Underused Housing Tax Act (S.C. 2022, c. 5, s. 10)

Marginal note:General offence

57 Every person that fails to comply with any provision of this Act for which no other offence is specified in this Act is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine of not more than $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than 12 months, or to both.

Marginal note:Compliance orders

58 If a person is convicted by a court of an offence for a failure to comply with a provision of this Act, the court may make any order that it deems appropriate to enforce compliance with the provision.

Marginal note:Officers of corporations, etc.

59 If a person other than an individual commits an offence under this Act, every officer, director or representative of the person that directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and liable on conviction to the punishment provided for the offence, whether or not the person has been prosecuted or convicted.

Marginal note:No power to decrease punishment

60 Despite the Criminal Code or any other law, the court has, in any prosecution or proceeding under this Act, neither the power to impose less than the minimum fine fixed under this Act nor the power to suspend sentence.

Marginal note:Information or complaint

• 61 (1) An information or complaint under this Act may be laid or made by any officer of the Canada Revenue Agency, by a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or by any person authorized to do so by the Minister and, if an information or complaint purports to have been laid or made under this Act, it is deemed to have been laid or made by a person so authorized by the Minister and must not be called into question for lack of authority of the informant or complainant, except by the Minister or a person acting for the Minister or for Her Majesty in right of Canada.

• Marginal note:Two or more offences

  (2) An information or complaint in respect of an offence under this Act may be for one or more offences, and no information, complaint, warrant, conviction or other proceeding in a prosecution under this Act is objectionable or insufficient by reason of the fact that it relates to two or more offences.

• Marginal note:Territorial jurisdiction

  (3) An information or complaint in respect of an offence under this Act may be heard, tried or determined by any court having territorial jurisdiction where the accused is resident, carrying on a commercial activity, found, apprehended or in custody, despite that the matter of the information or complaint did not arise within that territorial jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Limitation of prosecutions

  (4) No proceeding 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.

DIVISION 10Inspections

Marginal note:By whom

• 62 (1) A person authorized by the Minister to do so may, at all reasonable times, for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act, inspect, audit or examine the records, processes, property or premises of a person that may be relevant in determining the obligations of that or any other person under this Act, or any amount to which that or any other person is entitled under this Act and whether that person or any other person is in compliance with this Act.

• Marginal note:Powers of authorized person

  (2) Subject to subsection (3), the authorized person may, at all reasonable times, for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act

  • (a) enter any place in which the authorized person reasonably believes the person keeps or should keep records, carries on any activity to which this Act applies or does anything in relation to that activity;

  • (b) require any person to give the authorized person all reasonable assistance, to answer all proper questions relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act and

    • (i) to attend with the authorized person at a place designated by the authorized person, or by video-conference or by another form of electronic communication, and to answer the questions orally, and

    • (ii) to answer the questions in writing, in any form specified by the authorized person; and

  • (c) require any person to give the authorized person all reasonable assistance with anything the authorized person is authorized to do under this Act.

• Marginal note:Prior authorization

  (3) If any place referred to in subsection (2) is a dwelling-house, the authorized person may not enter that dwelling-house without the consent of the occupant, except under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Warrant to enter dwelling-house

  (4) A judge may issue a warrant authorizing a person to enter a dwelling-house subject to the conditions specified in the warrant if, on ex parte application by the Minister, a judge is satisfied by information on oath that

  • (a) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the dwelling-house is a place referred to in subsection (2);

  • (b) entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act; and

  • (c) entry into the dwelling-house has been, or there are reasonable grounds to believe that entry will be, refused.

• Marginal note:Orders if entry not authorized

  (5) If the judge is not satisfied that entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act, the judge may, to the extent that access was or may be expected to be refused and that a record or property is or may be expected to be kept in the dwelling-house,

  • (a) order the occupant of the dwelling-house to provide a person with reasonable access to any record or property that is or should be kept in the dwelling-house; and

  • (b) make any other order that is appropriate in the circumstances to carry out the purposes of this Act.

• Marginal note:Definition of dwelling-house

  (6) In this section, dwelling-house means the whole or any part of a building or structure that is kept or occupied as a permanent or temporary residence, and includes

  • (a) a building within the curtilage of a dwelling-house that is connected to it by a doorway or by a covered and enclosed passageway; and

  • (b) a unit that is designed to be mobile and to be used as a permanent or temporary residence and that is being used as such a residence.

Marginal note:Compliance order

• 63 (1) On summary application by the Minister, a judge may, despite section 58, order a person to provide any access, assistance, information or record sought by the Minister under section 31 or 62 if the judge is satisfied that the person was required under section 31 or 62 to provide the access, assistance, information or record and did not do so.

• Marginal note:Notice required

  (2) An application under subsection (1) is not to be heard before the end of five clear days from the day on which the notice of application is served on the person against which the order is sought.

• Marginal note:Judge may impose conditions

  (3) The judge making an order under subsection (1) may impose any conditions in respect of the order that the judge considers appropriate.

• Marginal note:Contempt of court

  (4) If a person fails or refuses to comply with an order, a judge may find the person in contempt of court and the person is subject to the processes and the punishments of the court to which the judge is appointed.

• Marginal note:Appeal

  (5) An order by a judge under subsection (1) may be appealed to a court having appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the court to which the judge is appointed. An appeal does not suspend the execution of the order unless it is so ordered by a judge of the court to which the appeal is made.

Marginal note:Search warrant

• 64 (1) A judge may, on ex parte application by the Minister, issue a warrant authorizing any person named in the warrant to enter and search any building, receptacle or place for any record or thing that may afford evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act and to seize the record or thing and, as soon as is practicable, bring it before, or make a report in respect of the record or thing to, the judge or, if that judge is unable to act, another judge of the same court, to be dealt with by the judge in accordance with this section.

