a-5 - Penal Actions Act

Updated to 1 April 1999

This document has official status.

chapter A-5

Penal Actions Act

Chapter A-5 is replaced by the Code of Penal Procedure (chapter C-25.1).(1987, c. 96, a. 374; 1990, c. 4, s. 11).

1987, c. 96, a. 374; 1990, c. 4, s. 11.

1. No action, suit or information for the recovery of any fine imposed under any statute, whereby the forfeiture is limited to the Crown only, may be brought or laid except within the two years next after the date upon which the offence was committed against such statute.

Any action, suit or information for the recovery of any fine imposed under any statute, the benefit and suit whereto is by such statute limited to the Crown and to any other person who may prosecute in that behalf, may be brought or laid by such other person, as aforesaid, within one year next after the date upon which the offence was committed but not afterwards; and in default of any action or suit by such person, then the same may be brought for the Crown at any time within the two years next after the expiry of such first year.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 1.

2. Any action, suit or information for any offence against any statute, brought or laid after the time in that behalf limited, shall be void; but when the offence consists in an omission to discharge a duty imposed by law, the time during which such duty subsists and such omission continues shall not be counted.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 2.

3. Sections 1 and 2 shall apply only to cases in which no other provision is made by law, and nothing contained in this act shall prolong or extend in any manner the time or delay for the commencement of any action, suit or prosecution in virtue of any statute which fixes or prescribes a shorter time than that limited by this act.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 3.

4. Unless the court or judge before whom a prosecution is to be brought, or the procedure which is to be followed, be mentioned in the statute enacting a penalty, the prosecution shall be brought, tried and decided before a magistrate, in accordance with the provisions of the Summary Convictions Act (chapter P-15).

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 4.

5. If any statute enacting a penalty authorizes the recovery thereof before a court of civil jurisdiction, but without indicating who shall have the right to institute the prosecution, the action may be taken by any person of the age of majority, in his own name.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 5.

6. The court, the judge or the magistrate, before which or whom a prosecution for a penalty is taken, may, in all cases, award costs to the prosecutor when the action is maintained or to the defendant when it is dismissed.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 6.

7. When no other mode is provided for the recovery of any forfeiture imposed by any statute, it shall be recoverable, with costs, in the same manner as any ordinary debt of like amount and before the same court, at the suit of the Crown, or of any private party suing in his own name.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 7.

8. (1)  Whenever, by law or under a municipal by-law, any person is authorized to sue for the recovery of any fine or penalty before the civil courts, he may recover the same in his own name, in the same manner as an ordinary debt of like amount, even if the fine wholly or partly reverts to the Crown or to a municipal corporation.

(2)  No affidavit shall be required from the plaintiff or any other person before such suit is taken.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 8.

9. Notice of any action before a civil court for the recovery of a fine or penalty, wholly or partly reverting to the Crown or to a municipal corporation, shall be served without delay by the plaintiff upon the Attorney General or upon the municipal corporation; and the original of such notice, with a certificate of its service, shall be returned into court with the action. No proceedings may be had on the action before such return.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 9.

10. The Crown or the municipal corporation may intervene in the suit at any stage of the proceedings, to protect its interests and continue the case to judgment.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 10.

11. In no case shall the defendant be discharged, either before or after judgment, except by depositing in the office of the court the amount of the fine and costs. The prothonotary or clerk shall thereafter distribute the amount so deposited, according to law.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 11.

12. If no other provisions for the application of a fine have been prescribed, one-half of it shall belong to the Crown and one-half to the private prosecutor; if there be no private prosecutor, the whole belongs to the Crown.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 12.

13. If there are no provisions to the contrary, all duties, fines, sums of money or proceeds of forfeitures recovered by the Crown in virtue of any statute shall form part of the consolidated revenue fund, and shall be accounted for accordingly.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 13.

14. No provision in any municipal charter, by which fines are declared to belong to any corporation, shall be deemed to affect the right to such fines or part thereof which the Crown would have had if such provision had not been passed.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 14.

15. If in a statute providing for the imprisonment of any person, no other place of imprisonment be fixed, such imprisonment shall be in the house of detention of the district in which the order of imprisonment is issued, or, if there be no house of detention in such district, in the nearest house of detention.

R. S. 1964, c. 34, s. 15; 1969, c. 21, s. 35.

16. (This section ceased to have effect on 17 April 1987).

1982, c. 21, s. 1; U. K., 1982, c. 11, Sch. B, Part I, s. 33.

REPEAL SCHEDULE

In accordance with section 17 of the Act respecting the consolidation of the statutes (chapter R-3), chapter 34 of the Revised Statutes, 1964, in force on 31 December 1977, is repealed effective from the coming into force of chapter A-5 of the Revised Statutes.