Bill C-74

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First Reading

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	(o) directing the offender to pay, in the manner prescribed by the court, an amount to environmental, health or other groups to assist in their work in the community where the offence was committed;
	(p) directing the offender to pay, in the manner prescribed by the court, an amount to an educational institution for scholar ships for students enrolled in environmental studies; and
	(q) requiring the offender to comply with such other reasonable conditions as the court considers appropriate and just in the circumstances for securing the offender's good conduct and for preventing the offend er from repeating the same offence or committing other offences.
Publication	(2) Where an offender fails to comply with an order made under paragraph (1)(g) direct ing the publication of the facts relating to the offence, the Minister may publish the facts in compliance with the order and recover the costs of publication from the offender.
Debt due to Her Majesty	(3) Where the court makes an order under paragraph (1)(k) directing an offender to pay costs or the Minister incurs publication costs under subsection (2), the costs constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Coming into force and duration of order	(4) An order made under subsection (1) comes into force on the day on which it is made or on such other day as the court may determine and shall not continue in force for more than three years after that day.
Compensation for loss of property	292. (1) Where an offender has been convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may, at the time sentence is imposed and on the application of the person aggrieved, order the offender to pay to that person an amount by way of satisfaction or compensa tion for loss of or damage to property suffered by that person as a result of the commission of the offence.
Enforcement	(2) Where an amount that is ordered to be paid under subsection (1) is not paid forthwith, the applicant may, by filing the order, enter as a judgment, in the superior court of the province in which the trial was held, the amount ordered to be paid, and that judgment is enforceable against the offender in the same manner as if it were a judgment rendered against the offender in that court in civil proceedings.
Variation of sanctions	293. (1) Subject to subsection (2), where a court has made, in relation to an offender, an order or direction under section 288, 289 or 291, the court may, on application by the offender or the Attorney General, require the offender to appear before it and, after hearing the offender and the Attorney General, vary the order in one or any combination of the following ways that is applicable and, in the opinion of the court, is rendered desirable by a change in the circumstances of the offender since the order was made, namely,
	(a) make changes in the order or the conditions specified in the order or extend the period for which the order is to remain in force for such period, not exceeding one year, as the court considers desirable; or
	(b) decrease the period for which the order is to remain in force or relieve the offender, either absolutely or partially or for such period as the court considers desirable, of compliance with any condition that is specified in the order.
Notice	(2) Before making an order under subsec tion (1), the court may direct that notice be given to such persons as the court considers to be interested and may hear any such person.
Subsequent applications with leave	294. Where an application made under subsection (1) in respect of an offender has been heard by a court, no other application may be made with respect to the offender except with leave of the court.
	Environmental Protection Alternative Measures
Definitions	295. The definitions in this section apply in sections 296 to 309.
``agreement'' « accord »	``agreement'' means an agreement respecting environmental protection alternative mea sures.
``Attorney General'' « procureur général »	``Attorney General'' means the Attorney Gen eral of Canada or the delegate of the Attor ney General of Canada.
``environ- mental protection alternative measures'' « mesures de rechange »	``environmental protection alternative mea sures'' means measures, other than judicial proceedings, used to deal with a person al leged to have committed an offence under this Act.
``person'' « personne »	``person'' includes individuals, Her Majesty in right of Canada or of a province and pub lic bodies, bodies corporate, societies and companies.
