set out in the Criminal Code for commencing a proceeding, proceedings in respect of any prescribed offence may be commenced by a park warden or enforcement officer by

  • (a) completing a ticket that consists of a summons portion and an information portion;

  • (b) delivering the summons portion of the ticket to the accused or mailing it to the accused at the accused’s latest known address; and

  • (c) filing the information portion of the ticket with a court of competent jurisdiction before or as soon as is feasible after the summons portion has been delivered or mailed.

• Marginal note:Content of ticket

  (2) The summons and information portions of a ticket shall

  • (a) set out a description of the offence and the time and place of its alleged commission;

  • (b) include a statement, signed by the park warden or enforcement officer who completes the ticket, that the warden or officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the accused committed the offence;

  • (c) set out the amount of the prescribed fine for the offence and the manner in which and period within which it is to be paid;

  • (d) include a statement that if the accused pays the fine within the period set out in the ticket, a conviction will be entered and recorded against the accused; and

  • (e) include a statement that if the accused wishes to plead not guilty or for any other reason fails to pay the fine within the period set out in the ticket, the accused must appear in the court at the time set out in the ticket.

• Marginal note:Notice of forfeiture

  (3) If a thing is seized under this Act and proceedings relating to it are commenced by way of the ticketing procedure, the park warden or enforcement officer who completed the ticket shall give written notice to the accused that if the accused pays the prescribed fine within the period set out in the ticket, the thing, or any proceeds realized from its disposition, shall immediately be forfeited to Her Majesty.

• Marginal note:Consequences of payment

  (4) Where an accused to whom the summons portion of a ticket is delivered or mailed pays the prescribed fine within the period set out in the ticket,

  • (a) the payment constitutes a plea of guilty to the offence described in the ticket and a conviction shall be entered against the accused and no further action shall be taken against the accused in respect of that offence; and

  • (b) anything seized from the accused under this Act relating to the offence described in the ticket, or any proceeds realized from its disposition, is forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada if the ticket was completed by a park warden or an enforcement officer who is a member of the federal public administration, or is forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Quebec if the ticket was completed by any other enforcement officer.

Other Remedies

Marginal note:Injunction

• 24 (1) Whether or not there are other proceedings with respect to offences under this Act or the regulations, Her Majesty in right of Canada may undertake or continue proceedings seeking to prevent the commission of such offences.

• Marginal note:Civil remedies

  (2) No civil remedy for an act or omission is suspended by reason only that the act or omission is an offence under this Act or the regulations.

Consequential Amendment

25 [Amendment]

Transitional Provision

Marginal note:Permits

26 Permits in force on the date of the coming into force of this Act remain in force until their expiry dates unless the activities authorized under the permits contravene this Act or the regulations.

Coming into Force

Marginal note:Coming into force

Footnote ^*27 This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

• Return to footnote ^*[Note: Act in force June 8, 1998, see SI/98-74.]