Increased Ticket Fines for Dangerous Goods

Summary#

The final rule titled Regulations Amending the Contraventions Regulations (Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992) raises ticket fines for 12 contraventions under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992. The new ticket amounts range from $2,000 to $4,000 and the regulations came into force when they were registered on December 8, 2023 (published in the Canada Gazette on December 20, 2023).

What it does#

• Replaces the fine amounts for the 12 designated contraventions listed in Schedule XV of the Contraventions Regulations.
• New amounts are mostly multiplied by a factor of three to five compared with the old levels. Resulting fines are:
  • $2,000 for several offences (items 1–4 and 6–9 in the schedule).
  • $2,500 for one offence (item 5).
  • $4,000 for three offences (items 10–12).
• Gives one clear example: the offence under subsection 18(3) (failing to report loss or theft to the prescribed person) was increased from $1,000 to $4,000.
• Keeps the Contraventions ticketing process (an alternative to criminal prosecution) as the enforcement route for these offences.

Who's affected#

• Companies and people who handle, ship, import or transport dangerous goods by road, rail, air or sea.
• Enforcement officers who issue tickets under the Contraventions Regime and the agencies that support ticket processing, including Transport Canada.
• Provincial and territorial authorities that help administer or process contraventions where the federal ticketing regime applies.
• Small businesses that break the rules could face higher fines; the federal review concluded the changes do not create new paperwork or compliance duties.

Why it matters#

• The goal is to restore the deterrent effect of ticket fines that had not been updated since around 2007, so penalties better reflect current risks and costs.
• Higher fines make the ticketing option a stronger, quicker alternative to criminal charges. That can speed up enforcement and focus court resources on more serious offences.
• For people and businesses that move dangerous goods, the change means bigger financial consequences for breaches of safety or reporting rules.
• The notice records that provinces raised concerns about differences in fine levels across jurisdictions, but the federal increase proceeded to align amounts within the federal Contraventions Regime.