Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (S.C. 1992, c. 52)

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

22.09 If an offence under this Act involves more than one animal or plant, or part or derivative of an animal or plant, the fine to be imposed in respect of that offence may, despite sections 22 and 22.01, be the total of the fines that would have been imposed if each of the animals, plants, parts or derivatives had been the subject of a separate information.

Marginal note:Continuing offence

22.1 If an offence under this Act is committed or continued on more than one day, it is deemed to be a separate offence for each day on which the offence is committed or continued.

Marginal note:Application of fines

• 22.11 (1) All fines received by the Receiver General in respect of the commission of an offence under this Act, other than fines collected under the Contraventions Act, are to be credited to the Environmental Damages Fund, an account in the accounts of Canada, and used for purposes related to protecting, conserving or restoring the environment or for administering that Fund.

• Marginal note:Recommendations of court

  (2) The court imposing the fine may recommend to the Minister that all or a portion of the fine credited to the Environmental Damages Fund be paid to a person or an organization specified by the court for a purpose referred to in subsection (1).

Marginal note:Orders of court

• 22.12 (1) If a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, in addition to any punishment imposed, the court may, having regard to the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission, make an order containing one or more of the following prohibitions, directions or requirements:

  • (a) prohibiting the person from doing any act or engaging in any activity that could, in the opinion of the court, result in the continuation or repetition of the offence;

  • (b) directing the person to take any action that the court considers appropriate to remedy or avoid any harm to any animal or plant to which any provision of this Act applies that resulted or may result from the commission of the offence;

  • (c) directing the person to publish, in the manner specified by the court, the facts relating to the commission of the offence and the details of the punishment imposed, including any orders made under this subsection;

  • (d) directing the person to notify, at the person’s own cost and in the manner specified by the court, any person aggrieved or affected by the offender’s conduct of the facts relating to the commission of the offence and of the details of the punishment imposed, including any orders made under this subsection;

  • (e) directing the person to compensate any person, monetarily or otherwise, in whole or in part, for the cost of any remedial or preventive action taken, caused to be taken or to be taken as a result of the act or omission that constituted the offence, including costs of assessing appropriate remedial or preventive action;

  • (f) directing the person to perform community service in accordance with any reasonable conditions that may be specified in the order;

  • (f.1) directing the person to pay, in a manner specified by the court, an amount to enable research to be conducted into the protection or conservation of animals or plants;

  • (f.2) directing the person to pay, in the manner prescribed by the court, an amount to an educational institution including for scholarships for students enrolled in studies related to the environment;

  • (f.3) directing the person to pay, in the manner prescribed by the court, an amount to environmental or other groups to assist in their work in relation to the protection of the species of animal or plant that was the subject of the offence;

  • (g) directing the person to post a bond, provide surety or pay into court an amount of money that the court considers appropriate for the purpose of ensuring compliance with any prohibition, direction or requirement mentioned in this subsection;

  • (h) directing the person to pay to Her Majesty in right of Canada an amount of money that the court considers appropriate for the purpose of promoting the conservation or protection of animals or plants;

  • (i) directing the person to submit to the Minister, when requested to do so by the Minister at any time within three years after the date of the conviction, any information respecting the activities of the person that the court considers appropriate in the circumstances;

  • (j) requiring the person to comply with any other conditions that the court considers appropriate in the circumstances for securing the person’s good conduct and for deterring the person and any other person from committing offences under this Act;

  • (k) requiring the person to surrender to the Minister any permit issued under this Act to the person; and

  • (l) prohibiting the person from applying for any new permit under this Act during any period that the court considers appropriate.

• Marginal note:Publication

  (2) If a person fails to comply with an order made under paragraph (1)(c), the Minister may, in the manner that the court directed the person to do so, publish the facts relating to the commission of the offence and the details of the punishment imposed and recover the costs of publication from the offender.

