Motor Vehicle Safety Act (S.C. 1993, c. 16)

AMENDMENTS NOT IN FORCE

• — 2018, c. 2, s. 4

  • 4 Section 5 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):

    • Compliance by companies of prescribed class

      (2) No company of a prescribed class shall apply a national safety mark to any vehicle or equipment, sell any vehicle or equipment to which a national safety mark has been applied or import into Canada any vehicle or equipment of a prescribed class unless the company acquires and maintains, as provided for in the regulations and in relation to a vehicle or equipment that is substantially similar to that vehicle or equipment, records related to prescribed subject matters.

    • Regulations

      (2.1) The Governor in Council may make regulations defining, for the purposes of subsection (2), any term used in it.

• — 2018, c. 2, s. 15

  • 15 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 16.01:

    Administrative Monetary Penalties

    • Regulations

      16.1 The Governor in Council may, by regulation,

      • (a) designate as a provision the contravention of which may be proceeded with as a violation in accordance with sections 16.13 to 16.23 of this Act, or any regulations or orders made under this Act;

      • (b) prescribe the maximum amount payable for each violation, but not more than

        • (i) $4,000, in the case of an individual, and

        • (ii) $200,000, in the case of a corporation or company;

      • (c) establish what constitutes a related series or class of violations; and

      • (d) prescribe the total maximum amount payable for a related series or class of violations.

    • Designation of enforcement officers

      • 16.11 (1) The Minister may designate persons, or classes of persons, as enforcement officers.

      • Certification of enforcement officers

        (2) Every person who is designated as an enforcement officer shall receive a certificate of designation attesting to their designation and shall, on demand, present the certificate to any person from whom the enforcement officer requests information in the course of the enforcement officer’s duties.

      • Entry by officer

        (3) For the purpose of determining whether a violation referred to in section 16.13 has been committed, an enforcement officer may at any reasonable time enter any place, other than a dwelling-house, in which the enforcement officer believes on reasonable grounds there is

        • (a) any vehicle or equipment of a class for which standards are prescribed;

        • (b) any component that is used or intended to be used in the manufacture of a vehicle or equipment for which safety standards are prescribed; or

        • (c) any record that is referred to in paragraph 5(1)(g).

      • Entry by enforcement officer

        (4) In carrying out his or her duties, an enforcement officer and any person accompanying him or her may enter on and pass through or over private property, other than a dwelling-house, without being liable for doing so and without any person having the right to object to that use of the property.

      • Power to require attendance of persons

        (5) An enforcement officer who enters a place may require the attendance of persons whom the enforcement officer considers relevant to the carrying out of the enforcement officer’s functions.

      • Search of premises

        (6) An enforcement officer who enters a place under subsection (3) may examine any vehicle and may exercise the powers and carry out the duties or functions of an inspector under subsection 15(2).

      • Production of documents, information or electronic data

        (7) An enforcement officer may, for a purpose related to determining whether a violation referred to in section 16.13 has been committed, order a person in writing to provide, on the date, at the time and place and in the manner specified by the enforcement officer, any document, information or electronic data specified by the enforcement officer.

      • Assistance to enforcement officer

        (8) Any person who owns or has charge of a place entered by an enforcement officer under subsection (3) and every person present there shall answer all of the enforcement officer’s reasonable questions related to the functions of the enforcement officer, provide access to all electronic data that the enforcement officer may reasonably require, provide all reasonable assistance in their power to enable the enforcement officer to carry out the enforcement officer’s duties and furnish any information that the enforcement officer reasonably requires for the purposes of the administration of this Act.

    • Notices of violation

      16.12 The Minister may establish the form and content of notices of violation.

    • Violation

      • 16.13 (1) Every person who contravenes a provision designated under paragraph 16.1(a) commits a violation and is liable to a penalty of not more than the maximum amount prescribed under paragraph 16.1(b) or (d).

      • Purpose of penalty

        (2) The purpose of the penalty is to promote compliance with this Act and not to punish.

      • Continuing violation

        (3) A violation that is committed or continued on more than one day constitutes a separate violation for each day on which it is committed or continued.

      • Clarification

        (4) If a contravention of a provision designated under paragraph 16.1(a) may be proceeded with as a violation or as an offence, proceeding with it in one manner precludes proceeding with it in the other.

      • Nature of violation

        (5) For greater certainty, a violation is not an offence and, accordingly, section 126 of the Criminal Code does not apply in respect of a violation.

      • Due diligence available

        (6) Due diligence is a defence in a proceeding in respect of a violation.

    • Issuance of notice of violation

      16.14 When an enforcement officer believes on reasonable grounds that a person has committed a violation, the enforcement officer may issue and serve on the person a notice of violation that names the person, identifies the violation and sets out

      • (a) the penalty for the violation that the person is liable to pay; and

      • (b) particulars concerning the time for and manner of paying the penalty and the procedure for requesting a review.

    • Service of documents

      16.15 The Minister may establish procedures respecting the service of documents that are required or authorized under this Act, including the manner and proof of service and the circumstances under which documents are deemed to have been served. In the absence of those procedures, notices of violation may be served by personal service or by registered or certified mail sent to the person at their latest known address.

    • Payment

      16.16 If a person who is served with a notice of violation pays the amount specified in the notice in accordance with the particulars set out in it, the Minister shall accept the amount as and in complete satisfaction of the amount of the penalty for the contravention and no further proceedings under this Act shall be taken against the person in respect of that contravention.

    • Failure to pay penalty deemed contravention

      16.17 A person who fails to pay the amount of the penalty specified in a notice of violation within the specified time and who does not file a request for a review is deemed to have committed the contravention alleged in the notice.

