Plant Protection Act (S.C. 1990, c. 22)

Administration

Facilities

Marginal note:Designation of facilities

19 The Minister may designate areas, offices, laboratories or other facilities inside or outside Canada for a specified purpose or generally for the administration of this Act or the regulations and may at any time amend, cancel or reinstate any such designation.

Marginal note:Definition of international transportation undertaking

• 20 (1) For the purposes of this section, international transportation undertaking means

  • (a) an undertaking that transports persons or things internationally;

  • (b) an international road, railway, bridge or tunnel;

  • (c) an airport that receives any aircraft operating on an international flight;

  • (d) a port that receives any ship sailing on an international voyage; and

  • (e) a warehouse or other facility that receives any international air, water, rail or road traffic.

• Marginal note:Required facilities

  (2) The owner or operator of an international transportation undertaking shall, where required in writing by the Minister, provide and maintain adequate areas, offices, laboratories and other facilities, including buildings, accommodation, equipment, furnishings and fixtures, for inspection or for any other purpose related to the administration of this Act or the regulations.

• Marginal note:Powers of Minister

  (3) The Minister may

  • (a) cause to be made such improvements as the Minister considers desirable to any area, office, laboratory or other facility provided pursuant to subsection (2);

  • (b) post, on or about the area, office, laboratory or other facility, any signs that the Minister considers appropriate for its operation or safe use or for the administration of this Act or the regulations; and

  • (c) continue to use the area, office, laboratory or other facility for as long as the Minister requires it for the administration of this Act or the regulations.

• Marginal note:Construction or repairs

  (4) Where an area, office, laboratory or other facility that is provided by an owner or operator pursuant to subsection (2) is not adequate for the purposes mentioned in that subsection, the Minister may require the owner or operator to carry out any construction or repairs in order to render the area, office, laboratory or other facility adequate for those purposes, and if the owner or operator fails to do so, the Minister may cause the construction or repairs to be carried out and the owner or operator shall be liable for all reasonable costs incurred by the Minister and those costs may be recovered by Her Majesty in right of Canada.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (5) A requirement under subsection (4) shall be communicated by personal delivery of a notice to the owner or operator or by sending the notice to the owner or operator, and the notice may specify the period within which or the manner in which the construction or repairs are to be carried out.

• Marginal note:Arbitration

  (6) Subject to subsection (7) and any regulations made under subsection (8), a dispute over the adequacy of any area, office, laboratory or other facility may be resolved by arbitration in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Act.

• Marginal note:Canada Labour Code

  (7) Any area, office, laboratory or other facility that fails to meet the applicable requirements of Part II of the Canada Labour Code shall be deemed to be not adequate for the purposes mentioned in subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (8) The Governor in Council may make regulations for determining the adequacy of any area, office, laboratory or other facility for the purposes mentioned in subsection (2).

Inspectors

Marginal note:Designation of inspectors

• 21 (1) The President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency may designate inspectors under section 13 of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act for the purposes of this Act.

• Marginal note:Designation

  (1.1) The President of the Canada Border Services Agency may designate inspectors under paragraph 9(2)(b) of the Canada Border Services Agency Act for the purposes of enforcing this Act.

• Marginal note:Certificate to be produced

  (2) Inspectors shall be given certificates in a form established by the President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency or the President of the Canada Border Services Agency, as the case may be, attesting to their designation and, on entering any place under this Act, an inspector shall show the certificate to the person in charge of the place if the person requests proof of the inspector’s designation.

Marginal note:Inspectors may exercise Minister’s powers

• 22 (1) An inspector may, subject to any restrictions or limitations specified by the Minister, exercise any of the powers and perform any of the duties or functions of the Minister under this Act, except the powers mentioned in subsection 15(3).

• Marginal note:Powers concerning movement and loading

  (2) For the purpose of determining whether a conveyance or other thing is free of any pest, an inspector may

  • (a) permit or require the conveyance or other thing to be moved or prohibit its movement; or

  • (b) prohibit or interrupt the loading, unloading or partial loading of the conveyance or other thing or permit or require the conveyance or other thing to be loaded, unloaded or partially loaded.

Marginal note:Impeding inspector

• 23 (1) No person shall obstruct or hinder or make any false or misleading statement either orally or in writing to an inspector who is performing duties or functions under this Act or the regulations.

• Marginal note:Assistance to inspectors

  (2) The owner or the person in charge of a place entered by an inspector under section 25 and every person found in the place shall

  • (a) give the inspector all reasonable assistance in the owner’s or person’s power to enable the inspector to perform duties and functions under this Act or the regulations; and

  • (b) furnish the inspector with such information relevant to the administration of this Act or the regulations as the inspector may reasonably require.

• Marginal note:Assistance of peace officer

  (3) A peace officer shall provide such assistance as an inspector may request for the purpose of enforcing this Act or the regulations.

Marginal note:Provision of documents, information or samples

• 23.1 (1) An inspector may, for the purpose of detecting pests or for a purpose related to verifying compliance or preventing non-compliance with this Act, order a person to provide, on the date, at the time and place and in the manner specified by the inspector, any document, information or sample specified by the inspector.

• Marginal note:Duty to provide document, information or sample

  (2) A person who is ordered by an inspector to provide a document, information or a sample has a duty to do so on the specified date, at the specified time and place and in the specified manner.

