Regulations Amending the Contraventions Regulations (Rouge National Urban Park Act): SOR/2024-76
Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 158, Number 11
Registration
SOR/2024-76 May 3, 2024
CONTRAVENTIONS ACT
P.C. 2024-470 May 3, 2024
Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Contraventions Regulations (Rouge National Urban Park Act) under subsection 8(1)footnote a of the Contraventions Act footnote b.
Regulations Amending the Contraventions Regulations (Rouge National Urban Park Act)
Amendment
1 The Contraventions Regulations footnote 1 are amended by adding, after Schedule XVIII, the Schedule XIX set out in the schedule to these Regulations.
Coming into Force
2 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.
SCHEDULE
(Section 1)
SCHEDULE XIX
(Sections 1 to 4)
| Item | Column I Provision of Rouge National Urban Park Act |
Column II Short-Form Description |
Column III Fine ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17(1) | Failure to take reasonable measures following discharge or deposit of a substance | 750 |
| 2 | 18(2)(a) | Trafficking in a wild animal, a plant, any other object or a resource | 750 |
| 3 | 18(2)(b) | Hunting a wild animal | 500 |
| 4 | 18(2)(c) | Removing a wild animal, a plant or any other object | 350 |
| 5 | 18(2)(d) | Possessing a wild animal, a plant or any other object | 350 |
| 6 | 18(2)(e) | Disturbing, harming, destroying or damaging a wild animal, a plant or any other object | 350 |
| 7 | 18(2)(f) | Harvesting timber | 500 |
| 8 | 18(2)(g) | Exploring for minerals, oil or gas or conducting an extractive activity | 750 |
| 9 | 18(2)(h) | Dumping or disposing of any substance | 600 |
| 10 | 18(2)(i) | Disturbing, removing, damaging, altering, destroying or possessing a resource | 500 |
| 11 | 18(2)(j) | Removing, damaging, altering or destroying a park facility or other park property | 300 |
REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT
(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)
Issues
Currently, Parks Canada’s park wardens can only enforce the Rouge National Urban Park Act (the RNUPA) provisions by delivering warnings or prosecuting offences through the federal Criminal Code summary procedure or, in some cases, on indictment. To allow enforcement through the ticketing procedure established under the Contraventions Act, amendments are required to designate the federal offences under the RNUPA as contraventions under the Contraventions Regulations (the CR).
Background
The Contraventions Act provides an alternative to the summary conviction procedure set out in the Criminal Code for the prosecution of certain federal offences. This procedure, known as the Contravention Regime, reflects the distinction between criminal offences and regulatory offences. It allows enforcement authorities to commence the prosecution of a contravention by means of a ticket with the option of voluntary payment of the prescribed fine, therefore avoiding the longer and more costly summary conviction procedure set out in the Criminal Code. This spares the offender from the legal ramifications of a Criminal Code conviction, such as a criminal record, while ensuring that court and criminal justice resources can be focused on the prosecution of more serious offences. This ticketing procedure is a more reasonable and effective approach for regulatory offences and provides for fines proportionate to the seriousness of these offences.
Made under section 8 of the Contraventions Act, the CR identify the federal offences designated as contraventions, provide a short-form description, and prescribe the amount of the fine for each of these offences. The CR are amended when a federal department proposes to designate a given regulatory offence under its jurisdiction as a “contravention” or when amendments to existing short-form descriptions or fine amounts are required.
The 2017 Evaluation of the Contraventions Act Program found the inherent value in a ticketing regime because it bridges the gap between non-binding warnings and the summary conviction procedure. The summary conviction procedure is inadequate in many scenarios involving relatively minor federal offences, as it involves steps, costs and consequences that may be disproportionate to the nature of these offences. Enforcement officers interviewed as part of the evaluation reported that, in the absence of a ticketing regime, they would routinely elect not to enforce many offences or turn to warnings.
Created in May 2015 through the enactment of the RNUPA, Rouge National Urban Park, located in the Greater Toronto Area, is Canada’s first and only national urban park and the largest urban park in North America. As amended in 2017, the RNUPA protects the natural and cultural heritage of the Park and its diverse landscapes, promotes a vibrant farming community and encourages Canadians to discover and connect with their national protected heritage areas.
