Marginal note:Exemption of ship and air movements and activities

17. The Governor in Council may, by regulation, exempt from any regulation made under section 16 or from any provision thereof, subject to any conditions that the Governor in Council considers appropriate, movements or activities of a ship or aircraft, or of a class of ships or aircraft, owned by or operated by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada, or owned or operated by Her Majesty in right of a province or by a foreign state, if so recommended by the Minister and any other minister of the Crown having responsibility in relation to the movement or activity and if the Governor in Council is satisfied that the exemption is necessary

• (a) in the interests of Canadian sovereignty or security; or

• (b) for the conduct of any maritime activity by Canada, a province or a foreign state that is consistent with the purposes of this Act.

ENFORCEMENT

Marginal note:Designation of marine conservation area wardens

18. The Minister may designate persons appointed under the Parks Canada Agency Act whose duties include the enforcement of this Act to be marine conservation area wardens

• (a) for the enforcement of this Act and the regulations in any part of Canada or the exclusive economic zone of Canada, and

• (b) for the preservation and maintenance of the public peace in marine conservation areas, except in any portion of them situated within the exclusive economic zone of Canada,

and marine conservation area wardens are, for those purposes, peace officers within the meaning of the Criminal Code.

Marginal note:Designation of enforcement officers

19. The Minister may designate persons or classes of persons employed in the public service of Canada or by a provincial, municipal or local authority or an aboriginal government, whose duties include law enforcement, to be enforcement officers for the purpose of the enforcement of specified provisions of this Act or the regulations in specified marine conservation areas, and for that purpose enforcement officers have the powers and are entitled to the protection provided by law to peace officers within the meaning of the Criminal Code.

Marginal note:Certificate of designation and oath

• 20. (1) Every marine conservation area warden and enforcement officer shall be provided with a certificate of designation in a form approved by the Minister and shall take and subscribe an oath prescribed by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Limitation of powers

  (2) A certificate of designation provided to an enforcement officer shall specify the provisions of this Act or the regulations that the enforcement officer has the power to enforce and the marine conservation areas in which that power applies.

• Marginal note:Crossing private property

  (3) In the discharge of their duties, marine conservation area wardens, enforcement officers and persons accompanying them may enter on and pass through or over private property.

Marginal note:Arrest by warden or officer

• 21. (1) A marine conservation area warden or enforcement officer may, in accordance with and subject to the Criminal Code, arrest without warrant any person whom the warden or officer finds committing an offence under this Act or who, on reasonable grounds, the warden or officer believes has committed or is about to commit an offence under this Act.

• Marginal note:Arrest by warden

  (2) A marine conservation area warden may, in accordance with and subject to the Criminal Code, arrest without warrant any person whom the warden finds committing an offence under any other Act in a marine conservation area, except in any portion of it situated within the exclusive economic zone of Canada.

Marginal note:Search and seizure

• 22. (1) A marine conservation area 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 any thing that the warden or officer believes on reasonable grounds is a thing described in subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Authority to issue warrant

  (2) If a justice of the peace, on ex parte application, 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,

  • (a) any thing in relation to which there are reasonable grounds to believe an offence under this Act or the regulations has been committed, or

  • (b) any thing that there are reasonable grounds to believe will afford evidence with respect to the commission of such an offence,

  the justice of the peace may issue a warrant authorizing a marine conservation area 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:Where warrant not necessary

  (3) A marine conservation area 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

• 23. (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3) and sections 25 and 26, where a marine conservation area 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 where ownership not ascertainable

  (2) If the lawful ownership of or entitlement to a seized thing cannot be ascertained within 30 days after its seizure, the thing, or any proceeds of its disposition, are forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada, if the thing was seized by a marine conservation area warden or enforcement officer employed in the public service of Canada, 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 an aboriginal government.

• Marginal note:Perishable things

  (3) Where a seized thing is perishable, the marine conservation area warden or enforcement officer may dispose of it or destroy it, and any proceeds of its disposition shall 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 its seizure, or shall be retained by the warden or officer pending the outcome of those proceedings.

OFFENCES AND PUNISHMENT

Marginal note:Contravention of Act or regulations

• 24. (1) Every person who contravenes a provision of this Act or the regulations, or a condition of a permit or other authorizing instrument issued pursuant to the regulations, is

  • (a) guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding $100,000; or

  • (b) guilty of an indictable offence and liable to a fine not exceeding $500,000.

• Marginal note:Continuing offences

  (2) If a contravention of this Act or 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:Injunction

  (3) Whether or not proceedings have been commenced with respect to an offence under this Act, Her Majesty in right of Canada may undertake or continue proceedings to prevent conduct that constitutes such an offence.

Marginal note:Forfeiture of things seized

• 25. (1) When a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the convicting 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 where no forfeiture ordered

  (2) If the convicting court does not order the forfeiture, a seized thing or the proceeds of its disposition shall be returned 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 convicted of an offence under this Act, 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

26. 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:Orders of court

• 27. (1) When a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may, in addition to any punishment imposed and having regard to the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission, make an order

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

  • (b) directing the person to take any action the court considers appropriate to remedy or avoid any harm to any element of the ecosystems of a marine conservation area that resulted or may result from the commission of the offence;

  • (c) directing the person to pay the Minister an amount of money as compensation, in whole or in part, for the cost of any remedial or preventive action taken by or caused to be taken on behalf of the Minister as a result of the commission of the offence;

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

  • (e) requiring the person to comply with any other conditions that the court considers appropriate.

• Marginal note:Suspended sentence

  (2) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act and the court suspends the passing of sentence under paragraph 731(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, the court may, in addition to any probation order made under that paragraph, make an order referred to in subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Imposition of sentence

  (3) If the person does not comply with the order or is convicted of another offence, the court may, within three years after the order was made, on the application of the prosecution, impose any sentence that could have been imposed if the passing of sentence had not been suspended.