Energy Efficiency Act

An Act respecting the energy efficiency of energy-using products and the use of alternative energy sources Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: Short title This Act may be cited as the Energy Efficiency Act. Definitions In this Act, dealer means a person engaged in the business of manufacturing energy-using products in Canada, importing energy-using products into Canada, or selling or leasing energy-using products obtained directly or indirectly from a person engaged in a business described in paragraph (a) or (b) or an agent thereof; (fournisseur) energy efficiency standard, in respect of an energy-using product, means the standard, if any, prescribed pursuant to section 20 for that product or for a class of energy-using products that includes that product; (norme d’efficacité énergétique) energy-using product means a prescribed product; (matériel consommateur d’énergie) inspector means a person designated as an inspector pursuant to subsection 9(1); (inspecteur) manufacture includes the process of assembling or altering an energy-using product in order to complete that product for sale to the first retail purchaser or for lease to the first lessee; (fabrication) Minister means the Minister of Natural Resources; (ministre) prescribed means prescribed by regulation. (Version anglaise seulement) Meaning of class For greater certainty, a reference in this Act to a class in relation to energy-using products includes classes based on common energy-consuming characteristics, the intended use of the products or the conditions under which the products are normally used. Binding on Her Majesty This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province. Interprovincial trade and importation No dealer shall, for the purpose of sale or lease, ship an energy-using product from one province to another province, or import an energy-using product into Canada, unless the product complies with the energy efficiency standard; and the product or its package is labelled in accordance with the regulations, if any. Tampering with label No person shall, before an energy-using product is sold to the first retail purchaser or leased to the first lessee, remove, deface, obscure or alter any label put on the product or its package in accordance with the regulations. Savings A dealer does not contravene paragraph (1)(b) if the requirements of that paragraph are met before the energy-using product leaves the possession of the dealer or the dealer’s consignee. Information to be provided by dealers Every dealer who ships or imports energy-using products as described in subsection 4(1) shall provide the Minister, in the prescribed form and manner and at the prescribed time, with prescribed information respecting those products, including their energy efficiency, their shipment or their importation. Exceptions A dealer is not required to provide prescribed information in respect of the energy efficiency of any particular energy-using products if the Minister is satisfied that the information has previously been provided under subsection (1); or information has previously been provided under subsection (1) in respect of the energy efficiency of comparable energy-using products that differ from those products only in a manner that does not relate to energy efficiency. Requirement to supply test products The Minister may require any dealer who ships or imports energy-using products as described in subsection 4(1) to make available, at such place as the Minister may specify, such number of those products as the Minister considers to be reasonably necessary for examination and testing under this section, and the dealer shall forthwith comply with the request. Testing The Minister may dismantle and examine any energy-using product made available pursuant to subsection (1) and may conduct such tests on it as the Minister considers to be reasonably necessary to determine the product’s energy efficiency. Retention The Minister shall not retain any energy-using product made available pursuant to subsection (1) longer than the Minister considers to be reasonably necessary to complete the examination and tests referred to in subsection (2), unless the dealer consents to the further retention. Seizure Notwithstanding subsection (3), an inspector may seize and detain any energy-using product that is examined and tested under subsection (2) if the inspector believes on reasonable grounds that any provision of this Act or the regulations has been contravened and that the contravention occurred by means of or in relation to the product; or the product will afford evidence in respect of the contravention. Provisions applicable Subsections 11(2) and (3) and sections 13 to 18 apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, with respect to an energy-using product seized under subsection (4) as if it were a thing seized under subsection 11(1). Outside testing The Minister may enter into an agreement or other arrangement with any person for the examination and testing of energy-using products under this section. Retention of documents and records Every dealer required by section 5 to provide the Minister with prescribed information shall keep, at the dealer’s place of business or other prescribed place in Canada, documents and records sufficient to enable the Minister to verify the accuracy and completeness of the information provided. Period of retention Every dealer required by section 7 to keep documents and records shall, unless authorized by the Minister, retain each one of those documents or records until the expiry of six years after the day on which the Minister is provided with the prescribed information. Designation of inspectors The Minister may designate as an inspector for the purposes of this Act any person who, in the opinion of the Minister, is qualified to be so designated. Certificate The Minister shall furnish every inspector with a certificate of designation as an inspector and, on exercising any power vested in the inspector by this Act, an inspector shall, if so required, produce the certificate to any person in authority who is affected by that exercise. Inspection For the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act and the