Administrative Penalty

Companies that fail to follow our requirements may face enforcement action, that could include an administrative penalty. The administrative penalty amount depends on the seriousness of the contravention and the effect it has on public safety, the environment, or resource production.

Other factors that may affect the administrative penalty amount include

• the importance of compliance with the provision to the regulatory scheme;
• the company’s willfulness or negligence in committing the contravention;
• any mitigation or limiting of the extent of loss or damage related to the contravention;
• steps taken by the company to prevent reoccurrence of the contravention;
• the company’s history of noncompliance with our requirements;
• the economic benefit, if any, the company derived (or could derive) from the contravention; and
• any other factor that we consider relevant.

If the contravention lasts more than a day, we can issue a penalty for each day of the contravention. The maximum daily penalty is $5000.

Under the legislation we administer, we are also allowed to assess and collect a separate, one-time amount if it is determined that the company has derived an economic benefit directly or indirectly because of the contravention.

How Penalties Are Determined

We use a scale to assess companies’ contraventions determine the corresponding penalty amount. The more serious the contravention and the greater the effect, the higher the penalty.

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Our Contravention Scale

None to minor: administrative issues are related to documentation (e.g., late submission of a required report).
Moderate: failure to meet performance requirements; failure to immediately report a contravention of approval conditions; failure to submit a required report; failure to perform required tasks in an authorization or legislation; activity is unauthorized but might have been approved.
Major: release of a substance to the environment with the potential to cause an impact; failure to report a release; threat to public safety; activity is unauthorized and wouldn’t have been approved; failure to conserve an energy resource; or intentional disregard of requirements.

How We Assess Impact or Loss/Damage

None: no potential for damage or resource loss.
Minor: loss or damage unlikely to occur.
Moderate: moderate environmental or public safety risk if the contravention was not addressed.
Major: release of a substance to the environment or a risk to public safety occurred or was likely to occur; release of a substance to the environment that would have caused lasting damage over a significant period if immediate action was not taken; the loss of energy resources.

Examples

Many different situations could result in an administrative penalty. However, to help put things into context, we have provided some examples of what actions could result in a penalty if an oil spill occurred. These are only examples; we look at each situation individually to decide how to classify a contravention.

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*Please note: this information does not apply to administrative penalties assessed under the Mines and Minerals Act.

Learn about other compliance and enforcement tools that we use to ensure that companies comply with our rules, regulations, and requirements.