Old Age Security Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. O-9)

Marginal note:Coming into force of agreements

• 41 (1) The Governor in Council may, by order, declare any agreement entered into under section 40 to be in force and, when any such order comes into force, the agreement to which it relates has the force of law in Canada during such period as by the terms of the agreement it remains in force.

• Marginal note:Publication

  (2) Notice of the day an agreement entered into under section 40 comes into force and of the day it ceases to be in force shall be given by proclamation of the Governor in Council published, with the text of the agreement, in the Canada Gazette.

Marginal note:Tabling order

• 42 (1) An order under section 41 shall be laid before each House of Parliament within the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after the order is made.

• Marginal note:Coming into force of order

  (2) An order referred to in subsection (1) shall come into force on the thirtieth sitting day after it has been laid before Parliament pursuant to that subsection unless before the twentieth sitting day after the order has been laid before Parliament a motion for the consideration of either House, to the effect that the order be revoked, signed by not less than fifty members of the House of Commons in the case of a motion for the consideration of that House and by not less than twenty members of the Senate in the case of a motion for the consideration of the Senate, is filed with the Speaker of the appropriate House.

• Marginal note:Consideration of motion

  (3) Where a motion for the consideration of the House of Commons or Senate is filed as provided in subsection (2) with respect to a particular order referred to in subsection (1), that House shall, not later than the sixth sitting day of that House following the filing of the motion, in accordance with the rules of that House, unless a motion to the like effect has earlier been taken up and considered in the other House, take up and consider the motion.

• Marginal note:Time for disposition of motion

  (4) A motion taken up and considered in accordance with subsection (3) shall be debated without interruption for not more than five hours and, on the conclusion of the debate or at the expiration of the fifth such hour, the Speaker of the House of Commons or the Senate, as the case may be, shall forthwith put, without further debate or amendment, every question necessary for the disposal of the motion.

• Marginal note:Procedure on adoption of motion

  (5) If a motion taken up and considered in accordance with subsection (3) is adopted, with or without amendments, a message shall be sent from the House adopting the motion informing the other House that the motion has been so adopted and requesting that the motion be concurred in by that other House.

• Marginal note:Procedure in other House

  (6) Within the first fifteen days next after receipt by it of a request pursuant to subsection (5) that the House receiving the request is sitting, that House shall, in accordance with the rules thereof, take up and consider the motion that is the subject of the request and all questions in connection therewith shall be debated without interruption for not more than five hours and, on the conclusion of the debate or at the expiration of the fifth such hour, the Speaker of the House of Commons or the Senate, as the case may be, shall forthwith put, without further debate or amendment, every question necessary to determine whether or not the motion in question is concurred in.

• Marginal note:Where motion adopted and concurred in

  (7) Where a motion taken up and considered in accordance with this section is adopted by the House in which it was introduced and is concurred in by the other House, the particular order to which the motion relates shall stand revoked but without prejudice to the making of a further order of a like nature to implement a subsequent agreement between the Government of Canada and the government of the country that was a party to the agreement to which the order related.

• Marginal note:Where motion not adopted or concurred in

  (8) Where a motion taken up and considered in accordance with this section is not adopted by the House in which it was introduced or is adopted, with or without amendments, by that House but is not concurred in by the other House, the particular order to which the motion relates comes into force immediately on the failure to adopt the motion or concur therein, as the case may be.

• Definition of expression sitting day

  (9) For the purposes of subsection (2), a day on which either House of Parliament sits shall be deemed to be a sitting day.

Marginal note:Negative resolution of Parliament

43 When each House of Parliament enacts rules whereby any regulation made subject to negative resolution of Parliament within the meaning of section 39 of the Interpretation Act may be made the subject of a resolution of both Houses of Parliament introduced and passed in accordance with the rules of those Houses, section 42 of this Act is thereupon repealed and an order made thereafter under section 41 is an order made subject to negative resolution of Parliament within the meaning of section 39 of the Interpretation Act.

Offences

Marginal note:Offences

• 44 (1) Every person who

  • (a) knowingly makes a false or misleading statement in any application or statement required or permitted by this Act or makes any such application or statement that by reason of any non-disclosure of facts is false or misleading or obtains any benefit payment by false pretences, or

  • (b) being the payee thereof, negotiates or attempts to negotiate any cheque to which that person is not entitled,

  • (c) [Repealed, 1998, c. 21, s. 118]

  is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

• Marginal note:Form of information or complaint

  (2) No information or complaint for an offence under this Act is open to objection on the ground that the information or complaint is for more than one matter of complaint or that it relates to more than one offence.

• Marginal note:Limitation period

  (3) Any proceedings under this Act in respect of an offence may be commenced at any time within, but not later than, five years after the Minister becomes aware of the subject-matter of the proceedings.

• Marginal note:Saving

  (4) No proceeding shall be commenced under this section or the Criminal Code for an act or omission if a penalty for that act or omission has been imposed under section 44.1.

Administrative Monetary Penalties

Marginal note:Penalties

• 44.1 (1) The Minister may impose on a person a penalty for each of the following acts or omissions if the Minister becomes aware of facts that in the Minister’s opinion establish that the person has

  • (a) made a statement or declaration in an application or otherwise that the person knew was false or misleading;

  • (a.1) knowingly failed to correct any inaccuracies in the information provided by the Minister as required by subsection 5(6), 11(3.3), 15(2.4), 19(4.05) or 21(4.3);

  • (b) made a statement or declaration in an application or otherwise that the person knew was false or misleading because of the non-disclosure of facts;

  • (c) knowingly failed to declare to the Minister all or some of the person’s income;

  • (d) received or obtained by cheque or otherwise a benefit payment to which the person knew that they were not entitled, or a benefit payment that the person knew was in excess of the amount of the benefit payment to which they were entitled, and did not return the cheque or the amount of the benefit payment, or the excess amount, as the case may be, without delay; or

  • (e) participated in, assented to or acquiesced in an act or omission mentioned in any of paragraphs (a) to (d).