• Marginal note:Evidence on oath

  (2) An application under subsection (1) must be supported by information on oath establishing the facts on which the application is based.

• Marginal note:Issue of warrant

  (3) A judge may issue a warrant referred to in subsection (1) if the judge is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that

  • (a) an offence under this Act has been committed;

  • (b) a record or thing that may afford evidence of the commission of the offence is likely to be found; and

  • (c) the building, receptacle or place specified in the application is likely to contain a record or thing referred to in paragraph (b).

• Marginal note:Contents of warrant

  (4) A warrant issued under subsection (1) must refer to the offence for which it is issued, identify the building, receptacle or place to be searched and the person that is alleged to have committed the offence, and it must be reasonably specific as to any record or thing to be searched for and seized.

• Marginal note:Seizure

  (5) Any person that executes a warrant issued under subsection (1) may seize, in addition to the record or thing referred to in that subsection, any other record or thing that the person believes on reasonable grounds affords evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act and must, as soon as is practicable, bring the record or thing before, or make a report in respect of the record or thing, the judge that issued the warrant or, if that judge is unable to act, another judge of the same court, to be dealt with by the judge in accordance with this section.

• Marginal note:Retention

  (6) Subject to subsection (7), if any record or thing seized under subsection (1) or (5) is brought before a judge or a report in respect of the record or thing is made to a judge, the judge must, unless the Minister waives retention, order that it be retained by the Minister, that must take reasonable care to ensure that it is preserved until the conclusion of any investigation into the offence in relation to which the record or thing was seized or until it is required to be produced for the purposes of a criminal proceeding.

• Marginal note:Return of records or things seized

  (7) If any record or thing seized under subsection (1) or (5) is brought before a judge or a report in respect of the record or thing is made to a judge, the judge may, on the judge’s own motion or on summary application by a person with an interest in the record or thing on three clear days notice of application to the Deputy Attorney General of Canada, order that the record or thing be returned to the person from which it was seized or the person that is otherwise legally entitled to the record or thing, if the judge is satisfied that the record or thing

  • (a) will not be required for an investigation or a criminal proceeding; or

  • (b) was not seized in accordance with the warrant or this section.

• Marginal note:Access and copies

  (8) The person from which any record or thing is seized under this section is entitled, at all reasonable times and subject to any reasonable conditions that may be imposed by the Minister, to inspect the record or thing and, in the case of a document, to obtain one copy of the record at the expense of the Minister.

Marginal note:Definition of foreign-based information or record

• 65 (1) For the purposes of this section, foreign-based information or record means any information or record that is available or located outside Canada and that may be relevant to the administration or enforcement of this Act.

• Marginal note:Requirement to provide foreign-based information

  (2) Despite any other provision of this Act, the Minister may, by a notice served or sent in accordance with subsection (4), require a person resident in Canada or a non-resident person that carries on business in Canada to provide any foreign-based information or record.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (3) A notice referred to in subsection (2) must set out

  • (a) a reasonable period of not less than 90 days for the provision of the information or record;

  • (b) a description of the information or record being sought; and

  • (c) the consequences under subsection (9) to the person of the failure to provide the information or record being sought within the period set out in the notice.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (4) A notice referred to in subsection (2) may be

  • (a) served personally;

  • (b) sent by confirmed delivery service; or

  • (c) sent electronically to a bank or credit union that has provided written consent to receive notices under subsection (2) electronically.

• Marginal note:Review of foreign information requirement

  (5) If a person is served or sent a notice of a requirement under subsection (2), the person may, within 90 days after the day on which the notice was served or sent, apply to a judge for a review of the requirement.

• Marginal note:Powers on review

  (6) On hearing an application under subsection (5) in respect of a requirement, a judge may

  • (a) confirm the requirement;

  • (b) vary the requirement if the judge is satisfied that it is appropriate in the circumstances; or

  • (c) set aside the requirement if the judge is satisfied that it is unreasonable.

• Marginal note:Related person

  (7) For the purposes of subsection (6), a requirement to provide information or a record is not to be considered to be unreasonable because the information or record is under the control of, or available to, a non-resident person that is not controlled by the person on which the notice of the requirement under subsection (2) is served, or to which that notice is sent, if that person is related to the non-resident person.

• Marginal note:Time during consideration not to count

  (8) The period between the day an application for the review of a requirement is made under subsection (5) and the day the review is decided must not be counted in the computation of

  • (a) the period set out in the notice of the requirement; and

  • (b) the period within which an assessment may be made under section 33.

• Marginal note:Consequence of failure

  (9) If a person fails to comply substantially with a notice served or sent under subsection (2) and if the notice is not set aside under subsection (6), any court having jurisdiction in a civil proceeding relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act must, on motion of the Minister, prohibit the introduction by that person of any foreign-based information or record covered by that notice.

Marginal note:Copies

66 If any record is seized, inspected, audited, examined or provided under any of sections 22, 31 and 62 to 64, the person by whom it is seized, inspected, audited or examined or to whom it is provided or any officer of the Canada Revenue Agency may make or cause to be made one or more copies of it and, in the case of an electronic record, make or cause to be made a print-out of the electronic record, and any record purporting to be certified by the Minister or an authorized person to be a copy of the record, or to be a print-out of an electronic record, made under this section is evidence of the nature and content of the original record and has the same probative force as the original record would have if it were proven in the ordinary way.

Marginal note:Compliance

67 Every person must, unless the person is unable to do so, do everything the person is required to do by or in accordance with any of sections 31 and 62 to 66 and no person is to, physically or otherwise, do or attempt to do any of the following:

• (a) interfere with, hinder or molest any officer doing anything the officer is authorized to do under this Act; or

• (b) prevent any officer from doing anything the officer is authorized to do under this Act.