Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. O-7)

Marginal note:Continuing violation

71.08 A violation that is committed or continued on more than one day constitutes a separate violation for each day on which it is committed or continued.

Marginal note:Violation or offence

• 71.09 (1) Proceeding with any act or omission as a violation under this Act precludes proceeding with it as an offence under this Act, and proceeding with it as an offence under this Act precludes proceeding with it as a violation under this Act.

• Marginal note:Violations not offences

  (2) For greater certainty, a violation is not an offence and, accordingly, section 126 of the Criminal Code does not apply in respect of a violation.

Marginal note:Limitation or prescription period

71.1 No notice of violation is to be issued more than two years after the day on which the matter giving rise to the violation occurred.

Reviews

Marginal note:Right to request review

71.2 A person who is served with a notice of violation may, within 30 days after the day on which it is served, or within any longer period that the Commission of the Canadian Energy Regulator allows, make a request to that Commission for a review of the amount of the penalty or the facts of the violation, or both.

Marginal note:Correction or cancellation of notice of violation

71.3 At any time before a request for a review in respect of a notice of violation is received by the Commission of the Canadian Energy Regulator, a person designated under paragraph 71.02(b) may cancel the notice of violation or correct an error in it.

Marginal note:Review

• 71.4 (1) On receipt of a request made under section 71.2, the Commission of the Canadian Energy Regulator shall conduct the review or cause the review to be conducted by a person designated under paragraph 71.02(d).

• Marginal note:Restriction

  (2) The Commission of the Canadian Energy Regulator shall conduct the review if the notice of violation was issued by a person designated under paragraph 71.02(d).

Marginal note:Object of review

• 71.5 (1) The Commission of the Canadian Energy Regulator or the person conducting the review shall determine, as the case may be, whether the amount of the penalty for the violation was determined in accordance with the regulations or whether the person committed the violation, or both.

• Marginal note:Determination

  (2) The Commission of the Canadian Energy Regulator or the person conducting the review shall render a determination and the reasons for it in writing and cause the person who requested the review to be served with a copy of them.

• Marginal note:Correction of penalty

  (3) If the Commission of the Canadian Energy Regulator or the person conducting the review determines that the amount of the penalty for the violation was not determined in accordance with the regulations, the Commission or the person, as the case may be, shall correct the amount of the penalty.

• Marginal note:Responsibility

  (4) If the Commission of the Canadian Energy Regulator or the person conducting the review determines that the person who requested the review committed the violation, the person who requested the review is liable to the penalty as set out in the notice issued under section 71.06 or as set out in the determination if the amount of the penalty was corrected under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Determination final

  (5) A determination made under this section is final and binding and, except for judicial review under the Federal Courts Act, is not subject to appeal or to review by any court.

• Marginal note:Federal Court

  (6) Despite section 28 of the Federal Courts Act, the Federal Court has exclusive original jurisdiction to hear and determine an application for judicial review of a determination made under this section by the Commission of the Canadian Energy Regulator.

Marginal note:Burden of proof

71.6 If the facts of a violation are reviewed, the person who issued the notice of violation shall establish, on a balance of probabilities, that the person named in it committed the violation identified in it.

Responsibility

Marginal note:Payment

71.7 If a person pays the penalty set out in a notice of violation, the person is considered to have committed the violation and proceedings in respect of it are ended.

Marginal note:Failure to act

71.8 A person that neither pays the penalty imposed under this Act nor requests a review within the period referred to in section 71.2 is considered to have committed the violation and is liable to the penalty.

Recovery of Penalties

Marginal note:Debt to Her Majesty

• 71.9 (1) A penalty constitutes a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered in the Federal Court or any other court of competent jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Limitation period

  (2) No proceedings to recover the debt are to be instituted more than five years after the day on which the debt becomes payable.

Marginal note:Certificate

• 72 (1) The Commission of the Canadian Energy Regulator may issue a certificate of non-payment certifying the unpaid amount of any debt referred to in subsection 71.9(1).

• Marginal note:Registration in Federal Court

  (2) Registration in the Federal Court or in any other court of competent jurisdiction of a certificate of non-payment issued under subsection (1) has the same effect as a judgment of that court for a debt of the amount specified in the certificate and all related registration costs.

General

Marginal note:Admissibility of documents

72.01 In the absence of evidence to the contrary, a document that appears to be a notice issued under subsection 71.06(1) is presumed to be authentic and is proof of its contents in any proceeding in respect of a violation.

Marginal note:Publication

72.02 The Commission of the Canadian Energy Regulator may make public the nature of a violation, the name of the person who committed it and the amount of the penalty.

Application

Marginal note:Application

72.1 This Act applies to every interest or right in oil or gas acquired or vested before the coming into force of this section.

Her Majesty

Marginal note:Binding on Her Majesty

73 This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

Coming into Force

Marginal note:Commencement

Footnote ^*74 Sections 39 to 47 shall come into force on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

• Return to footnote ^*[Note: Sections 39 to 47 in force July 31, 2010, see SI/2010-50.]