Energy Efficiency Act (S.C. 1992, c. 36)

Illegal Import

Marginal note:Notice for removal

• 17 (1) Where an inspector believes on reasonable grounds that an energy-using product is being or has been imported into Canada in contravention of this Act or the regulations, the inspector may, whether or not the product is seized, require the importer to remove it from Canada by delivering personally to the importer a notice for its removal or by sending the notice by registered mail to the importer’s business address in Canada.

• Marginal note:Forfeiture

  (2) Where an energy-using product is not removed from Canada within the period specified for its removal in a notice under subsection (1) or, where no period is specified, within ninety days after the notice was delivered or sent to the importer, the product shall, notwithstanding sections 13 and 14, be forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada.

• Marginal note:Disposal or destruction

  (3) The Minister may dispose of or destroy an energy-using product forfeited under subsection (2) and, if the Minister so directs, the costs of the disposal or destruction shall be paid by the importer of the product.

Third Parties

Marginal note:Protection of persons claiming interest

18 Sections 74 to 76 of the Fisheries Act apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to a thing forfeited under section 15 or 16, or an energy-using product forfeited under section 17, as though it were a thing forfeited under subsection 72(1) of that Act.

Warranty

Marginal note:Disclosure is not warranty

19 A disclosure relating to energy efficiency that is required to be made by a dealer under this Act in respect of tests conducted under this Act does not create an express or implied warranty by anyone, including Her Majesty in right of Canada, that the energy efficiency established by those tests will be achieved under conditions of actual use.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

• 20 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) prescribing as an energy-using product any manufactured product, or class of manufactured products, that is designed to operate using electricity, oil, natural gas or any other form or source of energy or that affects or controls energy consumption;

  • (b) prescribing energy efficiency standards for energy-using products or classes of energy-using products;

  • (c) respecting the labelling of energy-using products or their packages, or classes of energy-using products or their packages;

  • (d) providing for the testing of energy-using products to determine their energy efficiency;

  • (e) respecting the detention of things seized and detained under subsection 6(4) or 11(1); and

  • (f) respecting the disposition or destruction of anything forfeited under section 15, 16 or 17.

• Marginal note:Incorporation by reference

  (2) A regulation made under paragraph (1)(b) or (d) incorporating standards by reference may incorporate the standards as amended from time to time.

Marginal note:Definitions

• 20.1 (1) The following definitions apply in this section and in section 20.2:

  harmonize

  harmonize means, with respect to requirements, to make them correspond substantively. (harmoniser)

  jurisdiction

  jurisdiction means 

  • (a) the government of a province;

  • (b) any agency or body that is established under an Act of the legislature of a province;

  • (c) a government or court of a foreign state or of a subdivision of a foreign state, or any agency, body or institution of such a government; and

  • (d) an international organization of states or any agency, body, court or institution of such an organization. (instance)

  requirement

  requirement means energy efficiency standards, testing or information that must be provided by a dealer under section 5. (exigence)

• Marginal note:Ministerial regulations

  (2) The Minister may, by regulation — with respect to energy-using products or classes of energy-using products that are specified in regulations made by the Governor in Council under paragraph 25(c) — amend regulations made under paragraph 20(1)(b) or (d) or 25(b) for the purpose of maintaining harmonization between a requirement set out in those regulations and that of a jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Restrictions

  (3) In exercising the power under subsection (2), the Minister may

  • (a) update an erroneous reference to a document incorporated by reference, as it is amended from time to time;

  • (b) modify an energy efficiency standard for energy-using products or classes of energy-using products;

  • (c) provide for modified or alternative testing of energy-using products to determine their energy efficiency; and

  • (d) prescribe information respecting energy-using products, including their energy efficiency, that must be provided by a dealer under section 5.

Marginal note:Definition of technical standards document

• 20.2 (1) In this section, technical standards document means a document that is published in both official languages by the Minister and that adapts, combines or reproduces, in whole or in part, documents that are produced by jurisdictions, standards development organizations or industry associations and that, for energy-using products or classes of energy-using products, set out requirements or guidance related to those requirements. The adaptations may include modifications to the content of the originating document.

• Marginal note:Incorporation of technical standards document

  (2) Regulations made under paragraphs 20(1)(b) or (d) or 25(b) may, for the purpose of harmonizing the requirements set out in those regulations with those of a jurisdiction to which those regulations or a technical standards document refers, incorporate by reference, in whole or in part, a technical standards document, as it is amended from time to time.

PART IIPromotion of Energy Efficiency and Alternative Energy Sources

Powers of Minister

Marginal note:Powers of Minister

21 The Minister may, for the purpose of promoting the efficient use of energy and the use of alternative energy sources,

• (a) conduct, or cooperate with persons conducting, research, development, tests, demonstrations and studies;

• (b) publish information, research or test results;

• (c) assist, cooperate with, consult and enter into agreements with any person, including any department or agency of the Government of Canada or of any province;

• (d) make grants and contributions; and

• (e) undertake such other projects, programs and activities as in the Minister’s opinion advance that purpose.

Statistics

Marginal note:Regulations

22 The Governor in Council may make regulations requiring prescribed persons to file with the Minister, in the prescribed form and manner, at the prescribed time and for each prescribed reporting period, a report setting out prescribed statistics and information respecting

• (a) the value, quantity, type and use of energy, including alternative energy, purchased, consumed or sold by that person;

• (b) the expenditures of that person on the research, development, acquisition and operation of energy-using equipment and related technology; and

• (c) the sales of prescribed energy-using products or classes of energy-using products by that person, including the revenue from, and geographic distribution of, the sales.