When measures may be used	296. (1) Environmental protection alterna tive measures may be used to deal with a person alleged to have committed an offence under this Act only if it is not inconsistent with the purposes of this Act and the following conditions are met:
	(a) the measures are part of a program of environmental protection alternative mea sures authorized by the Attorney General, after consultation with the Minister;
	(b) the offence alleged to have been com mitted is an offence under this Act, except an offence under
	(i) paragraph 272(1)(a) or (b), in respect of subsection 16(4), 81(1), (2), (3) or (4), 82(1) or (2), 84(2) or 96(4), section 99, subsection 106(1), (2), (3) or (4), 107(1) or (2), 109(1) or (2), 119(1), 148(1), 202(4) or 213(4) or section 227 or 228,
	(ii) paragraph 272(1)(c) or (d),
	(iii) subsection 273(1), if the offence is committed knowingly, or
	(iv) subsection 274(1) or (2);
	(c) an information has been laid in respect of the offence;
	(d) the Attorney General, after consulting with the Minister, is satisfied that they would be appropriate, having regard to the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission and the follow ing factors, namely,
	(i) the protection of the environment and of human life and health and other interests of society,
	(ii) the person's history of compliance with this Act,
	(iii) whether the offence is a repeated occurrence,
	(iv) any allegation that information is being or was concealed or other attempts to subvert the purposes and requirements of this Act are being or have been made, and
	(v) whether any remedial or preventive action has been taken by or on behalf of the person in relation to the offence;
	(e) before consenting to participate in the measures, the person has been advised of the right to be represented by counsel;
	(f) the person accepts responsibility for the act or omission that forms the basis of the offence that the person is alleged to have committed;
	(g) the person fully and freely consents to participate in the measures after having been informed of them;
	(h) the person and the Attorney General have entered into an agreement within the period of 180 days after the person has been
	(i) served with a summons,
	(ii) issued an appearance notice, or
	(iii) entered into a promise to appear or a recognizance;
	(i) there is, in the opinion of the Attorney General or the Attorney General's agent, sufficient evidence to proceed with the prosecution of the offence; and
	(j) the prosecution of the offence is not barred at law.
Restriction on use	(2) Environmental protection alternative measures shall not be used to deal with a person who
	(a) denies participation or involvement in the commission of the alleged offence; or
	(b) expresses the wish to have any charge against the person dealt with by the court.
Admissions not admissible in evidence	(3) No admission, confession or statement accepting responsibility for a given act or omission made by a person as a condition of being dealt with by environmental protection alternative measures is admissible in evidence against that person in any civil or criminal proceedings.
Dismissal of charge	(4) Where environmental protection alter native measures have been used to deal with a person alleged to have committed an offence, the court shall dismiss the charge laid against that person in respect of that offence
	(a) where the court is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the person has totally complied with the agreement; or
	(b) where the court is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the person has partially complied with the agreement and, in the opinion of the court, the prosecution of the charge would be unfair, having regard to the circumstances and that person's perfor mance with respect to the agreement.
No bar to proceedings	(5) The use of environmental protection alternative measures in respect of a person alleged to have committed an offence is not a bar to any proceedings against the person under this Act.
Laying of information, etc.	(6) This section does not prevent any person from laying an information, obtaining the issue or confirmation of any process, or proceeding with the prosecution of any of fence, in accordance with the law.
Sentencing considera- tions	297. Where an information in respect of an offence of contravening an agreement under section 272 has been laid and proceedings in respect of the alleged offence for which the agreement was entered into have been recom menced, the court imposing a sentence for either offence shall take into account, in addition to the factors referred to in section 287, any sentence that has previously been imposed for the other offence.
Nature of measures contained in agreement	298. (1) An agreement may contain any terms and conditions, including, but not limited to,
	(a) terms and conditions having any or all of the effects set out in section 291 or any other terms and conditions having any of the effects prescribed by the regulations that the Attorney General, after consulting with the Minister, considers appropriate; and
	(b) terms and conditions relating to the costs of laboratory tests and of field tests, travel and living expenses, costs of scientific analyses and other reasonable costs associated with supervising and verifying compliance with the agreement.
Supervisory bodies	(2) Any governmental or non-governmen tal body may supervise compliance with an agreement.
Duration of agreement	299. An agreement comes into force on the day on which it is signed or on any later day that is specified in the agreement and contin ues in force for the period, not exceeding three years, specified in the agreement.
Filing in court for the purpose of public access	300. (1) Subject to subsection (5), the Attorney General shall consult with the Minis ter before entering into an agreement and shall cause the agreement to be filed, as part of the court record of the proceedings to which the public has access, with the court in which the information was laid within 30 days after the agreement was entered into.
Reports	(2) A report relating to the administration of or compliance with an agreement shall, im mediately after all the terms and conditions of the agreement have been complied with or the charges in respect of which the agreement was entered into have been dismissed, be filed with the court in which the agreement was filed in accordance with subsection (1).
