Evaluation of the Contraventions Act Program
Executive Summary
The Department of Justice Canada initiated the evaluation of the Contraventions Act Program to assess its relevance and performance over a three year period, from 2013-14 to 2015-16. In addition to meeting requirements contained in the 2009 federal Policy on Evaluation, this evaluation is directly linked to the broader accountability process related to the Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages 2013-2018.
Parliament adopted the Contraventions Act to establish a ticketing system that could be used to enforce certain federal statutory offences designated as contraventions. This system is expected to better reflect the distinction between criminal offences and regulatory offences and to alter or abolish the consequences in law of being convicted of a contravention. Justice Canada also established the Contraventions Act Fund to support the implementation of the Contraventions Act in a manner consistent with all applicable constitutional and legislative language rights. This evaluation covers both the Act and the Fund.
The methodology used to conduct this evaluation included a review of relevant documents, as well as administrative and financial data. It also included interviews with a wide range of key informants from federal, provincial, and municipal departments; ministries; enforcement agencies; enforcement officers; court managers; prosecutors; and other stakeholders.
Key findings from the evaluation are as follows:
1. Program Relevance
The evaluation confirms that the Contraventions Act Program is aligned with federal priorities and contributes to the strategic goals of the Department of Justice. It provides a much-needed tool that supports the work of enforcement officers, and ensures that statutory offences designated as contraventions are enforced in a fair and consistent manner. The Program is also well positioned to support upcoming legislative initiatives and changes, which could include, for example, the legalization and regulation of marijuana in Canada.
Considering more specifically the Contraventions Act Fund, evaluation findings confirm the central role that it assumes in ensuring that the enforcement of federal contraventions is being done in accordance with all applicable language rights. For as long as the Contraventions Act will be enforced using provincial schemes, it can be safely assumed that the Fund will be required. However, while confirming the relevance of the Fund, evaluation findings have found no substantive rationale for leaving the Fund within the Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages.
Evaluation findings also indicate that the relevance of the Program is weakened by two systemic shortcomings. First, the fact that the Act is still not operational in Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, and Alberta represents a significant flaw. Canadians who are alleged to have contravened a federal statutory offence designated as a contravention continue to be exposed to uneven treatment based on the location where the alleged offence occurred. This is not compatible with the proper application of the rule of law and a departmental strategy to effectively address this significant issue does not appear to be in place.
Second, evaluation findings indicate that the current scope of offences designated as contraventions should be broadened. There are still too many offences that are not appropriately enforced because officers lack the proper tool to do so. While each department responsible for the federal acts that are covered by the Contraventions Act must participate in reviewing the scope of offences included, the Department of Justice has a leadership role to play to ensure that the Act can achieve its expected outcomes.
2. Performance – Effectiveness
The evaluation confirms that an increasing number of offences are being enforced using the ticketing system provided by the Contraventions Act. The growth has been particularly significant in the Maritimes. Overall, enforcement officers appear to have access to the training and the tools they require to proceed with the issuance of contravention tickets, but evaluation findings confirm that having to deal with prosecution systems that vary from one province to the next does raise some challenges for federal enforcement authorities. The evaluation also points to the need for appropriate procedures to ensure that fines are being paid, and for fine levels to be reviewed and updated as needed.
As it relates more specifically to the Fund, the evaluation indicates that current agreements have allowed participating provinces to put in place the measures required to ensure that all applicable language rights are upheld during the enforcement and processing of federal contraventions.
The experience gained to date with the Program confirms that it is having positive impacts on key stakeholders:
- Enforcement officers have access to a critical tool that supports their work. There was consensus among officers consulted as part of this evaluation that the ticketing system constitutes an essential tool. In particular, it allows them to use the summary conviction process when the circumstances call for this approach, and not because they have no other viable option.
- To the extent that the Act is operational, it allows Canadians to be treated in a fair and consistent manner that adequately reflects the nature of the offence they are alleged to have contravened. By extension, however, the process used for offences that have occurred in provinces where the Act is not operational continues to expose Canadians to a process that is largely inadequate and unfair.
- The court system also benefits from having the Contraventions Act operational. A limited number of tickets are currently being challenged, and all the remaining offences can be enforced without any involvement from the court system. This is particularly important considering the challenges that the court system in Canada is facing in terms of delays and bottlenecks.
3. Performance – Efficiency and Economy
The Contraventions Act Implementation Management Team has negotiated new agreements with participating provinces that allow for a more consistent reporting of performance information. Reports provided by these provinces support the ongoing management of the Program, and provide important information for the purpose of evaluating the Program.
The Program continues to offer a cost-effective approach for implementing a ticketing system for federal contraventions. It is far more effective than creating a parallel federal system, which would lead to significant duplication of efforts.
To date, the Program has only used a portion of the funds that have been allocated to it. Until the full implementation of the Act is achieved, it is difficult to assess the extent to which the annual allocations are adequate. In the meantime, however, the Program has only been using between 41% and 60% of its allocated funds.
At the time of this evaluation, there were no viable alternatives to the Contraventions Act ticketing system. Unfortunately, a number of federal departments are now focusing their attention on the Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMP) schemeFootnote 1, in the hope that it can replace the Contraventions Act ticketing system. According to interview respondents, this is occurring because these departments fear that the Act will never be operational throughout Canada. While there are circumstances where the AMP scheme is adequate and should be encouraged, it was never meant to replace the ticketing system found in the Contraventions Act. Both schemes are different in nature and apply to distinct circumstances. This trend further supports the urgent need to make the implementation of the Act in all provinces a departmental priority.
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