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Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy | ||||
Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs | ||||
Volume 2 - Policies and Practices In Canada |
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Chapter 12 - The National Legislative ContextPart VI – General
Sections 44 to 60 are general
provisions. For example, sections 44, 45 and 51 concern the designation of
analysts, the scope of their duties and the admissibility of their reports at
trial. Section 46 creates a general penalty applying to anyone who contravenes a
provision of the Act for which no penalty is specifically provided or
contravenes a regulation. An indictable offence is punishable by a maximum fine
of $5,000 and/or three years’ imprisonment. An offence punishable on summary
conviction results in a $1,000 fine and/or six months' imprisonment. Under section 47, summary
convictions for certain offences under the act and regulations must be
commenced within one year of the commission of the offence. All other summary
procedures must be commenced within six months of the offence. Other sections
concern the following matters: that the prosecutor is not required, except by
way of rebuttal, to prove that a certificate, licence, permit or other
qualification does not operate in favour of the accused (section 48); that
a copy of any document filed with a department is admissible in evidence
without proof of the signature of the authority (section 49); that a
certificate issued to a police officer exempting him from the act or its
regulations is admissible in evidence at trial and, in the absence of evidence
to the contrary, is proof that the certificate or other document was validly issued,
without proof of the signature or official character of the person purporting
to have certified it, although the defence may, with leave of the court,
cross-examine the person who issued the certificate (section 50); that the
giving of any document may be proved by oral evidence, affidavit or solemn
declaration, even though the court may require the signatory to appear
(section 52); that the continuity of possession of any exhibit tendered as
evidence in a proceeding may be proved by the testimony, affidavit or solemn
declaration of the person claiming to have had it in his possession
(section 53); and that certified copies of records, books, electronic data
or other documents seized may be presented as admissible evidence by the
Minister's officer, the copied versions having the same probative force as the
originals, unless the accused submits evidence to the contrary
(section 54). Subsection 55(1) establishes
the power of the Governor in Council to make regulations. One of the objectives
of Canada's drug policy was to monitor the legal trade in scheduled drugs for
medical or scientific purposes. The CSDA significantly enhanced the Governor in
Council's power to make regulations with respect to designated substances and
precursors. The regulations made under the CSDA apply in particular to
businesses, physicians and pharmacists. The Governor in Council may thus make
regulations, with respect to the designated substances or precursors:
Under subsection 55(2), the
Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Solicitor General of Canada,
may make regulations that pertain to investigations and other law enforcement
activities. This includes regulations exempting police officers, in certain
circumstances, from the application of Part I of the Act (Offences and
Penalties). Under section 56, the Minister
may, on such terms and conditions as the Minister deems necessary, exempt any
person or class of persons or any controlled substance or precursor or any
class thereof from the application of all or any of the provisions of the act
or the regulations if, in the opinion of the Minister, the exemption is
necessary for a medical or scientific purpose or is otherwise in the public interest.
Section 57 concerns the delegation of the powers of the Minister and the
Solicitor General. Section 58 provides that the
provisions of the act and the regulations made under it prevail over any
incompatible provisions of the Food and
Drugs Act or its regulations. Section 59
makes it an offence to make or assent to the making of a false or misleading
statement in any book, record, return or other document that must be made under
the act or regulations. As mentioned, under section 60,
the Governor in Council may amend any schedule to add or delete a controlled
substance. |