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2nd Session, 37th Parliament,
51-52 Elizabeth II, 2002-2003
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House of Commons of Canada
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BILL C-38
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An Act to amend the Contraventions Act and
the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
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Her Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate and House of Commons
of Canada, enacts as follows:
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| 1992, c. 47
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1. Paragraphs 4(a) and (b) of the
Contraventions Act are replaced by the
following:
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(a) to provide a procedure for the
prosecution of contraventions that is in
addition to the procedures set out in the
Criminal Code; and
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(b) to alter or abolish the consequences in
law of being convicted of an offence, if that
offence is designated as a contravention.
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| 2002, c. 1,
s. 168
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2. Section 5 of the Act is replaced by the
following:
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| Application of
certain
legislation
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5. The Criminal Code and the Youth
Criminal Justice Act apply, with any
modifications that the circumstances require,
to proceedings in respect of contraventions
that are commenced under this Act, except to
the extent that this Act, the regulations or the
rules of court provide otherwise.
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| Method of
prosecution
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6. For greater certainty, a contravention
may be prosecuted by means of either a
summons or ticket unless another Act of
Parliament provides that it shall be prosecuted
by means of a ticket only.
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3. Subsection 8(4) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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Maximum
fine for
contraven-
tions by
young persons
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(4) An amount established under paragraph
(1)(c) in respect of a contravention, other than
a contravention relating to parking a vehicle,
may not, subject to any other Act of
Parliament, be more than one hundred dollars,
if the contravention is committed by a young
person.
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3.1 The Act is amended by adding the
following after section 64:
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| Prohibition on
disclosure
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64.1 Every person who has access to the
automated criminal conviction records
retrieval system or other law enforcement
information systems, maintained or managed
by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or by
an organization having a law enforcement
role, and who knowingly discloses to a foreign
government or international organization or,
their agent, information contained in that
system respecting an offence under subsection
4(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances
Act as described in subsection 4(5), (5.1), (5.2)
or (5.4) of that Act or an offence under
paragraph 7(3)(a) of that Act is guilty of an
offence punishable on summary conviction,
unless they are required by a court order to
disclose the information.
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| 1996, c. 7,
s. 37
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4. Subsection 65.1(2) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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| Application of
provisions of
this Act
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(2) If the laws of a province apply by virtue
of regulations made under subsection (1) in
respect of a contravention, or a contravention
of a prescribed class, that is alleged to have
been committed in, or otherwise within the
territorial jurisdiction of the courts of, the
province,
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(a) the definitions ``Attorney General'',
``contravention'', ``enactment'',
``enforcement authority'', ``fees'',
``Minister'', ``prescribed'' and ``ticket'' in
section 2, sections 3 to 7, paragraphs
8(1)(a), (b), (c), (e) and (f), subsections
8(1.1) to (7) and 17(4) and sections 42, 54,
55, 58, 59, 63, 64, 64.1, 65, 65.2 and 65.3
apply in respect of the contravention;
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(b) the Governor in Council may, by order,
make any other provision of this Act apply
in respect of the contravention; and
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(c) the remainder of this Act does not apply
in respect of the contravention.
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| 1996, c. 19
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5. (1) The portion of subsection 4(4) of the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act before
paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
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| Punishment
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(4) Subject to subsections (5) to (5.2) and
(5.4), every person who contravenes
subsection (1), if the subject-matter of the
offence is a substance included in Schedule II,
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(2) Subsection 4(5) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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| Punishment
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(5) Every person who contravenes
subsection (1) is, if the subject-matter of the
offence is the substance referred to in subitem
1(1) of Schedule II in an amount that is not
more than one gram, guilty of an offence
punishable on summary conviction and liable
to a fine of not more than the amount referred
to in item 1 of Schedule VIII.
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| Punishment
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(5.1) Every person who contravenes
subsection (1) is, if the subject-matter of the
offence is the substance referred to in subitem
1(2) of Schedule II in an amount that is not
more than fifteen grams, guilty of an offence
punishable on summary conviction and liable
to a fine of not more than the amount referred
to in item 2 of Schedule VIII.
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| Punishment
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(5.2) Every person who contravenes
subsection (1) in any of the circumstances set
out in subsection (5.3) is, if the subject-matter
of the offence is the substance referred to in
subitem 1(1) of Schedule II in an amount that
is not more than one gram or the substance
referred to in subitem 1(2) of Schedule II in an
amount that is not more than fifteen grams,
guilty of an offence punishable on summary
conviction and liable to a fine of not more than
the amount referred to in item 3 of Schedule
VIII.
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| Circumstances
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(5.3) The circumstances referred to in
subsection (5.2) are the following:
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(a) the person is in possession of the
substance when they operate a motor
vehicle or railway equipment within the
meaning of section 2 of the Criminal Code,
or an aircraft or vessel within the meaning
of section 214 of that Act, when they assist
in the operation of an aircraft or railway
equipment, or when they have the care or
control of a motor vehicle, railway
equipment, aircraft or vessel, whether it is
in motion or not;
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(b) the person is in possession of the
substance when they commit an indictable
offence; and
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(c) the person is in possession of the
substance in or near a school that is attended
primarily by persons under the age of
eighteen years, or on or near the grounds of
such a school.
