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The enactment amends the Contraventions Act to allow for the
designation of certain criminal offences as contraventions and to
specify that contraventions may be prosecuted by means of either a
summons or ticket unless another Act of Parliament provides otherwise.
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The enactment also amends the Controlled Drugs and Substances
Act to create offences with respect to the possession of small amounts
of cannabis (marihuana) and the production of cannabis (marihuana).
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Clause 1: Section 4 reads as follows:
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4. The purposes of this Act are
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(a) to provide a procedure for the prosecution of contraventions that
reflects the distinction between criminal offences and regulatory
offences and that is in addition to the procedures set out in the
Criminal Code for the prosecution of contraventions and other
offences; and
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(b) to alter or abolish the consequences in law of being convicted of
a contravention, in light of that distinction.
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Clause 2: Section 6 is new. Section 5 reads as follows:
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5. The provisions of the Criminal Code relating to summary
conviction offences and the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act
apply 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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Clause 3: Subsection 8(4) reads as follows:
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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 exceed one hundred dollars, if the contravention is committed
by a young person.
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Clause 4: Subsection 65.1(2) reads as follows:
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(2) Where 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, the
definitions ``Attorney General'', ``contravention'', ``enactment'',
``enforcement authority'', ``fees'', ``Minister'', ``prescribed'' and
``ticket'' in section 2, sections 3, 4, 5 and 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, 65, 65.2 and 65.3 apply, and the remainder of this Act
does not apply, in respect of the contravention.
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Clause 5: (1) The relevant portion of subsection 4(4)
reads as follows:
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(4) Subject to subsection (5), every person who contravenes
subsection (1) where the subject-matter of the offence is a substance
included in Schedule II
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(2) Subsections 4(5.1) to (5.4) are new. Subsection
4(5) reads as follows:
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(5) Every person who contravenes subsection (1) where the
subject-matter of the offence is a substance included in Schedule II in
an amount that does not exceed the amount set out for that substance in
Schedule VIII is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction
and liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both.
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(3) Subsection 4(9) is new. Subsection 4(8) reads as
follows:
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(8) For the purposes of subsection (5) and Schedule VIII, 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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Clause 6: (1) The relevant portion of subsection 7(2)
reads as follows:
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(2) Every person who contravenes subsection (1)
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(b) where the subject-matter of the offence is cannabis (marihuana),
is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding seven years;
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(2) New.
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Clause 7: (1) The relevant portion of subsection 10(2)
reads as follows:
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(2) If a person is convicted of a designated substance offence, the
court imposing sentence on the person shall consider any relevant
aggravating factors including that the person
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(a) in relation to the commission of the offence,
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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, on or near school grounds or in or near any other
public place usually frequented by persons under the age of
eighteen years, or
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(2) Subsection 10(2.1) is new. Subsection 10(3) reads
as follows:
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(3) If, under subsection (1), the court is satisfied of the existence of
one or more of the aggravating factors enumerated in paragraphs (2)(a)
to (c), but decides not to sentence the person to imprisonment, the court
shall give reasons for that decision.
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Clause 8: Section 60 reads as follows:
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60. The Governor in Council may, by order, amend any of Schedules
I to VIII by adding to them or deleting from them any item or portion
of an item, where the Governor in Council deems the amendment to be
necessary in the public interest.
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