Objective
The objective of the amendments is to designate certain offences under the RNUPA as contraventions to provide park wardens with an appropriate enforcement tool to promote compliance and ensure adequate ecological, cultural and agricultural protection of Rouge National Urban Park.
Description
The amendments add a new Schedule (Schedule XIX) to the CR, which designates 11 offences under the RNUPA as contraventions, making them offences for which a ticket may be issued at a park warden’s discretion. To effectively deter non-compliance, the fine amounts for the contraventions range from $300–$750. Examples of the offences and their respective fine amounts include:
- Subsection 17(1): Failure to take reasonable measures following discharge or deposit of a substance — $750
- Paragraph 18(2)(a): Trafficking in a wild animal, a plant, any other object, or a resource — $750
- Paragraph 18(2)(b): Hunting a wild animal — $500
- Paragraph 18(2)(h): Dumping or disposing of any substance — $600
- Paragraph 18(2)(j): Removing, damaging, altering or destroying a park facility or other park property — $300
Regulatory development
Consultation
Parks Canada consulted on the addition of the ticketing procedure as an option to enforce certain offences under the RNUPA in a 30-day public consultation from October 30, 2023, to December 10, 2023, via the Government of Canada’s “Consulting with Canadians” Web site.
Of the comments received, the majority were in favour of the proposed amendments. Most of the comments were related to ensuring Parks Canada communicates the fine amounts via signage and educational campaigns. These are tactics Parks Canada regularly uses to promote compliance.
In addition, Parks Canada conducted extensive analysis and public engagement leading up to the establishment of the Park through the RNUPA in 2015, the amendment of the RNUPA in 2017 and the development of the Park’s Management Plan in 2019. The establishment of Rouge National Urban Park included the participation of 10 First Nations, 200 groups and more than 20 000 Canadians, as well as municipal, regional and provincial governments.
These amendments to the CR do not create new offences, nor do they impose any new restrictions or burdens. They designate existing offences under the RNUPA as contraventions in order to allow enforcement officers to use the Contraventions Regime as an enforcement tool. As such, these amendments were not prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part I.
Modern treaty obligations and Indigenous engagement and consultation
An initial assessment examined the geographical scope and subject matter of the amendments in relation to modern treaties in effect and did not identify any potential modern treaty impacts. Rouge National Urban Park falls outside of any modern treaty area, and this initiative allows enforcement authorities to use ticketing under the Contraventions Regime as an alternate tool to promote compliance with existing statutory and regulatory offences within the Park.
Ten First Nation communities have identified an expressed interest in Rouge National Urban Park. All ten First Nation communities sit on a First National Advisory Circle, which was formed in 2012 when Parks Canada was planning to create Rouge National Urban Park. Seven of the First Nations are part of a “historic” Treaty Area and include the Alderville First Nation, the Beausoleil First Nation (Christian Island), the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, the Curve Lake First Nation, the Hiawatha First Nation and the Mississaugas of Scugog Island. The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation have a current land claim, and the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation and Huron-Wendat Nation have the ancestral interest but no current treaty or land claim. The First Nation Advisory Circle is active and Parks Canada regularly meets with these Nations.
In October 2023, all members of the First Nations Advisory Circle were sent a letter outlining the CR proposal. Of the responses provided, ensuring the Nations have the ability to continue to practise their Indigenous rights in the Park was an interest expressed. Parks Canada recognizes Indigenous rights, including the right to harvest for food, social and ceremonial purposes and continues to work with these communities to ensure Indigenous rights can be exercised in a protected and safe manner. Section 54 of the RNUPA also states that nothing in the Act precludes the carrying on of traditional renewable resource harvesting activities in an area claimed by an Aboriginal community that has been accepted for negotiation by the Government of Canada.
Instrument choice
In order to allow park wardens to issue contraventions tickets for offences under the RNUPA, these offences must be designated as contraventions and included in the CR. No other instrument is appropriate to allow enforcement officers to issue contraventions tickets. Therefore, no non-regulatory options were considered.
