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Bill C-55

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OFFENCES AND PUNISHMENT

Offence

10. (1) Every person who contravenes section 3 is guilty of an offence and liable

    (a) on summary conviction, to a fine of not more than $20,000 for a first offence and to a fine of not more than $50,000 for a subsequent offence; or

    (b) on conviction on indictment,

      (i) in the case of a corporation, to a fine of not more than $250,000, and

      (ii) in the case of an individual, to a fine of not more than $100,000.

Other summary offence

(2) Every person who contravenes section 6 is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $20,000.

Offences by corporate officers, etc.

11. If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, any officer, director or agent of the corporation who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable on conviction to the punishment provided for the offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted.

Offences by employees or agents

12. In a prosecution for an offence under this Act, it is sufficient proof of the offence to establish that it was committed by an employee or agent of the accused, whether or not the employee or agent is identified or has been prosecuted for the offence, unless the accused establishes that the offence was committed without the knowledge or consent of the accused and that the accused exercised all due diligence to prevent its commission.

Additional fine

13. If a person is convicted of an offence under this Act and the court is satisfied that as a result of committing it the person acquired monetary benefits, the court may, despite the maximum amount of any other fine imposed under this Act, order the person to pay an additional fine in an amount equal to the court's finding of the amount of those monetary benefits.

Other orders

14. If a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may, having regard to the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission, make one or more of the following orders:

    (a) an order prohibiting the person from doing any act or engaging in any activity that may, in the opinion of the court, result in the continuation or repetition of the offence;

    (b) an order directing the person to compensate the Minister, in whole or in part, for the costs of any action taken by or on behalf of the Minister in investigating the commission of the offence; and

    (c) an order requiring the person to comply with any other conditions that the court considers appropriate to prevent the repetition of the offence.

Presump-
tion - offence outside Canada

15. (1) In a proceeding for a contravention of section 3, a foreign publisher who commits an act outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would be an offence under that section is deemed to commit that act in Canada.

Jurisdiction

(2) Proceedings for an offence that is deemed to have been committed in Canada may, whether or not the foreign publisher is in Canada, be commenced in any territorial division in Canada and the foreign publisher may be tried and punished for that offence in the same manner as if the offence had been committed in that territorial division.

Appearance of accused at trial

(3) For greater certainty, in a proceeding commenced in any territorial division under subsection (2), the provisions of the Criminal Code relating to requirements that an accused appear at and be present during proceedings and any exceptions to those requirements apply.

Limitation period

16. A prosecution for a summary conviction offence under this Act may not be instituted more than one year after the offence was committed.

RECOVERY OF FINES BY CIVIL JUDGMENT

Recovery of fines by civil judgment

17. The conviction for an offence under this Act of a person who does not, when required, pay a fine imposed in relation to that offence may be filed by the prosecutor in the superior court of the province in which the trial was held. When so filed, the conviction is entered as a judgment for a debt in the amount of the fine and costs, if any, and is enforceable against the person in the same manner as if it were a judgment obtained by Her Majesty in right of Canada against the person in that court in civil proceedings.

EVIDENCE

Certificates and reports

18. (1) In a proceeding under this Act, a report of an investigator appearing to have been signed by the investigator or a certificate, as the case may be, is admissible in evidence without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed it and is evidence of the matters asserted in it.

Copies or extracts

(2) In a proceeding under this Act, a copy of or an extract from any book, record, electronic data or document, made by an investigator under this Act and appearing to have been certified under the investigator's signature as a true copy or extract, is admissible in evidence without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed the copy or extract and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, has the same probative force as the original would have if it were proved in the ordinary way.

Presumption of advertising services for Canadian advertiser

19. In a prosecution against a foreign publisher for an offence under section 3, proof that advertising content bears the name, trade-name or trade-mark of a Canadian advertiser or an address or a telephone number that appears to be that of a Canadian advertiser is proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that advertising services were supplied by the foreign publisher to the Canadian advertiser or to a person acting on their behalf.

REGULATIONS

Regulations

20. The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act, including regulations respecting

    (a) qualifications for investigators;

    (b) how investigations are to be conducted; and

    (c) criteria to determine whether advertising services are directed at the Canadian market.

NON-APPLICATION OF ACT

Exception - extent of grandfa-
thering

21. This Act does not apply so as to prevent a foreign publisher who lawfully supplied advertising services directed at the Canadian market by means of a periodical during the year before the day on which this Act was introduced in the House of Commons from continuing to supply advertising services directed at the Canadian market by means of that periodical.