Vol. 143, No. 11 — May 27, 2009

Registration

SOR/2009-144 May 14, 2009

CONTRAVENTIONS ACT

Regulations Amending the Contraventions Regulations

P.C. 2009-748 May 14, 2009

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, pursuant to section 8 (see footnote a) of the Contraventions Act (see footnote b), hereby makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Contraventions Regulations.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE
CONTRAVENTIONS REGULATIONS

AMENDMENTS

1. Part I.2 of Schedule I.1 to the Contraventions Regulations (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following:

PART I.2

VESSEL OPERATION RESTRICTION REGULATIONS

Item	Column I Provision of Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations	Column II Short-Form Description	Column III Fine ($)
1.	2(1)	Operating vessel where prohibited	100
2.	2(2)	Operating power-driven or electrically propelled vessel where prohibited	100
3.	2(3)	Operating power-driven vessel where prohibited	100
4.	2(4)	Operating power-driven or electrically propelled vessel with more engine power than maximum specified	100
5.	2(5)	Operating power-driven or electrically propelled vessel over maximum speed specified	100
6.	2(6)	Operating power-driven or electrically propelled vessel for the purpose of towing a person on any water sport equipment outside permitted hours	100
7.	2(7)	Operating power-driven vessel at a speed over 10 km/h within 30 m of shore in specified waters	100
8.	5	Placing sign restricting vessel operation	150
9.	6(2)(b)	Failing to maintain sign in required form	150
10.	10(b)	(a) Altering authorized sign	150
		(b) Concealing authorized sign	150
		(c) Damaging authorized sign	150
		(d) Destroying authorized sign	150
11.	10(c)	Using authorized sign or support erected for authorized sign as mooring	150
12.	19	Allowing a person under 12 years of age to operate a pleasure craft with engine power greater than 7.5 kW	250
13.	20	(a) Operating a pleasure craft with more than 30 kW engine power — person under 16 years of age	100
		(b) Allowing a person under 16 years of age to operate a pleasure craft with more than 30 kW engine power	250
14.	21	(a) Operating a personal watercraft — person under 16 years of age	100
		(b) Allowing a person under 16 years of age to operate a personal watercraft	250

2. The portion of item 79 in Part II of Schedule I.1 to the Regulations in column III is replaced by the following:

Item	Column III Fine ($)
79. (a)	250
(b)	500
(c)	250
(d)	500

3. The Regulations are amended by replacing “Canada Shipping Act” with “Canada Shipping Act, 2001”, with any necessary modifications, in the following provisions:

(a) the heading of Schedule I.1;

(b) the heading of Part I of Schedule I.1; and

(c) the heading of column I of Part I of Schedule I.1.

COMING INTO FORCE

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

REGULATORY IMPACT
ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issue and objectives

This amendment to Parts I.2 and II of Schedule I.1 of the Contraventions Regulations addresses two issues:

1. Restoration of the status quo with regard to use of ticketing to enforce certain offences under the Vessel Operating Restriction Regulations

In the past, tickets under the Contraventions Act were used to enforce offences under the Boating Restriction Regulations. With the repeal of the Boating Restriction Regulations and the coming into force of the Vessel Operating Restriction Regulations last spring, the references in the Contravention Regulations in relation to these offences became references to repealed regulations and are therefore invalid. This amendment re-establishes that practice. The offences designated in this amendment are the same offences, with the same fines, as those that existed under the former Boating Restriction Regulations.

2. Boats that make excessive noise

Feedback and evidence collected from stakeholders in Canada suggest that there has been a significant increase in the number of boats that make excessive noise. To deter this activity, the fines for the following contraventions are increased from $100 to:

(a) $250 for boats that operate without a muffler; and

(b) $500 for boats equipped with a mechanism to by-pass the muffler and that operate with the muffler by-passed.