Regulatory analysis
Benefits and costs
The costs and benefits for these amendments to the CR have been assessed in accordance with the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Policy on Cost-Benefit Analysis by comparing the baseline against the regulatory scenario. The baseline scenario depicts what is likely to happen in the future if the Government of Canada does not implement the Regulations. The regulatory scenario provides information on the intended outcomes of the Regulations.
To note, the costs related to the administration of the Contraventions Regime, as well as the revenues generated through the payment of fines, are not considered costs nor benefits within the scope of the regulatory analysis since they occur only in instances of non-compliance with the law.
Baseline scenario and regulatory scenario
For the purposes of this analysis, the baseline scenario is one where offences under the RNUPA are not designated as contraventions. As such, park wardens either elect not to enforce many provisions of the RNUPA or opt to enforce those provisions through (1) warnings, which can prove ineffective as they have no legal strength; or (2) one of the Criminal Code summary or indictment procedures, which require complex steps, higher costs and consequences that may be disproportionate to the nature of the offence.
In the regulatory scenario, Schedule XIX is added to the CR, designating as contraventions certain existing offences under the RNUPA. This allows enforcement officers, including park wardens, to commence the prosecution of a contravention by means of a ticket, which includes the imposition of a fine and, while doing so, to bring regulated parties into compliance with a flexible and agile tool that addresses non-compliance in a proportionate way whilst diverting the treatment of these offences outside of the courts and the justice system.
Benefits
The CR provide Parks Canada with an additional enforcement option to respond to and deter non-compliance. Tickets under the Contraventions Regime, in contrast to the existing prosecution option, are recognized as a less resource-intensive and more agile option to address non-compliance. As such, the Contraventions Regime could reduce costs to the government and lead to greater efficiency in enforcing provisions under the RNUPA, thus protecting Rouge National Urban Park. Park wardens that are able to resort to the Contraventions Regime will be adequately equipped to enforce minor offences under the RNUPA and effectively deter non-compliant behaviour, including hunting, vandalism, dumping, and the damage or removal of cultural or natural resources.
Costs
The costs, which represent the fines, are directly related to non-compliance with the federal offences under the RNUPA and are therefore not considered costs for the purposes of the cost-benefit analysis.
Nominal implementation costs result from the labour necessary to update electronic court systems with new information in Ontario, where Rouge Urban National Park is located. Other costs may include processing costs for federal contraventions tickets, collecting revenues generated by voluntary payments of fines, managing unpaid fines and scheduling disputed ticket trials. Costs incurred by the province of Ontario in the administration of federal contraventions tickets are deducted from the revenues generated by the payment of fines, making the management of the Contraventions Regime on behalf of the federal government cost-neutral.
Small business lens
Analysis under the small business lens concluded that the regulatory amendments will not impose an administrative or compliance burden on Canadian small businesses. Contraventions are not considered an administrative or a compliance burden for the purpose of the small business lens.
One-for-one rule
The one-for-one rule does not apply, as there is no incremental change in the administrative burden on businesses and no regulatory titles are repealed or introduced. Contraventions are not considered to be an administrative burden for the purpose of the one-for-one rule.
Regulatory cooperation and alignment
These amendments are not related to a work plan or commitment under a formal regulatory cooperation forum.
Strategic environmental assessment
In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals (2010), a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental assessment is not required.
Gender-based analysis plus
No differential impacts are expected on the basis of gender or other identity factors. These amendments do not create new requirements or burdens on individuals.
In fact, the purpose of the Contraventions Act is to ensure that the enforcement of offences designated as contraventions will be less onerous on the offender and more proportionate and appropriate to the seriousness of the offence when compared to the procedure set out in the Criminal Code.
The ability to issue tickets for existing offences under the RNUPA may assist in the compliance promotion of relatively minor offences. However, this has relatively low potential to impact diverse groups differentially, as Parks Canada staff also use a variety of education, engagement, and stewardship initiatives to promote compliance in the Park.
Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards
Implementation
These amendments will come into force on the day on which they are registered.
Compliance and enforcement
The amendments to the CR provide enforcement officers with an appropriate enforcement tool, allowing them to fulfil their mandate effectively and promote legislative and regulatory compliance.
Contact
Olivia Gile
Legal Counsel
Programs Branch Legal Services Division
Policy Sector
Department of Justice
284 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8