Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (S.C. 1992, c. 52)

Marginal note:Right of passage

14.1 While carrying out duties or functions under this Act, officers and analysts, and any persons accompanying them, may enter on and pass through or over private property without being liable for doing so and without any person having the right to object to that use of the property.

Marginal note:Assistance

14.2 The owner or person in charge of a place being inspected under section 14, and every person found in the place, shall

• (a) give the officer or analyst all reasonable assistance to enable the officer or analyst to carry out their duties or functions under this Act; and

• (b) provide the officer or analyst with any information with respect to the administration of this Act that he or she may reasonably require.

Marginal note:Search without warrant

15 For the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act and the regulations, an officer may exercise the powers of search and seizure provided for in section 487 of the Criminal Code without a warrant if the conditions for obtaining a warrant exist but, by reason of exigent circumstances, it would not be feasible to obtain a warrant.

Marginal note:Custody of things seized

• 16 (1) An officer who detains or seizes a thing under section 13, 14 or 15 or under a warrant issued under the Criminal Code may retain custody of the thing or transfer custody of it to such person as the officer may designate.

• Marginal note:Perishable things

  (2) Where a thing referred to in subsection (1) is perishable, the officer may dispose of it or destroy it and any proceeds realized from its disposition shall be paid to the lawful owner of the thing unless proceedings under this Act are instituted within ninety days after the detention or seizure.

Marginal note:Abandonment

17 The owner, importer or exporter of any thing detained or seized under this Act may abandon the thing to Her Majesty in right of Canada.

Marginal note:Notice to remove

• 18 (1) Where an officer believes, on reasonable grounds, that any thing is being or has been imported into Canada in contravention of this Act or the regulations, the officer may, whether or not the thing is detained or seized, require, by delivering a notice in the prescribed form and manner, that it be removed from Canada in accordance with the regulations.

• Marginal note:Deadline for removal

  (2) Where a notice to remove a thing is delivered, the removal shall be carried out within the period specified in the notice or, if no such period is specified in the notice, within ninety days after its delivery.

Marginal note:Forfeiture

• 19 (1) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the convicting court may, in addition to any punishment imposed, order that any thing detained or seized, or any proceeds realized from its disposition, be forfeited to Her Majesty.

• Marginal note:Forfeiture on consent

  (2) Where the owner of a thing detained or seized under this Act consents to its forfeiture, it is thereupon forfeited to Her Majesty.

• Marginal note:Automatic forfeiture

  (3) Where a thing is detained or seized under this Act, it, or the proceeds realized from its disposition, is forfeited to Her Majesty

  • (a) in the case of a thing that has been detained under section 13, if the thing has not been removed within the period prescribed by the regulations;

  • (b) in the case of a thing that has been seized, if ownership of the thing cannot be ascertained within thirty days after the seizure; and

  • (c) in the case of a thing that is the subject of a notice under section 18, if the thing has not been removed from Canada in compliance with that section.

• Marginal note:Return of thing where no forfeiture ordered

  (4) Where the convicting court does not order the forfeiture of a detained or seized thing under subsection (1), the thing, or the proceeds realized from its disposition, shall be returned to the lawful owner of the thing or the person in whose possession the thing was at the time of the detention or seizure.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (5) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, any thing seized or any proceeds realized from its disposition, may be retained until the fine is paid or the thing may be sold under execution in satisfaction of the fine and the proceeds applied, in whole or in part, in payment of the fine.

Marginal note:Disposition by Minister

• 20 (1) Where a sample has been taken pursuant to paragraph 14(1)(b) or a thing has been forfeited or abandoned under this Act, it shall be dealt with and disposed of as the Minister may direct.

• (2) [Repealed, 2009, c. 14, s. 119]

Marginal note:Liability for costs

20.1 If a thing is seized under this Act or under a warrant issued under the Criminal Code, the importer or exporter, as the case may be, and the person who owned the thing at the time it was seized, the person who had charge or control of the thing immediately before it was seized and the person who possessed it immediately before it was seized are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable for all the costs of seizure, detention, maintenance and forfeiture, including any destruction or disposal costs, incurred by Her Majesty in right of Canada in relation to the thing in excess of any proceeds of its disposition, if any.

