Administrative Monetary Penalties for Vehicle Safety

Summary#

This is a proposed set of regulations called the Administrative Monetary Penalties (Motor Vehicle Safety) Regulations, published in the Canada Gazette on May 7, 2022. It would let Transport Canada issue monetary penalties (AMPS) for certain breaches of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act and its regulations instead of only issuing warnings or pursuing court prosecutions.

What it does#

• Designates 26 specific legal provisions that can be enforced with AMPs (23 from the Motor Vehicle Safety Act and 3 from the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations).
• Sets maximum penalty amounts for each designated provision. The Act already limits penalties to no more than $4,000 for an individual and $200,000 for a corporation; the proposed rules set specific limits for each listed offence (for example, $400 / $20,000 for one minor record-keeping provision, and $4,000 / $200,000 for many serious items).
• Allows separate penalties in some cases for repeated or continuing offences (for example, day‑by‑day violations).
• Lets regulated parties pay the penalty instead of going to court. Payment must be made within 30 days of the notice.
• Gives the recipient the right to ask the Transportation Appeals Tribunal of Canada to review the AMP decision.
• Estimates an incremental administrative cost to the federal government of $1.74 million (present value, 2020 dollars) over a 10‑year period and assumes 4 full‑time positions will help run the regime.
• This is a proposal. The notice invited comments within 75 days of publication. If made final, the Regulations would come into force on the 90th day after publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

Who's affected#

• Manufacturers, importers and distributors of vehicles, tires, and child/disabled-person restraint equipment.
• Businesses and individuals who import vehicles (including those using the Registrar of Imported Vehicles process).
• Transport Canada enforcement staff and the Government of Canada (for administration and compliance costs).
• The public may be indirectly affected if enforcement changes how quickly safety defects are corrected.

Why it matters#

• It gives regulators a mid‑level enforcement option between a warning and a criminal prosecution. That can speed up enforcement and avoid long, costly court cases for routine regulatory breaches.
• For companies, it means clearer monetary risks for specific failures (records, defect reporting, label information, weight ratings, and similar rules). Some firms warned that multiple‑day or high‑volume violations could add up to large bills.
• For consumers, better and faster enforcement could mean safety issues are corrected sooner.
• The proposal aims for consistent, predictable enforcement, but industry concerns about how penalties would be calculated and how proactive disclosure would be treated were raised during consultation.