Seals

Marginal note:Broken seal

• 24 (1) Where a seal or other identifying device authorized by the regulations has been affixed to a conveyance or other thing and the seal or device is broken, altered, tampered with or removed in contravention of the regulations, an inspector may require that the conveyance or other thing, or any thing contained in it, be stored, treated, placed in quarantine, disposed of or moved as the inspector may direct.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (2) A requirement under subsection (1) shall be communicated by personal delivery of a notice to the owner or person having the possession, care or control of the conveyance or other thing or by sending the notice to the owner or person, and the notice may specify the period within which or the manner in which the conveyance or other thing is to be stored, treated, quarantined, disposed of or moved.

Inspection

Marginal note:Inspection

• 25 (1) For the purpose of detecting pests or for a purpose related to verifying compliance or preventing non-compliance with this Act, an inspector may

  • (a) subject to section 26, at any reasonable time, enter and inspect any place, or stop any conveyance, in which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds there is any thing in respect of which this Act or the regulations apply;

  • (b) open any receptacle, baggage, package, cage or other thing that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds contains any thing in respect of which this Act or the regulations apply;

  • (c) examine any thing in respect of which this Act or the regulations apply and take samples of it;

  • (d) require any person to produce for inspection or copying, in whole or in part, any record or other document that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds contains any information relevant to the administration of this Act or the regulations; and

  • (e) conduct any tests or analyses or take any measurements.

• Marginal note:Operation of data processing and copying equipment

  (2) In carrying out an inspection at any place under this section, an inspector may

  • (a) use or cause to be used any data processing system at the place to examine any data contained in or available to the system;

  • (b) reproduce any document or cause it to be reproduced from the data in the form of a printout or other intelligible output and take the printout or other output for examination or copying; and

  • (c) use or cause to be used any copying equipment at the place to make copies of any record or other document.

Marginal note:Warrant required to enter dwelling-place

• 26 (1) An inspector may not enter a dwelling-place except with the consent of the occupant of the dwelling-place or under the authority of a warrant.

• Marginal note:Authority to issue warrant

  (2) Where on ex parte application a justice is satisfied by information on oath that

  • (a) the conditions for entry described in section 25 exist in relation to a dwelling-place,

  • (b) entry to the dwelling-place is necessary for any purpose relating to the administration of this Act or the regulations, and

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

  the justice may at any time sign and issue a warrant authorizing the inspector named in the warrant to enter the dwelling-place, subject to any conditions that may be specified in the warrant.

• Marginal note:Use of force

  (3) The inspector who executes a warrant shall not use force unless the inspector is accompanied by a peace officer and the use of force is specifically authorized in the warrant.

Marginal note:Seizure

27 Where an inspector believes on reasonable grounds that a violation, or an offence under this Act, has been committed, the inspector may seize and detain any thing

• (a) by means of or in relation to which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds the violation or offence was committed; or

• (b) that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds will afford evidence in respect of the commission of a violation, or an offence under this Act.

Search

Marginal note:Warrant

• 28 (1) Where on ex parte application a justice is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is in any place any thing

  • (a) by means of or in relation to which a violation, or an offence under this Act, has been committed or is suspected of having been committed, or

  • (b) that there are reasonable grounds to believe will afford evidence in respect of the commission of a violation or an offence under this Act,

  the justice may at any time sign and issue a warrant authorizing the inspector named in the warrant to enter and search the place for the thing and, subject to any conditions that may be specified in the warrant, to seize and detain it.

• Marginal note:Search and seizure powers

  (2) The inspector who executes a warrant may exercise the powers described in section 25 and may seize and detain, in addition to any thing mentioned in the warrant, any other thing

  • (a) by means of or in relation to which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds a violation, or an offence under this Act, has been committed; or

  • (b) that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds will afford evidence in respect of the commission of a violation, or an offence under this Act.

• Marginal note:Execution of search warrant

  (3) A warrant shall be executed by day unless the justice authorizes its execution by night.

• Marginal note:Where warrant not necessary

  (4) An inspector may exercise any of the powers referred to in subsections (1) and (2) without a warrant if the conditions for obtaining a warrant exist but, by reason of exigent circumstances, it would not be practical to obtain a warrant.

Disposition of Seized Things

Marginal note:Notice of reason for seizure

29 An inspector who seizes and detains a thing under this Act shall, as soon as is practicable, advise the owner of the thing or the person having the possession, care or control of it at the time of its seizure of the reason for the seizure.

Marginal note:Storage, removal, etc.

• 30 (1) An inspector who seizes and detains a thing under this Act, or any person designated by the inspector, may

  • (a) store, treat, quarantine or dispose of the thing at the place where it was seized or move it to any other place for storage, treatment, quarantine or disposition; or

  • (b) require its owner or the person having the possession, care or control of it at the time of its seizure to store, treat, quarantine or dispose of it or move it to any other place and store, treat, quarantine or dispose of it.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (2) A requirement under paragraph (1)(b) shall be communicated by personal delivery of a notice to the owner or person having the possession, care or control of the thing or by sending the notice to the owner or person, and the notice may specify the period within which or the manner in which the thing is to be moved, stored, treated, quarantined or disposed of.

• Marginal note:Proceeds

  (3) An inspector who seizes and detains a thing under this Act may dispose of it and any proceeds realized from its disposition shall be paid to the Receiver General.

Marginal note:Interference with seized things

31 Except as authorized in writing by an inspector, no person shall remove, alter or interfere in any way with a thing that is seized and detained under this Act.