• Marginal note:Debt due to Her Majesty

  (3) If the court makes an order under paragraph (1)(e) or (h) directing a person to pay an amount to Her Majesty in right of Canada, or if the Minister incurs publication costs under subsection (2), the amount or the costs, as the case may be, constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Enforcement

  (4) If the court makes an order under paragraph (1)(e) directing a person to pay an amount to another person, other than to Her Majesty in right of Canada, and the amount is not paid without delay, that other 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 person who was directed to pay the amount in the same manner as if it were a judgment rendered against the offender in that court in civil proceedings.

• Marginal note:Cancellation or suspension of permits

  (5) If the court makes an order under paragraph (1)(k), any permit to which the order relates is cancelled unless the court makes an order suspending it for any period that the court considers appropriate.

• Marginal note:Coming into force and duration of order

  (6) An order made under subsection (1) comes into force on the day on which it is made or on any other day that the court may determine and shall not continue in force for more than three years after that day unless the court provides otherwise in the order.

Marginal note:Suspended sentence

22.13 If a person is convicted of an offence under this Act and the court suspends the passing of sentence pursuant to paragraph 731(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, the court may, in addition to any probation order made under that paragraph, make an order directing the person to comply with any prohibition, direction or requirement mentioned in section 22.12.

Marginal note:Imposition of sentence

22.14 If a person whose sentence has been suspended fails to comply with an order made under 22.12 or is convicted, within three years after the day on which the order was made, of another offence under this Act, the court may, on the application of the prosecution, impose any sentence that could have been imposed if the passing of sentence had not been suspended.

Marginal note:Limitation period

22.15 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:Minister may refuse or suspend permit

22.16 The Minister may refuse to issue a permit under this Act, or may cancel such a permit, if the applicant or the holder has been convicted of an offence under this Act.

Ticketable Offences

Marginal note: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 an officer

  • (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 practicable 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 officer who completes the ticket, that the 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 may 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 and at the time set out in the ticket.

• Marginal note:Notice of forfeiture

  (3) Where any thing is seized under this Act and proceedings relating to the thing are commenced by way of the ticketing procedure described in subsection (1), the officer who completes 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 thereupon 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) any thing seized from the accused under this Act relating to the offence described in the ticket, or any proceeds realized from its disposition, are forfeited to Her Majesty and may be disposed of as the Minister directs.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (5) The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing

  • (a) offences under this Act to which this section applies and the manner in which those offences may be described in tickets; and

  • (b) the amount of the fine for a prescribed offence, which amount shall not exceed one thousand dollars.

General

Marginal note:Liability of directors, officers, etc., of corporation

• 24 (1) If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, any director, officer, agent or mandatary of the corporation who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable on conviction to the penalty provided for by this Act for an individual in respect of the offence committed by the corporation, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted.

• Marginal note:Directors’ duties

  (2) Every director and officer of a corporation shall take all reasonable care to ensure that the corporation complies with

  • (a) this Act and the regulations; and

  • (b) orders made under this Act.

Marginal note:Offences by employees or agents

25 In any prosecution for an offence under this Act, it is sufficient proof of the 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:Venue

26 A prosecution for an offence under this Act may be instituted, heard and determined in the place where the offence was committed or the subject-matter of the prosecution arose, where the accused was apprehended or where the accused happens to be, or is carrying on business.

Marginal note:Unpaid fees or charges

27 Where any fee or charge imposed under this Act is unpaid, the fee or charge, as the case may be, may be recovered from the person on whom it was imposed as a debt due to Her Majesty.

Marginal note:Publication of information about contraventions

• 27.1 (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:Report to Parliament

28 The Minister shall annually prepare a report with respect to the administration of this Act during the preceding calendar year and shall cause a copy of the report to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first fifteen days that the House is sitting after its completion.

Marginal note:Review

• 28.1 (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 22 to 22.16.

• 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.

Repeal

29 [Repeal]

Coming into Force

Marginal note:Coming into force

Footnote ^*30 This Act or any provision thereof shall come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

• Return to footnote ^*[Note: Act in force May 14, 1996, see SI/96-41.]