Description and rationale

The Contraventions Act (the Act) was passed in October 1992 to establish a simplified procedure for prosecuting certain federal offences. The Act provides that offences designated as “contraventions” may be prosecuted by means of a ticket. At the request of the provinces and as a result of the Program 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 the signing of agreements with provincial and territorial governments respecting the administrative and technical aspects of implementing the contraventions scheme.

The Contraventions Regulations are made pursuant to section 8 of the Act. These Regulations identify the federal offences that have been designated as contraventions, establish a short-form description and set the applicable fine for each of them. They have been amended numerous times since their coming into force to add new contraventions or to reflect changes to the enactments that created the offences.

The Contraventions Regulations are an essential element for the pursuit of the following three objectives underlying the 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.

The Boating Restriction Regulations were repealed on April 17, 2008. The offences contained in them were substantially reproduced in the new Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations which came into force on the same date. This amendment to Schedule I.1 of the Contraventions Regulations does not alter the substance of the contraventions that appeared previously in the Boating Restriction Regulations. Furthermore, as these contraventions remain substantially the same, their corresponding fines remain unchanged. There is no alternative to this amendment to ensure consistency between the Contraventions Regulations and the Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations.

Subsection 37(1) of the existing Small Vessel Regulations makes it an offence to operate a vessel that makes excessive noise. The proposed new Small Vessel Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on April 25, 2009. Section 1000 of the proposed regulations contains new provisions regarding excessive noise. Excessive boat noise has the capacity to disrupt or otherwise impact the daily activities and habits of many Canadians. One community has identified noisy vessels as a problem. In British Columbia, Kelowna has a population of approximately 106 000 people in an area bordering Okanagan Lake. Okanagan Lake has a high volume of recreational boating. A single noisy boat is capable of interrupting sleep and affects people’s enjoyment of their property. Most boats that typically create excessive noise are capable of generating up to 120 decibels of noise (comparable to air raid sirens, rock concerts and jet takeoffs) and can be heard from several kilometres away.

The proposed new Small Vessel Regulations will probably come into force this coming fall and the Contravention Regulations will be amended at that time to accommodate them. As an interim measure to deal with the problem this summer, this amendment increases fines from $100 to $250 for boats that operate without a muffler and from $100 to $500 for boats equipped with a mechanism to by-pass the muffler and that operate with the muffler by-passed.

Consultation

The reinstatement of tickets for vessel operation restriction offences is not controversial at all. The only stakeholder interest in the issue came from Transport Canada’s enforcement partners, namely the local police and enforcement agencies. Without tickets, these offences can only be enforced by formally charging the offender and then he or she must appear in court. Most enforcement personnel believe required attendance in court is in itself a considerable punishment. They therefore do not wish to prosecute vessel operation restriction offences in this way except in the most serious of circumstances. As a result, they support the reinstatement as this will permit them to carry out their mandate more effectively in the communities they serve.

Consultations with regard to excessive vessel noise were carried out during the development of the proposed Small Vessel Regulations. As outlined in the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement for that proposal, consultations began in 2002 and have been extensively carried out throughout the country since that time. Aside from those consultations, local enforcement authorities indicate that a large number of complaints they receive relate to this issue. Local authorities are also involved. For instance, the City Council of Kelowna has discussed the problem many times and the Mayor has written to the Minister of Transport as a result. The local MPs for the Okanagan have also written to the Minister on the issue. Finally, anecdotal evidence (letters from concerned individuals and other stakeholder communication) indicates that the number of excessively noisy boats has increased significantly in the past three years in the Okanagan.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

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.

Transport Canada’s enforcement partners will be informed of this amendment immediately after it comes into force. Then this summer, tickets for vessel operation restriction offences will be issued and the increased fines for noisy vessels will apply.

Contact

Jean-Pierre Baribeau
Legal Counsel
Contraventions Act Implementation Management
Department of Justice
275 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8
Telephone: 613-941-4880
Fax: 613-998-1175
Email: jean-pierre.baribeau@justice.gc.ca

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

Footnote b
S.C. 1992, c. 47

Footnote 1
SOR/96-313

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