The page contains an overview of Transport Canada's approach to dealing with contraventions under the Contraventions Act.
Enforcement Officers designated under the Canada Marine Act can issue tickets for contraventions at Canada Port Authorities, public ports, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and Department of National Defence harbours.
On this page:
Contraventions Act
The Contraventions Act and its regulations allow Enforcement Officers to complete and serve tickets when they see that a federal offence designated as a contravention has been committed. These tickets give officers another tool to help them deal with offences designated as contraventions under the Contraventions Regulations when circumstances warrant.
The contraventions regime allows provincial ticketing procedures to apply in provinces that have signed an agreement with the federal government. The Application of Provincial Laws Regulations incorporates provincial ticketing legislation into federal law. Officers will use the ticketing procedure of the province in which the offence was committed.
Provinces administer federal contraventions tickets, including:
- processing tickets that are issued
- receiving payments
- Collecting unpaid fines
- giving ticket booklets to enforcement authorities
To date, the Contraventions Act applies in every province except Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Territories.
List of contraventions
Schedule I of the Contraventions Regulations lists, explains and includes the fines for all possible contraventions under the Canada Marine Act and its regulations designated as contraventions. Most fines range from $125 to $500, but can be as high as $2,000 in some situations.
The following statutes and regulations are subject to the contraventions regime:
- Canada Marine Act
- Port Authorities Operations Regulations
- Public Ports and Public Port Facilities Regulations
- Seaway Property Regulations
- Natural and Man-made Harbour and Use Regulations
What to do if you receive a contravention ticket
Within 30 days of being served with a ticket, you can:
- plead guilty and pay the total amount set out in the ticket, or
- plead guilty but contest the amount of the fine or the amount of time given to pay the fine, or
- contest the contravention
Information on how to pay the ticket in printed on the ticket.
If you decide to contest the contravention, you'll receive a notice to appear in a provincial court at a specific date and time.