Ticketing for Rouge National Urban Park Offences

Summary#

These final regulations add a new schedule to the Contraventions Regulations so certain offences in the Rouge National Urban Park Act can be enforced by ticket instead of by criminal prosecution. The change (SOR/2024-76) came into force on May 3, 2024.

What it does#

• Adds Schedule XIX to the Contraventions Regulations to list 11 existing offences under the Rouge National Urban Park Act as contraventions.
• Allows Parks Canada park wardens to issue tickets for those offences, giving them a faster, less formal enforcement option than criminal court.
• Sets fixed fines for those contraventions, ranging from $300–$750. Examples include:
  • Failure to take reasonable measures after a discharge or deposit of a substance — $750.
  • Trafficking in a wild animal, plant, object or resource — $750.
  • Hunting a wild animal — $500.
  • Dumping or disposing of any substance — $600.
  • Removing, damaging, altering or destroying a park facility or property — $300.
• Does not create new offences or new restrictions. It only makes an existing offence ticketable.
• The rules came into force on May 3, 2024.

Who's affected#

• Parks Canada park wardens, who gain the ticketing option for enforcing park rules.
• People who use the park: visitors, recreational users, hunters, people who collect or remove plants or animals, and anyone who might dump, damage, or remove park property.
• The public living near or working in the park (including farmers and others using park land) may notice more ticket-based enforcement.
• The First Nations Advisory Circle and the ten First Nations with an interest in the park were consulted; the changes do not remove or replace Indigenous harvesting rights described in the act.

Why it matters#

• Ticketing is quicker and less expensive than criminal prosecution. It can deter minor bad behaviour without creating a criminal record.
• That can make enforcement more practical and consistent, which may help protect the park’s natural, cultural and agricultural features.
• Fines only apply if someone breaks the existing rules. Parks Canada said it will use signage and education to help people know the rules and the fine amounts.
• A short public consultation was held from October 30, 2023 to December 10, 2023, and most comments supported the change.