Hazardous Products Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-3)

Marginal note:Contravening or not complying with Act or regulation

• 28. (1) Every person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Act or of any regulation made under this Act

  • (a) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both; or

  • (b) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to a fine not exceeding one million dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.

• Marginal note:Officers, etc., of corporations

  (2) Where a corporation commits an offence under subsection (1), 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 or convicted.

• Marginal note:Limitation period

  (3) Proceedings by way of summary conviction in respect of an offence under paragraph (1)(a) may be instituted at any time within but not later than twelve months after the time when the subject-matter of the proceedings arose.

Marginal note:Exception, etc., need not be mentioned

• 29. (1) No exception, exemption, excuse or qualification prescribed by law is required to be set out or negatived, as the case may be, in an information or indictment for an offence under section 28 of this Act or under section 463, 464 or 465 of the Criminal Code in respect of an offence under section 28.

• Marginal note:Burden of proof

  (2) In any prosecution for an offence mentioned in subsection (1), the burden of proving that an exception, exemption, excuse or qualification prescribed by law operates in favour of the accused is on the accused and the prosecutor is not required, except by way of rebuttal, to prove that the exception, exemption, excuse or qualification does not operate in favour of the accused, whether or not it is set out in the information or indictment.

Marginal note:Certificate of analyst

• 30. (1) Subject to this section, a certificate of an analyst stating that the analyst has analysed or examined a product, material or substance and stating the result of the analysis or examination is admissible in evidence in any prosecution for an offence mentioned in subsection 29(1) and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary is proof of the statements contained in the certificate without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed the certificate.

• Marginal note:Attendance of analyst

  (2) The party against whom a certificate of an analyst is produced pursuant to subsection (1) may, with leave of the court, require the attendance of the analyst for the purposes of cross-examination.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (3) No certificate shall be admitted in evidence pursuant to subsection (1) unless the party intending to produce it has, before the trial, given to the party against whom it is intended to be produced reasonable notice of that intention together with a copy of the certificate.