Marginal note:Regulations

• 21 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes of this Act, including regulations

  • (a) respecting the issuance, renewal, revocation and suspension of permits and the circumstances in which persons may be exempted from holding such permits;

  • (b) respecting the exemption of animals and plants, and parts and derivatives of animals and plants, from the operation of any provision of this Act;

  • (c) amending the definitions animal and plant

    • (i) for the purposes of subsection 6(1),

    • (ii) for the purposes of subsection 6(2),

    • (iii) for the purposes of subsection 6(3),

      • (A) in order to protect species that are subject to the legislative authority of Parliament, or

      • (B) at the request of the minister who is responsible for the protection of wild animal or plant species of the government of the province into which the animal or plant is to be transported, where that minister is of the opinion that the transport would be harmful to the environment of that province,

    • (iv) for the purposes of section 7, in order to protect species of animals and plants in a province, other than those species that are subject to the legislative authority of Parliament, at the request of the minister who is responsible for the protection of wild animal or plant species of the government of the province, and

    • (v) for the purposes of section 8;

  • (d) specifying the places and times at which, and the manner in which, animals and plants, classes of animals and plants and parts and derivatives of animals and plants may be imported into Canada and exported from Canada;

  • (e) respecting the marking of animals and plants, and parts and derivatives of animals and plants, and the packaging for animals, plants and parts and derivatives of animals and plants for importation into or exportation from Canada or for transportation from one province to another province;

  • (f) prescribing the documents to be kept by persons mentioned in section 9 and the manner of keeping the documents and the period for which they are to be kept;

  • (g) specifying the terms and conditions under which animals and plants, and parts and derivatives of animals and plants, are to be removed from Canada under section 18;

  • (g.1) designating provisions of the regulations for the purposes of paragraph 22(1)(b);

  • (h) prescribing the manner in which the proceeds resulting from the payment of fines or the execution of orders under this Act shall be distributed;

  • (i) prescribing the fees or charges to be paid in connection with the administration of this Act and the terms and conditions of paying such fees and charges; and

  • (j) generally to implement the Convention.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) The Governor in Council shall make regulations specifying the animals and plants that are listed as “fauna” and “flora”, respectively, in an appendix to the Convention and shall, not later than ninety days after any change to a list in an appendix to the Convention, amend the regulations to reflect that change.

Marginal note:Order

• 21.1 (1) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, by order, amend the definition animal or plant in section 2 for the purposes of subsection 6(2).

• Marginal note:Recommendation

  (2) If the Minister is of the opinion that the import of any specimen, living or dead, would be harmful to Canadian ecosystems or to any species in Canada and that urgent action is needed, the Minister may recommend that an order be made under subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Duration of amendment

  (3) The amendment made by the order applies for the period specified in the order, which period may not be longer than one year from the day the order is made.

• Marginal note:Exemption

  (4) The order is exempt from the application of section 3 of the Statutory Instruments Act.

Offence and Punishment

Marginal note:Offence — persons

• 22 (1) Every person commits an offence who contravenes

  • (a) any provision of this Act;

  • (b) any provision of the regulations designated by regulations made under paragraph 21(1)(g.1); or

  • (c) any order made under this Act by a court.

• Marginal note:Penalty — individuals

  (2) Every individual who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable,

  • (a) on conviction on indictment,

    • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $15,000 and not more than $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both, and

    • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $30,000 and not more than $2,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both; or

  • (b) on summary conviction,

    • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $300,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and

    • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $600,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.

• Marginal note:Penalty — other persons

  (3) Every person, other than an individual or a corporation referred to in subsection (4), that commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable,

  • (a) on conviction on indictment,

    • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $500,000 and not more than $6,000,000, and

    • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $1,000,000 and not more than $12,000,000; or

  • (b) on summary conviction,

    • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $100,000 and not more than $4,000,000, and

    • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $200,000 and not more than $8,000,000.

• Marginal note:Penalty — small revenue corporations

  (4) Every corporation that commits an offence under subsection (1) and that the court determines under section 22.02 to be a small revenue corporation is liable,

  • (a) on conviction on indictment,

    • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $75,000 and not more than $4,000,000, and

    • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $150,000 and not more than $8,000,000; or

  • (b) on summary conviction,

    • (i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $25,000 and not more than $2,000,000, and

    • (ii) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $50,000 and not more than $4,000,000.

• Marginal note:Relief from minimum fine

  (5) The court may impose a fine that is less than the minimum amount provided for in this section if it is satisfied, on the basis of evidence submitted to the court, that the minimum fine would cause undue financial hardship. The court shall provide reasons if it imposes a fine that is less than the minimum amount provided for in this section.