69.1 This Part applies to telecommunications apparatus that can be

(a) connected to telecommunications networks of Canadian carriers; and

(b) used by a telecommunications service subscriber at their premises.

1998, c. 8, s. 8.

69.2 (1) No person shall distribute, lease, offer for sale, sell or import any telecommunications apparatus for which a technical acceptance certificate is required under this Act, otherwise than in accordance with such a certificate.

(2) No person shall distribute, lease, offer for sale, sell or import any telecommunications apparatus for which technical specifications or markings are required under paragraph 69.4(1)(a), unless the apparatus complies with those requirements.

1998, c. 8, s. 8.

69.3 (1) Subject to any regulations made under section 69.4, the Minister may, taking into account all matters that the Minister considers relevant to further the Canadian telecommunications policy objectives,

(a) issue technical acceptance certificates in respect of telecommunications apparatus and fix the duration and conditions of any such certificate;

(b) change the duration and amend the conditions of certificates;

(c) make available to the public any information set out in certificates;

(d) establish technical specifications and markings in relation to telecommunications apparatus or any class of telecommunications apparatus;

(e) test telecommunications apparatus for compliance with technical specifications and markings required under this Part;

(f) require holders of, and applicants for, certificates to disclose to the Minister any information that the Minister considers appropriate respecting the present and proposed use of the telecommunications apparatus in question;

(g) require holders of certificates to inform the Minister of any material changes in information disclosed under paragraph (f);

(h) appoint inspectors for the purposes of this Part; and

(i) do any other thing necessary for the effective administration of this Part.

(2) The Minister may authorize any person to perform such powers on behalf of the Minister under paragraph (1)(a) as the Minister may determine and subject to the conditions that the Minister may fix.

(3) The Minister may suspend or revoke a certificate

(a) with the consent of the holder of the certificate;

(b) after giving written notice to the holder and giving the holder a reasonable opportunity to make representations to the Minister with respect to the notice, if the Minister is satisfied that

(i) the holder has contravened this Part, the regulations or the conditions of the certificate, or

(ii) the certificate was obtained through misrepresentation; or

(c) on giving written notice of suspension or revocation to the holder, without having to give the holder an opportunity to make representations to the Minister with respect to the notice, if the holder has failed to comply with a request to pay fees or interest due.

1998, c. 8, s. 8.

69.4 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) respecting requirements for technical specifications and markings in relation to telecommunications apparatus or any class of telecommunications apparatus;

(b) prescribing telecommunications apparatus, or classes of telecommunications apparatus, in respect of which a technical acceptance certificate is required;

(c) respecting the inspection, testing and approval of telecommunications apparatus in relation to technical acceptance certificates;

(d) prescribing the form of technical acceptance certificates or markings, or any class of certificates or markings;

(e) prescribing the procedure governing applications for technical acceptance certificates, or any class of certificates, and the issuing of certificates by the Minister;

(f) prescribing the conditions of technical acceptance certificates, including conditions as to the services that may be provided by the holder of a certificate;

(g) prescribing the eligibility and qualifications of persons who may be appointed as inspectors, and the duties of inspectors;

(h) for giving effect to international agreements, conventions or treaties respecting telecommunications apparatus to which Canada is a party;

(i) prescribing fees for technical acceptance certificates, applications for certificates and examinations or testing in relation to certificates, and respecting interest payable on unpaid fees;

(j) prescribing anything that by this Part is to be prescribed; and

(k) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Part.

(2) For greater certainty, a regulation made under subsection (1) incorporating by reference a classification, standard, procedure or other specification may incorporate the classification, standard, procedure or specification as amended from time to time.

1998, c. 8, s. 8.

69.5 (1) Subject to subsection (2), an inspector appointed under paragraph 69.3(1)(h) may, at any reasonable time, for the purpose of enforcing this Part,

(a) enter any place of business that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds is being used to distribute, lease, offer for sale, sell or import any telecommunications apparatus referred to in section 69.2;

(b) examine any telecommunications apparatus found in a place referred to in paragraph (a); and

(c) examine any logs, books, reports, test data, records, shipping bills, bills of lading or other documents or papers found in a place referred to in paragraph (a) that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds contain information relevant to the enforcement of this Part, and make copies of, or take extracts from, them.

(2) The owner or person in charge of a place entered by an inspector shall give the inspector all reasonable assistance to enable the inspector to carry out the inspector’s duties under this Part, and shall give the inspector any information that the inspector reasonably requests.

(3) When an inspector is carrying out duties under this Part, no person shall

(a) resist or wilfully obstruct the inspector; or

(b) knowingly make a false or misleading statement, either orally or in writing, to the inspector.

1998, c. 8, s. 8.

70. (1) The Commission may appoint any person to inquire into and report to the Commission on any matter

(a) pending before the Commission or within the Commission’s jurisdiction under this Act or any special Act; or

(b) on which the Commission is required to report under section 14.

(2) The Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, appoint any person to inquire into and report to the Minister on any matter in respect of which this Act or any special Act applies, and a copy of the report shall be sent to the Commission.

