Penalties for Infractions of Environmental Protection Laws

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Penalties for Infractions of Environmental
Protection Laws

• Judicial seminar on environmental protection in
  Canada, Mexico and the United States of America

Jean Piette Associé principal Environmental
Law Ogilvy Renault
Mexico November 18 2008
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Criteria for determining sanctions in Canada

• Deterrence
• The sentence should deter the accused and future
  offenders.
• Attitude of offender
• The penalty will be lessened if the offender
• advises authorities of his or her own offence
• cooperates with authorities
• shows remorse
• The penalty will be severe if the offence was
  committed intentionally or if there was obvious
  negligence.

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Criteria for determining sanctions in Canada

• Damage to the environment
• The severity of the penalty will reflect the real
  environmental damage caused.
• Offenders financial capacity
• A large business is punished more severely so
  that violating the law is not more cost effective
  than respecting it.

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Criteria for determining sanctions in Canada

• Previous legal record
• Repeat offenders are penalized more severely.
• The law often provides for higher fines for
  repeat offenders where the offence has occurred
  within two (2) years of a guilty verdict for a
  previous infraction.
• Conduct of Administration
• Laxity and incompetence of the Administration can
  mitigate the penalty imposed against an offender.

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Criteria for determining sanctions in Canada

• Negative publicity
• A conviction for an environmental offence creates
  negative publicity for a company.
• Large companies are always very concerned about
  their reputation and image, i.e., the notion of
  being a good corporate citizen.
• Small and medium-sized businesses are primarily
  concerned about their reputation within their
  operating sector.