Marginal note:Definitions

• 23 (1) In this section and section 24,

  authorized person

  authorized person means any person engaged or employed, or formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act; (personne autorisée)

  official

  official means any person employed in, or occupying a position of responsibility in, the service of Her Majesty in right of Canada, and any person formerly so employed or occupying such a position. (fonctionnaire)

• Marginal note:Privileged information

  (2) Except as provided in section 24, the statistics and information filed with the Minister pursuant to regulations made under section 22 are privileged and no official or authorized person shall knowingly

  • (a) communicate or allow to be communicated to any person any statistics or information so filed (in this section and section 24 referred to as “privileged information”); or

  • (b) allow any person to inspect or have access to any report, statement or other document containing any privileged information.

• Marginal note:Evidentiary privilege

  (3) Notwithstanding any other Act or law, no official or authorized person shall be required, in connection with any legal proceedings,

  • (a) to give evidence relating to any privileged information; or

  • (b) to produce any report, statement or other document containing any privileged information.

Marginal note:Exception for proceedings under this Act

• 24 (1) Subsections 23(2) and (3) do not apply in respect of proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act or the regulations.

• Marginal note:Exception for authorized persons

  (2) An authorized person may communicate or allow to be communicated privileged information, or allow inspection of or access to any report, statement or other document containing any privileged information, to or by

  • (a) any person engaged or employed by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act;

  • (b) the Chief Statistician of Canada for the purposes of the Statistics Act; or

  • (c) any person, with the consent of the person who filed the information.

• Marginal note:Exception for compilations

  (3) Compilations of privileged information may be published in any manner that does not identify or permit the identification of any person who filed the information, unless that person consents in writing to being identified.

PART IIIGeneral

Regulations

Marginal note:General regulations

25 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) exempting any person, energy-using product or transaction, or any class thereof, from the application of any or all of the provisions of this Act or the regulations;

• (b) prescribing anything that by this Act is to be prescribed; and

• (c) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.

26 [Repealed, 2017, c. 33, s. 222]

Offences and Punishment

Marginal note:Offence and punishment

• 27 (1) Every person who contravenes subsection 4(1)

  • (a) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars; or

  • (b) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand dollars.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Every person who contravenes subsection 4(2), section 5, subsection 6(1), section 7 or 8, subsection 11(3), section 12 or subsection 23(2) or any regulation made under this Act is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (3) Every person who, in purported compliance with this Act or the regulations, submits any report, statistic, information, document or record, makes any statement or answers any question knowing that the report, statistic, information, document, record, statement or answer is false or misleading, or misrepresents or fails to disclose a material fact, is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (4) Every person who contravenes any provision of this Act or the regulations, other than a provision referred to in subsection (1) or (2), is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars.

Marginal note:Continuing offences

28 Where an offence under section 27 is committed on more than one day or is continued for more than one day, it shall be deemed to be a separate offence for each day on which the offence is committed or continued.

Marginal note:Officers, etc., of corporations

29 Where a corporation commits an offence under section 27, any officer, director or agent of the corporation who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable on conviction to the punishment provided for the offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted.

Marginal note:Defence

30 In a prosecution for a contravention of subsection 4(1) by a dealer engaged in the business of assembling or altering energy-using products, it is a defence for the dealer if the contravention occurred as a result of work done previously on an energy-using product by another dealer engaged in the manufacture of the energy-using products.

Marginal note:Limitation period

31 A prosecution by way of summary conviction under this Act may not be instituted later than two years after the time when the subject-matter of the prosecution arose.

Marginal note:Venue

32 A prosecution under this Act may be instituted, tried and determined by a court in any territorial jurisdiction in which the accused is resident or carries on business regardless of where the subject-matter of the prosecution arose.

Marginal note:Court order

• 33 (1) Where a person is convicted of an offence under section 27, in addition to any other punishment that may be imposed, the court may, having regard to the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission, make an order to any or all of the following effects:

  • (a) prohibiting the person from doing any act or engaging in any activity that may result in the continuation or repetition of the offence;

  • (b) directing the person to publish, in any manner the court considers appropriate, the facts relating to the commission of the offence;

  • (c) directing the person to compensate the Minister, in whole or in part, for the cost of examining and testing any energy-using product in respect of which the offence was committed;

  • (d) directing the person to submit to the Minister, on application by the Minister within three years after the date of the conviction, such information respecting the activities of that person as the court considers appropriate in the circumstances;

  • (e) directing the person to post such bond, or pay into court such amount of money, as the court considers appropriate for ensuring compliance with any order made under this subsection; and

  • (f) requiring the person to comply with such other reasonable conditions as the court considers appropriate for securing the person’s good conduct and preventing the person from repeating the offence or committing other offences under this Act.

• Marginal note:Duration of order

  (2) An order under subsection (1) comes into force on the day on which it is made or on such other day as the court may fix and continues in force for such period, not exceeding three years, as the court may fix.

• Marginal note:Publication

  (3) Where a person fails to comply with an order made under paragraph (1)(b), the Minister may publish the facts and recover the costs of publication from that person.

• Marginal note:Debt due to Her Majesty

  (4) The costs referred to in paragraph (1)(c) and subsection (3) constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.