(3) For the purposes of an inquiry, a person appointed under this section has all the powers of a Commissioner under Part I of the Inquiries Act and of an inspector under subsection 71(4).

(4) The rules in section 39 respecting the designation and disclosure of information apply in respect of any information submitted to a person, or obtained in proceedings before a person, appointed under this section as if that person were a member of the Commission exercising the powers of the Commission.

(5) The rules in section 54 respecting in camera hearings apply in hearings held before a person appointed under this section.

71. (1) The Commission may designate any qualified person as an inspector for the purpose of verifying compliance with the provisions of this Act or any special Act for which the Commission is responsible and with the decisions of the Commission under this Act.

(2) The Minister may designate any qualified person as an inspector for the purpose of verifying compliance with the provisions of this Act for which the Minister is responsible.

(3) An inspector shall be provided with a certificate of designation, which certificate the inspector shall present at the request of any person appearing to be in charge of any place entered by the inspector.

(4) An inspector may, for the purposes for which the inspector was designated an inspector,

(a) subject to subsection (5), enter and inspect, at any reasonable time, any place owned by or under the control of any Canadian carrier in which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds there is any document, information or thing relevant to the enforcement of this Act or any special Act, and examine the document, information or thing or remove it for examination or reproduction;

(b) make use of or cause to be made use of any data processing system at the place to examine any data contained in or available to the system;

(c) reproduce any record or cause it to be reproduced from the data in the form of a print-out or other intelligible output and take the print-out or other output for examination or copying; and

(d) make use of any copying equipment or means of communication located at the place.

(5) An inspector may not enter a dwelling-place except with the consent of the occupant or under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (6).

(6) Where on ex parte application a justice, as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code, is satisfied by information on oath

(a) that a dwelling-place is a place described in paragraph (4)(a),

(b) that entry to the dwelling-place is necessary for the enforcement of this Act or any special Act, and

(c) that entry has been refused, there are reasonable grounds for believing that entry will be refused, or consent to entry cannot be obtained from the occupant,

the justice may issue a warrant authorizing an inspector named in the warrant to enter the dwelling-place, subject to any conditions specified in the warrant.

(7) An inspector executing a warrant issued under subsection (6) shall not use force unless the inspector is accompanied by a peace officer and the use of force has been specifically authorized in the warrant.

1993, c. 38, s. 71; 1999, c. 31, s. 207(F).

72. (1) Subject to any limitation of liability imposed in accordance with this or any other Act, a person who has sustained loss or damage as a result of any act or omission that is contrary to this Act or any special Act or a decision or regulation made under either of them may, in a court of competent jurisdiction, sue for and recover an amount equal to the loss or damage from any person who engaged in, directed, authorized, consented to or participated in the act or omission.

(2) An action may not be brought in respect of any loss or damage referred to in subsection (1) more than two years after the day on which the act or omission occurred.

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) applies to any action for breach of a contract to provide telecommunications services or any action for damages in relation to a rate charged by a Canadian carrier.

1993, c. 38, s. 72; 2001, c. 4, s. 122(F).

73. (1) Every person who contravenes subsection 16(4) or 16.1(1) or (2) or section 17 is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable

(a) in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars for a first offence, or one hundred thousand dollars for a subsequent offence; or

(b) in the case of a corporation, to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand dollars for a first offence, or one million dollars for a subsequent offence.

(2) Every person who

(a) contravenes section 25, subsection 27(1) or (2) or section 69.2,

(b) contravenes any condition referred to in section 9 or 24 or subsection 34(1) or (2),

(c) contravenes any prohibition or requirement of the Commission under section 41, or

(d) knowingly makes a material misrepresentation of fact or omits to state a material fact to the Minister, the Commission, a person appointed under section 70 or an inspector appointed under paragraph 69.3(1)(h) or section 71

is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable, in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars for a first offence or twenty-five thousand dollars for a subsequent offence, and in the case of a corporation, to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars for a first offence or two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a subsequent offence.

(3) Every person who

(a) contravenes any other provision of this Act or any special Act or any regulation or decision made under this Act, or

(b) fails to do anything required or does anything prohibited under a provision, regulation or decision referred to in paragraph (a)

is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable, in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars for a first offence or ten thousand dollars for a subsequent offence, and in the case of a corporation, to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars for a first offence or one hundred thousand dollars for a subsequent offence.

(4) A prosecution may not be commenced under this section in respect of a contravention of any provision of Part I, of section 17, of Part IV.1 or of any regulations made under subsection 22(2) or section 69.4, or in respect of a material misrepresentation of fact or an omission to state a material fact to the Minister, without the consent of the Minister.

(5) A prosecution may not be commenced in respect of any other offence without the consent of the Commission.

(6) A prosecution may not be commenced under this Act later than two years after the occurrence of the act or omission that is the subject-matter of the proceedings.

(7) If a court of competent jurisdiction is satisfied, on application by the Minister, that a contravention of section 69.2 is being or is likely to be committed, the court may grant an injunction, subject to any conditions that the court considers appropriate, ordering any person to cease or refrain from any activity related to that offence.

(8) For the purposes of subsection (7), the Federal Court is a court of competent jurisdiction.