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| Punishment
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(5.4) Every person who contravenes
subsection (1) is, if the subject-matter of the
offence is the substance referred to in subitem
1(2) of Schedule II in an amount that is more
than fifteen but not more than thirty grams,
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(a) guilty of an offence punishable on
summary conviction and liable to a fine of
not more than one thousand dollars or to
imprisonment for a term of not more than
six months, or to both; or
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(b) guilty of a contravention under the
Contraventions Act and liable to a fine of
not more than the amount referred to in item
4 of Schedule VIII.
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(3) Subsection 4(8) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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Interpreta-
tion
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(8) For the purposes of subsections (5) to
(5.2) and (5.4), the amount of the substance
means the entire amount of any mixture or
substance, or the whole of any plant, that
contains a detectable amount of the substance.
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Contraven-
tions
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(9) If the Governor in Council makes
regulations under subsection 65.1(1) of the
Contraventions Act with respect to a province
and designates an offence referred to in any of
subsections (5) to (5.2) as a contravention
under paragraph 8(1)(a) of that Act, that
offence shall be prosecuted in that province as
a contravention by means of a ticket.
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6. (1) Paragraph 7(2)(b) of the Act is
repealed.
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(2) Section 7 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (2):
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| Production of
cannabis
(marihuana)
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(3) Every person who contravenes
subsection (1) by producing cannabis
(marihuana) from
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(a) not more than three plants is guilty of an
offence punishable on summary conviction
and liable to a fine of not more than the
amount referred to in item 5 of Schedule
VIII ;
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(b) more than three but not more than
twenty-five plants is guilty of an offence
and liable,
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(i) on conviction on indictment, to
imprisonment for a term of not more than
five years less a day, or
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(ii) on summary conviction, to a fine of
not more than twenty-five thousand
dollars or to imprisonment for a term of
not more than eighteen months, or to
both;
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(c) more than twenty-five but not more than
fifty plants is guilty of an offence and liable,
on conviction on indictment, to
imprisonment for a term of not more than
ten years; or
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(d) more than fifty plants is guilty of an
offence and liable, on conviction on
indictment, to imprisonment for a term of
not more than fourteen years.
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Contraven-
tion
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(4) If the Governor in Council makes
regulations under subsection 65.1(1) of the
Contraventions Act with respect to a province
and designates the offence referred to in
paragraph (3)(a) as a contravention under
paragraph 8(1)(a) of that Act, that offence
shall be prosecuted in that province as a
contravention by means of a ticket.
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7. (1) Subparagraph 10(2)(a)(iii) of the
Act is replaced by the following:
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(iii) trafficked in a substance included in
Schedule I, II, III or IV, or possessed such
a substance for the purpose of trafficking,
in or near a school that is attended
primarily by persons under the age of
eighteen years, on or near the grounds of
such a school, or in or near any public
place usually frequented by such persons,
or
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| 1999, c. 5,
s. 49(2)
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(2) Subsection 10(3) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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| Factors to take
into
consideration
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(2.1) The court imposing a sentence on a
person who is convicted of an offence under
any of paragraphs 7(3)(b) to (d) shall also
consider whether the following factors exist:
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(a) the person used real property that
belongs to a third party to commit the
offence;
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(b) the production constituted a potential
security, health or safety hazard to children
who were in the location where the offence
was committed or the immediate area;
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(c) the production constituted a potential
public safety hazard in a residential area;
and
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(d) the person set or placed a trap, device or
other thing that is likely to cause death or
bodily harm to another person in the
location where the offence was committed
or the immediate area or, if they occupied or
were in possession of the location where the
offence was committed or the immediate
area, permitted such a trap, device or other
thing to remain in that location or area.
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| Reasons
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(3) If the court is satisfied of the existence
of one or more of the factors enumerated in
paragraphs (2)(a) to (c) and (2.1)(a) to (d), but
decides not to impose a custodial sentence,
the court shall give reasons for that decision.
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8. Section 60 of the Act is replaced by the
following:
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| Schedules
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60. The Governor in Council may, by order,
amend any of the Schedules by adding to them
or deleting from them any item or portion of
an item, if the Governor in Council deems the
amendment to be necessary in the public
interest.
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| SOR/97-230
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9. Schedule VIII to the Act is replaced by
the Schedule VIII set out in the schedule to
this Act.
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| Review
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9.1 The Government, under the National
Drug Strategy, shall, no later than three
years after the day this Act comes into force,
appoint one or more persons to carry out a
comprehensive review of the effects of the
alternatives in penalties proposed under
this Act, to determine what effect they have
had on Canadian Society.
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| Order
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10. The provisions of this Act, and the
provisions of any Act that are enacted by
this Act, come into force on a day or days to
be fixed by order of the Governor in
Council.
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