• Marginal note:Purpose of penalty

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

• Marginal note:Maximum penalty

  (2) The Minister may set the amount of the penalty for each act or omission at not more than $10,000.

• Marginal note:Limitation on imposition of penalties

  (3) A penalty shall not be imposed on a person under subsection (1) if

  • (a) a prosecution for the act or omission has been initiated against the person; or

  • (b) five years have passed since the day on which the Minister became aware of the act or omission.

• Marginal note:Rescission, etc., of penalty

  (4) The Minister may rescind the imposition of a penalty under subsection (1), or reduce the penalty,

  • (a) on the presentation of new facts;

  • (b) on being satisfied that the penalty was imposed without knowledge of, or on the basis of a mistake as to, some material fact;

  • (c) on being satisfied that the penalty cannot be collected within the reasonably foreseeable future; or

  • (d) on being satisfied that payment of the penalty would cause undue hardship to the debtor.

Administration and Enforcement

Marginal note:Interpretation

• 44.2 (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this section.

  document

  document includes moneys, securities, books, records, letters, accounts, statements (financial or otherwise), correspondence, memoranda, film, microform, videotape, photographs, machine-readable records and other documentary material, regardless of form or characteristics, and any copy or printout of any of them. (document)

  dwelling-house

  dwelling-house means the whole or a part of a building or structure that is kept or occupied as a permanent or temporary residence and includes

  • (a) a building within the yard of a dwelling-house that is connected to it by a doorway or by a covered and enclosed passageway; and

  • (b) a unit that is designed to be mobile and to be used as a permanent or temporary residence and that is being used as such a residence. (maison d’habitation)

  judge

  judge means a judge of a superior court having jurisdiction in the province where the matter arises or a judge of the Federal Court. (juge)

• Marginal note:Inspections

  (2) The Minister may, at any reasonable time, for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act, examine any document that relates or may relate to the entitlement of a person to a benefit or the amount of a benefit and, for that purpose, the Minister may

  • (a) subject to subsection (3), enter any premises or place where the Minister believes a document relating to the entitlement of a person to a benefit or the amount of that benefit is or should be kept; and

  • (b) require the owner, occupant or person in charge of the premises or place to give the Minister all reasonable assistance and to answer all proper questions relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act and, for that purpose, require the owner, occupant or person in charge of the premises or place to attend at those premises or that place with the Minister.

• Marginal note:Warrant required to enter dwelling-house

  (3) If the premises or place referred to in subsection (2) is a dwelling-house, the Minister may not enter that dwelling-house without the consent of the occupant except under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Warrant

  (4) On ex parte application by the Minister, a judge may issue a warrant authorizing the Minister to enter a dwelling-house subject to the conditions that may be specified in the warrant, if the judge is satisfied by information on oath that

  • (a) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the dwelling-house is a premises or place referred to in subsection (2);

  • (b) entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for a purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act; and

  • (c) entry into the dwelling-house has been refused or that there are reasonable grounds to believe that entry will be refused.

• Marginal note:Other access to document

  (5) If the judge is not satisfied that entry into that dwelling-house is necessary for a purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act but is satisfied that access to a document that is or should be kept in the dwelling-house has been or may be expected to be refused, the judge may

  • (a) order the occupant of the dwelling-house to provide the Minister with reasonable access to the document; and

  • (b) make any other order that is appropriate in the circumstances to carry out the purposes of this Act.

• Marginal note:Requirement to provide documents or information

  (6) Despite any other provision of this Act, the Minister may, subject to subsection (7), for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act, by notice served personally or by confirmed delivery service, require that any person provide, within the reasonable time that is stipulated in the notice, any information or additional information or any document.

• Marginal note:Unnamed persons

  (7) The Minister shall not impose on a person, in this section referred to as a “third party”, a requirement under subsection (6) to provide information or a document relating to one or more unnamed persons unless the Minister first obtains the authorization of a judge under subsection (8).

• Marginal note:Judicial authorization

  (8) On ex parte application by the Minister, a judge may, subject to the conditions that the judge considers appropriate, authorize the Minister to impose on a third party a requirement under subsection (6) relating to one or more unnamed persons, in this section referred to as the “group”, where the judge is satisfied by information on oath that

  • (a) the person or group is ascertainable; and

  • (b) the requirement is made to verify compliance by the person or persons in the group with a duty or obligation under this Act.

• Marginal note:Service of authorization

  (9) If an authorization is granted under subsection (8), the authorization shall be served together with the notice referred to in subsection (6).

• Marginal note:Review of authorization

  (10) If an authorization is granted under subsection (8), a third party on whom a notice is served under subsection (6) may, not later than 15 days after the service of the notice, apply to the judge who granted the authorization or, if that judge is unable to act, to another judge of the same court, for a review of the authorization.

• Marginal note:Powers on review

  (11) On hearing an application under subsection (10), a judge may cancel the authorization previously granted if the judge is not then satisfied that the conditions in paragraphs (8)(a) to (d) have been met, and the judge may confirm or vary the authorization if the judge is satisfied that those conditions have been met.

• Marginal note:Copies as evidence

  (12) When a document is inspected, examined or provided in accordance with this section, the person by whom it is inspected or examined or to whom it is provided may make, or cause to be made, one or more certified copies of it and any such copy is evidence of the nature and content of the original document and has the same probative force as the original document would have if it were proven in the ordinary way.

• Marginal note:Compliance

  (13) No person shall interfere with any person doing anything that the person is authorized under this section to do or prevent or attempt to prevent any person from doing any such thing.