1993, c. 38, s. 73; 1998, c. 8, s. 9; 2002, c. 17, s. 30.

74. Where an offence under section 73 is committed or continued on more than one day, the person who committed the offence is liable to be convicted for a separate offence for each day on which the offence is committed or continued.

74.1 (1) In the case of a conviction for an offence arising out of a contravention of subsection 69.2(1) or (2), any telecommunications apparatus in relation to which or by means of which the offence was committed may be forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada by order of the Minister for the disposition, subject to subsections (2) to (6), that the Minister may direct.

(2) If apparatus is ordered to be forfeited under subsection (1), the Minister shall cause a notice of the forfeiture to be published in the Canada Gazette.

(3) Any person, other than a party to the proceedings that resulted in a forfeiture under subsection (1), who claims an interest or right in the apparatus as owner, mortgagee, hypothecary creditor, lien holder, holder of a prior claim or holder of any like interest or right may, within ninety days after the making of the order of forfeiture, apply to any superior court of competent jurisdiction for an order under subsection (6), in which case the court shall fix a day for the hearing of the application.

(4) The court may find the application abandoned if the applicant does not, at least thirty days before the day fixed for the hearing of the application, serve a notice of the application and of the hearing on the Minister and on all other persons claiming an interest or right in the apparatus that is the subject-matter of the application as owner, mortgagee, hypothecary creditor, lien holder, holder of a prior claim or holder of any like interest or right of whom the applicant has knowledge.

(5) Every person, other than the Minister, who is served with a notice under subsection (4) must, in order to appear at the hearing of the application, file an appropriate notice of intervention in the record of the court and serve a copy of that notice on the Minister and on the applicant at least ten days before the day fixed for the hearing or any shorter period that the court may allow.

(6) An applicant or intervener is entitled to an order declaring that their interest or right is not affected by the forfeiture and declaring the nature and extent of their interest or right and the ranking of their interest or right in relation to other interests or rights recognized under this subsection, and the court may, in addition, order that the apparatus to which the interests or rights relate be delivered to one or more of the persons found to have an interest or right in the apparatus, or that an amount equal to the value of each of the interests or rights so declared be paid to the persons found to have those interests or rights, if, on the hearing of an application under this section, the court is satisfied that the applicant or intervener

(a) is innocent of any complicity and collusion in any conduct that caused the apparatus to be subject to forfeiture; and

(b) in the case of owners, exercised all reasonable care in respect of the persons permitted to obtain possession and use of the apparatus to satisfy themselves that it was not likely to be used in the commission of an offence arising out of a contravention of section 69.2.

(7) Any persons convicted in respect of the forfeited apparatus are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable for all the costs of inspection, seizure, forfeiture or disposition incurred by Her Majesty that exceed any proceeds of the disposition of the apparatus that have been forfeited to Her Majesty under this section.

1998, c. 8, s. 10; 2001, c. 4, s. 123; 2004, c. 25, s. 179.

75. (1) The Governor in Council may, after consultation with the Commission, issue to the Commission directives respecting the regulation, during any period ending five years after this section comes into force, of a Canadian carrier whose telecommunications operations were not, immediately before this section comes into force, being regulated pursuant to any Act of Parliament, but not more than one such directive may be issued in respect of any one Canadian carrier.

(2) The Commission shall carry out the directives, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(3) The Minister shall have a copy of each directive laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first fifteen days on which that House is sitting after the directive is issued.

76. (1) An agreement or arrangement referred to in section 29 or a limitation of liability referred to in section 31 that was entered into or imposed, respectively, by a Canadian carrier in conformity with provincial law while the carrier’s operations were not being regulated under an Act of Parliament, and that is in effect on the coming into force of this section, shall be deemed to have been approved pursuant to section 29 or 31.

(2) A transmission line that was constructed by a Canadian carrier on, over, under or along a highway or other public place while the carrier’s operations were not being regulated under an Act of Parliament shall be deemed to have been constructed with the consent referred to in subsection 43(3).

1993, c. 38, s. 76; 1999, c. 31, s. 208(F).

77. to 129. [Amendments]

130. and 131. [Repeals]

132. Where a day is fixed for the coming into force of section 3, 88, 89 or 90, that section does not apply in relation to any Canadian carrier that is an agent of Her Majesty in right of the Province of Manitoba until December 31, 1993, or such earlier day as is fixed by the Governor in Council at the written request of the Government of Manitoba.

*133. Where a day is fixed for the coming into force of section 3, 88, 89 or 90, that section does not apply in relation to any Canadian carrier that is an agent of Her Majesty in right of the Province of Saskatchewan until a day to be fixed for that purpose by the Governor in Council on the expiration of five years after that section comes into force, or such earlier day as is fixed by the Governor in Council at the written request of the Government of Saskatchewan.

* [Note: Sections 3, 88, 89 and 90 shall apply in relation to any Canadian carrier that is an agent of Her Majesty in right of the Province of Saskatchewan as of June 30, 2000, see SI/98-109.]

*134. 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.

* [Note: Act in force October 25, 1993, see SI/93-101.]