Vol. 140, No. 40 — October 7, 2006

Regulations Amending the Contraventions Regulations

Statutory authority

Contraventions Act

Sponsoring department

Department of Justice

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Description

The Contraventions Act (the Act) was adopted in October 1992 in order to establish a simplified procedure for prosecuting certain federal offences. The Act provides that offences designated as "contraventions" may be prosecuted through the issuance of a ticket. Because the implementation of the Act required that a complex administrative infrastructure be established first, the Act was not proclaimed immediately. At the request of the provinces and as a result of the Programs Review initiative, the Act was amended in 1996 to make it possible to use provincial and territorial offence schemes for the prosecution of contraventions. The Act, as amended, also authorizes agreements respecting the administrative and technical aspects of the contraventions scheme to be entered into with provincial and territorial governments. It came into force on August 1, 1996.

The Contraventions Regulations made pursuant to section 8 of the Act, list the federal offences designated as contraventions and establish a short-form description and a fine amount for each contravention. The Regulations have been amended numerous times since their coming into force to add new contraventions or to reflect changes to the enabling legislation.

The proposed amendment to Schedule II.1 purports to replace two short-form descriptions of existing contraventions to the Ontario Fishery Regulations, 1989 as a result of a change to the latter regulations. It also designates as a contravention another offence under the same regulations. The fine for this new contravention is consistent with the fines for other contraventions shown in Schedule II.1.

Alternatives

In order to decriminalize a federal offence and give individuals the possibility of pleading guilty without having to appear in court, it is necessary that the Governor in Council, pursuant to section 8 of the Contraventions Act, designate that offence under the Contraventions Regulations and amend consequently these Regulations. There is no other option.

Benefits and costs

The Contraventions Regulations are an essential element for the pursuit of the following three objectives underlying the Contraventions Act: to decriminalize certain federal offences, to ease the courts' workload and to improve the enforcement of federal legislation. This amendment to the Regulations does not impose new restrictions or burdens on individuals or businesses. It is part of a system that will ensure that the enforcement of the designated offences will be less onerous on the offender and more proportionate and appropriate to the seriousness of the violation. While there is no data from which one can draw a comparison, there is consensus among all key players that designating contraventions will result in savings to the entire justice system and provide the public with a quicker and more convenient process for handling federal offences.

Consultation

The proposed amendment to the Contraventions Regulations is published in Part I of the Canada Gazette for a 30-day consultation period.

Compliance and enforcement

Compliance with these regulations is not an issue as they only purport to identify the offences that are being designated as contraventions, give a short-form description of these offences and provide the applicable fines.

Contact

For further information concerning the proposed amendment to the Contraventions Regulations, please contact Jean-Pierre Baribeau, Legal Counsel, Contraventions and Contracts Management Division, Department of Justice, 275 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8, 613-941-4880 (telephone), 613-998-1175 (fax), jean-pierre.baribeau@justice.gc.ca (email).

PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT

Notice is hereby given that the Governor in Council, pursuant to section 8 (see footnote a) of the Contraventions Act (see footnote b), proposes to make the annexed Regulations Amending the Contraventions Regulations.

Interested persons may make representations concerning the proposed Regulations within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to Michel Gagnon, Director, Contraventions and Contracts Management Division, Department of Justice, 275 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8.

Ottawa, September 28, 2006

MARY O'NEILL
Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE CONTRAVENTIONS REGULATIONS

AMENDMENTS

1. The portion of item 13 of Part II of Schedule II.1 to the Contraventions Regulations (see footnote 1) in column II is replaced by the following:

2. The portion of item 19 of Part II of Schedule II.1 to the Regulations in column II is replaced by the following:

3. Part II of Schedule II.1 to the Regulations is amended by adding the following after item 47:

COMING INTO FORCE

4. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

[40-1-o]

Footnote a

S.C. 1996, c. 7, s. 4

Footnote b

S.C. 1992, c. 47

Footnote 1

SOR/96-313

NOTICE:
The format of the electronic version of this issue of the Canada Gazette was modified in order to be compatible with hypertext language (HTML). Its content is very similar except for the footnotes, the symbols and the tables.

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