Confidential information or material injury	(3) Subject to subsection (4), the following information that is to be part of an agreement or the report referred to in subsection (2) must be set out in a schedule to the agreement or to the report:
	(a) trade secrets of any person;
	(b) financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that is confidential information and is treated consistently in a confidential manner by any person;
	(c) information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to result in material financial loss or gain to, or could reasonably be expected to prejudice the competitive position of, any person; or
	(d) information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to interfere with contractual or other negotiations of any person.
Agreement on information to be in schedule	(4) The parties to an agreement must agree on which information that is to be part of an agreement or a report is information that meets the requirements of paragraphs (3)(a) to (d).
Manner in which schedules to be kept secret	(5) A schedule to an agreement or to the report referred to in subsection (2) is confiden tial and shall not be filed with the court.
Prohibition of disclosure	(6) The Minister shall not disclose any information set out in a schedule to the agreement or to the report referred to in subsection (2), except under section 307 or under the Access to Information Act.
Filing in Environ- mental Registry	301. A copy of every agreement and report referred to in subsection 300(2) and every agreement that has been varied pursuant to subsection 303(1) or a notice that the agree ment or report has been filed in court and is available to the public shall be included in the Environmental Registry.
Stay and recommence- ment of proceedings	302. Notwithstanding section 579 of the Criminal Code,
	(a) the Attorney General shall, on filing the agreement, stay the proceedings or apply to the court for an adjournment of the proceed ings in respect of the offence alleged to have been committed for a period not exceeding one year after the expiration of the agree ment; and
	(b) proceedings stayed in accordance with paragraph (a) may be recommenced, with out laying a new information or preferring a new indictment, as the case may be, by the Attorney General giving notice of the recommencement to the clerk of the court in which the stay of the proceedings was entered, but where no such notice is given within one year after the expiration of the agreement, the proceedings are deemed never to have been commenced.
Application to vary agreement	303. (1) Subject to subsection 300(5), the Attorney General may, on application by the person bound by an agreement and after consulting with the Minister, vary the agree ment in one or both of the following ways that, in the opinion of the Attorney General, is rendered desirable by a material change in the circumstances since the agreement was en tered into or last varied, namely,
	(a) make any changes to the agreement or the terms and conditions of the agreement; or
	(b) decrease the period for which the agreement is to remain in force or relieve the person, either absolutely or partially or for such period as the Attorney General considers desirable, of compliance with any condition that is specified in the agreement.
Filing of varied agreement	(2) An agreement that has been varied pursuant to subsection (1) shall be filed with the court in which the original agreement was filed in accordance with section 300.
Records of persons	304. Sections 305 to 307 apply only in respect of persons who have entered into an agreement, regardless of the degree of their compliance with the terms and conditions of the agreement.
Records of police forces and investigative bodies	305. (1) A record relating to any offence alleged to have been committed by a person, including the original or a copy of any fingerprints or photographs of the person, may be kept by any police force or body responsi ble for, or participating in, the investigation of the offence.
Disclosure by peace officer or investigator	(2) A peace officer or investigator may disclose to any person any information in a record kept pursuant to this section that it is necessary to disclose in the conduct of the investigation of an offence.
Disclosure to insurance company	(3) A peace officer or investigator may disclose to an insurance company any in formation in a record kept pursuant to this section that it is necessary to disclose for the purpose of investigating any claim arising out of an offence committed or alleged to have been committed by the person to whom the record relates.
Government records	306. (1) The Minister, inspectors, analysts and investigators and any department or agency of a government in Canada with which the Minister has entered into an agreement under section 308 may keep records and use information obtained as a result of the use of environmental protection alternative mea sures to deal with a person
	(a) for the purposes of an inspection under this Act or an investigation of an offence under this Act alleged to have been com mitted by the person;
	(b) in proceedings against the person under this Act;
	(c) for the purpose of the administration of environmental protection alternative mea sures programs; or
	(d) otherwise for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act.
Supervision records	(2) Any person may keep the records and use the information obtained by the person as a result of supervising compliance with an agreement that are necessary for the purpose of supervising compliance with the agree ment.

Bill C-74

Environmental Protection Alternative Measures