    • Request for review

      • 16.18 (1) A person served with a notice of violation that wishes to have the Minister’s decision regarding the facts of the alleged contravention or the amount of the penalty reviewed shall, within 30 days after the notice of violation is served — or within any further time that the Tribunal on application may allow — file a request for a review with the Tribunal.

      • Time and place for review

        (2) On receipt of the request, the Tribunal shall appoint a time and place for the review and shall notify the Minister and the person who filed the request of the time and place in writing.

      • Review procedure

        (3) The member of the Tribunal who is assigned to conduct the review shall provide the Minister and the person who filed the request with an opportunity that is consistent with procedural fairness and natural justice to present evidence and make representations.

      • Burden of proof

        (4) The Minister has the burden of establishing on a balance of probabilities that a person has committed a violation.

      • Person not compelled to testify

        (5) A person who is alleged to have committed a violation is not required to give any evidence or testimony in the matter.

    • Determination by Tribunal member

      16.19 At the conclusion of a review, the member of the Tribunal who conducts the review shall without delay inform the Minister and the person who is alleged to have committed a violation

      • (a) that the person has not committed a violation, in which case, subject to section 16.19, no further proceedings under this Act shall be taken against the person in respect of the alleged violation; or

      • (b) that the person has committed a violation and, subject to any regulations made under paragraph 16.1(b) or (d), of the amount determined by the member to be payable to the Tribunal by or on behalf of the person and the time within which it must be paid.

    • Right of appeal

      • 16.2 (1) Within 30 days after a determination is made under section 16.18, the Minister or a person to whom it applies may appeal the determination to the Tribunal.

      • Loss of right of appeal

        (2) A party who does not appear at a review hearing is not entitled to appeal the determination, unless the party establishes that there was sufficient reason to justify their absence.

      • Disposition of appeal

        (3) The appeal panel of the Tribunal that is assigned to hear an appeal may dismiss it or allow it and, in allowing the appeal, the panel may substitute its decision for the determination.

      • Finding of violation

        (4) If the appeal panel finds that a person has committed a violation, the panel shall immediately inform the person and the Minister of the finding and, subject to any regulations made under paragraph 16.1(b) or (d), of the amount determined by the panel to be payable to the Tribunal by or on behalf of the person in respect of the violation and the time within which it must be paid.

      • Finding of no violation

        (5) If the appeal panel finds that a person has not committed a violation, the panel shall immediately inform the person and the Minister of the finding.

    • Certificate

      16.21 The Minister may obtain from the Tribunal or the member, as the case may be, a certificate in the form established by the Governor in Council setting out the amount of the penalty required to be paid by a person who fails, within the time required,

      • (a) to pay the amount of a penalty set out in a notice of violation or to file a request for a review under section 16.16;

      • (b) to pay an amount determined under paragraph 16.18(b) or to file an appeal under section 16.19; or

      • (c) to pay an amount determined under subsection 16.19(4).

    • Registration of certificate

      • 16.22 (1) On production in any superior court, a certificate issued under section 16.2 shall be registered in the court and, when so registered, a certificate has the same force and effect, and proceedings may be taken in connection with it, as if it were a judgment in that court obtained by Her Majesty in right of Canada against the person who is named in the certificate for a debt of the amount set out in the certificate.

      • Recovery of costs and charges

        (2) All reasonable costs and charges attendant on the registration of the certificate are recoverable in the same manner as if they had been certified and the certificate had been registered under subsection (1).

      • Amounts received deemed public money

        (3) An amount received by the Minister or the Tribunal under this section is deemed to be public money within the meaning of the Financial Administration Act.

    • Time limit for proceedings

      16.23 Proceedings in respect of a violation may not be instituted later than two years after the time when the subject matter of the proceedings arose.

    • Publication

      16.24 At any time after a notice of violation is issued and served, the Minister may make public the nature of a violation, the name of the person who committed it and the amount of the penalty.

    • Notations removed

      • 16.25 (1) Unless the Minister is of the opinion that it is not in the public interest to do so, five years after the person pays every penalty that the person is liable to pay, the Minister shall remove a notice of violation from the public record of notices of violation.

      • Duty to notify

        (2) If the Minister is of the opinion that removal of a notation is not in the public interest, he or she shall give notice of that fact to the person in writing, and provide the grounds for that opinion.

      • Contents of notice

        (3) The notice shall include the date that is 30 days after the day on which the notice is served and the particulars concerning the procedure for requesting a review.

      • Request for review

        (4) The person may, no later than the date specified in the notice or within any further time that the Tribunal on application may allow, file a written request for a review with the Tribunal.

      • Time and place for review

        (5) On receipt of a request filed under subsection (4), the Tribunal shall appoint a time and place for the review and shall notify the Minister and the person who filed the request of the time and place in writing.

      • Review procedure

        (6) The member of the Tribunal who is assigned to conduct the review shall provide the Minister and the person who filed the request with an opportunity that is consistent with procedural fairness and natural justice to present evidence and make representations.

      • Determination

        (7) The member may confirm the Minister’s decision or refer the matter back to the Minister for reconsideration.

      • Right of appeal

        (8) The person who requested the review may, within 30 days after the day on which a determination is made under subsection (7), appeal the determination to the Tribunal.

      • Loss of right of appeal

        (9) A person who does not appear at the review hearing is not entitled to appeal the determination, unless the person establishes that there was sufficient reason to justify their absence.

      • Disposition of appeal

        (10) The appeal panel of the Tribunal that is assigned to hear an appeal may dismiss it or refer the matter back to the Minister for reconsideration.