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Quarantine Act (S.C. 2005, c. 20)

Full Document:  

Assented to 2005-05-13

REGULATIONS

Marginal note:Ministerial regulations

 The Minister may make regulations

  • (a) amending the schedule by adding, deleting or amending the name of any communicable disease; and

  • (b) designating the authority to whom operators of conveyances shall report when arriving in or departing from Canada.

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS ACT

Marginal note:Orders not regulations

 For greater certainty, orders made under this Act by the Minister, a screening officer, a quarantine officer or an environmental health officer, including orders made under subsection 15(3) or 25(1), section 26 or 35, subsection 39(1) or 44(3) or section 51, are not regulations for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act.

OFFENCES AND PUNISHMENT

Marginal note:Entering quarantine facility
  •  (1) No person shall enter a quarantine facility without the authorization of a quarantine officer.

  • Marginal note:Leaving quarantine facility

    (2) No person shall leave a quarantine facility without the authorization of a quarantine officer.

Marginal note:Obstruction of officer

 No person shall hinder or wilfully obstruct a quarantine officer, a screening officer or an environmental health officer who is carrying out their duties or functions under this Act, or make a false or misleading statement, either orally or in writing, to the officer.

Marginal note:Offence committed intentionally
  •  (1) Every person is guilty of an offence if they cause a risk of imminent death or serious bodily harm to another person while wilfully or recklessly contravening this Act or the regulations.

  • Marginal note:Punishment

    (2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable

    • (a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of not more than $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than three years, or to both; and

    • (b) on summary conviction, to a fine of not more than $300,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.

Marginal note:Failure to comply

 Every person who fails to comply with an obligation imposed under subsection 15(3) or 25(1) or section 26 is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $200,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.

Marginal note:Failure to comply

 Every person who fails to comply with an obligation imposed under section 35, subsection 39(1) or 44(3) or section 51 is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $750,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.

Marginal note:Contravention

 Every person who contravenes section 12 or 13, subsection 15(1) or section 65 is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $200,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.

Marginal note:Contravention

 Every person who contravenes subsection 6(2), 8(1) or 34(1), (2) or (4), section 36 or 38, subsection 42(1), section 45 or 50, subsection 54(3), section 58 or 59 or subsection 73(2) or the regulations is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $750,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.

Marginal note:Contravention

 Every person who contravenes subsection 15(2) or section 66 is guilty of an offence and liable

  • (a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of not more than $500,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than three years, or to both; or

  • (b) on summary conviction, to a fine of not more than $200,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.

RELATED PROVISIONS

Marginal note:Officers, etc., of corporations
  •  (1) If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, any officer, director or 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 liable on conviction to the punishment provided for the offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted.

  • Marginal note:Duty to ensure compliance

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

Marginal note:Offence by employee or agent or mandatary

 In a 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 or mandatary of the accused, whether or not the employee or agent or mandatary is identified or has been prosecuted for the offence, unless the accused establishes that

  • (a) the offence was committed without the accused’s knowledge or consent; and

  • (b) the accused exercised all due diligence to prevent its commission.

Marginal note:Continuing offence

 If an offence under this Act is continued on more than one day, the person who committed it is liable to be convicted for a separate offence for each day on which it is continued.

Marginal note:Limitation period
  •  (1) A proceeding by way of summary conviction in respect of an offence under this Act may be commenced at any time within two years after the day on which the Minister becomes aware of the subject-matter of the proceeding.

  • Marginal note:Minister’s certificate

    (2) A document purporting to have been issued by the Minister, certifying the day on which the Minister became aware of the subject-matter of the proceeding, is evidence of that fact without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed it and without further proof.

Marginal note:Venue

 An information in respect of an offence under this Act may be tried, determined or adjudged by a summary conviction court if the defendant is resident or carrying on business within the territorial division of the court, even if the matter of the information did not arise in that territorial division.

Marginal note:Analysis and examination
  •  (1) A quarantine officer or an environmental health officer may submit to an analyst, for analysis or examination, any sample taken under paragraph 47(1)(e).

  • Marginal note:Certificate of analyst

    (2) A certificate of an analyst stating that the analyst has analyzed or examined a sample and stating the result of the analysis or examination is evidence of the statements contained in the certificate without proof of the signature or the official character of the person appearing to have signed it.

  • Marginal note:Attendance of analyst

    (3) The party against whom the certificate is produced may, with leave of the court, require the attendance of the analyst for the purpose of cross-examination.

  • Marginal note:Notice

    (4) The certificate may not be received in evidence unless the party who intends to produce it has given the party against whom it is intended to be produced reasonable notice of that intention, together with a copy of the certificate.

Marginal note:Suspended sentence

 If an offender is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may suspend the passing of sentence and may make an order that the offender comply with any condition that has any or all of the effects described in section 80.

Marginal note:Orders of court
  •  (1) If an offender is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may, having regard to the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission, in addition to any other punishment that may be imposed under this Act, make an order that has any or all of the following effects:

    • (a) prohibiting the offender from committing an act or engaging in an activity that may, in the opinion of the court, result in the continuation or repetition of the offence;

    • (b) directing the offender to take any meas­ures that the court considers appropriate to avoid harm to public health that results from or may result from the act or omission that constituted the offence, or to remedy that harm;

    • (c) directing the offender to publish, in any manner that the court directs, at the offender’s own expense, the facts relating to the offence and an apology for any harm caused by the offence;

    • (d) directing the offender, at the offender’s own expense, to notify any person who is aggrieved or affected by the offender’s conduct of the facts relating to the conviction;

    • (e) directing the offender to post a bond or pay an amount of money into court that the court considers appropriate to ensure compliance with any condition required under this section;

    • (f) directing the offender to submit to the Minister, on application by the Attorney General of Canada made within three years after the conviction, any information with respect to the offender’s activities that the court considers appropriate in the circumstances;

    • (g) directing the offender to compensate the Minister, in whole or in part, for the cost of any remedial or preventive measure taken by the Minister as a result of the act or omission that constituted the offence;

    • (h) directing the offender to perform community service, subject to any reasonable conditions that may be imposed by the court;

    • (i) directing the offender to pay an amount that the court considers appropriate for the purpose of conducting research; and

    • (j) requiring the offender to comply with any other conditions that the court considers appropriate in the circumstances for securing the offender’s good conduct and for preventing the offender from repeating the same offence or committing another offence under this Act.

  • Marginal note:Coming into force and duration of order

    (2) An order made under section 79 or subsection (1) comes into force on the day on which the order is made or on any other day that the court determines but may not continue in force for more than three years after that day.

  • Marginal note:Publication

    (3) If an offender does not comply with an order requiring the publication of facts relating to the offence, the Minister may publish the facts and recover the costs of publication from the offender.

  • Marginal note:Debt due to Her Majesty

    (4) If the court orders the offender to compensate the Minister or if the Minister incurs publication costs under paragraph (1)(g) or subsection (3), the costs incurred by the Minister constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered in a court of competent jurisdiction.

 

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