regulations, an inspector may, subject to subsection (3), at any reasonable time enter and inspect any place in which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds there is an energy-using product for which an energy efficiency standard or a label has been prescribed and that is owned by or is on the premises of a dealer or a consignee of imported energy-using products or there is any document or record required by section 7 to be kept, and may examine any energy-using product, or any other thing relevant to the administration of this Act, that is found in that place; open and examine any package or receptacle found in the place that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds contains an energy-using product; examine any document or record that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds contains any information relevant to the administration of this Act and make copies thereof or extracts therefrom; and conduct any tests or take any measurements. Computer systems In carrying out an inspection of a place under subsection (1), an inspector may use or cause to be used any computer system at the place to examine any information contained in or available to the system that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds is relevant to the administration of this Act; reproduce any record or cause it to be reproduced from the information in the form of a printout or other intelligible output; and take a printout or other output for examination or copying. Private dwelling-place An inspector may not enter a private dwelling-place without the consent of the occupant of the place except under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (4). Warrant Where on ex parte application a justice of the peace is satisfied by information on oath that the conditions for entry described in subsection (1) exist in relation to a private dwelling-place, entry to the dwelling-place is necessary for any purpose relating to the administration of this Act, and entry to the dwelling-place has been refused or there are reasonable grounds for believing that entry thereto will be refused, the justice of the peace may issue a warrant authorizing the inspector named therein to enter and inspect the dwelling-place, subject to such conditions as may be specified in the warrant. Use of force In executing a warrant issued under subsection (4), the inspector named in the warrant shall not use force unless the inspector is accompanied by a peace officer and the use of force has been specifically authorized in the warrant. Where, in the course of an inspection under section 10, an inspector believes on reasonable grounds that any provision of this Act or the regulations has been contravened, the inspector may seize and detain any energy-using product or other thing by means of or in relation to which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds the contravention occurred; or that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds will afford evidence in respect of the contravention. Storage and removal A thing seized by an inspector under subsection (1) may, in the inspector’s discretion, be stored in the place where it was seized or be removed to any other place for storage and, where it is so removed at the request of the owner of the thing or the person who was in possession of it at the time of the seizure, the costs of the storage and removal shall be paid by that owner or person. Interference with thing seized Unless authorized by an inspector, no person shall remove, alter or interfere with a thing seized and detained under subsection (1), but an inspector shall, at the request of the owner of the thing or the person who was in possession of it at the time of the seizure, allow that owner or person or any person authorized by that owner or person to examine the thing. Assistance to inspectors The owner or person in charge of a place entered by an inspector under section 10, and every person present in that place, shall give the inspector all reasonable assistance to enable the inspector to carry out the inspector’s duties and functions under this Act or the regulations and shall furnish the inspector with such information with respect to the administration of this Act or the regulations as the inspector may reasonably require. Obstruction of inspectors No person shall wilfully obstruct or hinder, or knowingly make any false or misleading statement orally or in writing to, an inspector engaged in carrying out the inspector’s duties or functions under this Act or the regulations. Detention A thing seized under subsection 11(1) shall not be detained after the expiration of one hundred and twenty days after the day of seizure unless, before that time, the thing has been forfeited under section 15 or proceedings have been instituted in respect of the contravention in relation to which the thing was seized. Detention until end of proceedings Where proceedings have been instituted as described in subsection (1), the thing may be detained until the proceedings are finally concluded or an order for the return of the thing is made under subsection 14(2). Application for return Subject to section 15, where proceedings have been instituted as described in subsection 13(1), the owner of the thing or the person who was in possession of it at the time of the seizure may apply to the court before which the proceedings are held for an order that the thing be returned. Order for return Where, on an application under subsection (1), the court is satisfied that sufficient evidence exists or may reasonably be obtained without detaining the thing, the court may order that it be returned to the applicant, subject to any condition the court thinks fit to ensure that it is preserved for any purpose for which it may subsequently be required. Forfeiture on consent Where an inspector has seized a thing under subsection 11(1) and the owner of the thing or the person who was in lawful possession of it at the time of the seizure consents in writing at the request of the inspector to the forfeiture of the thing, it is thereupon forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada. Disposal or destruction The Minister may dispose of or destroy a thing forfeited under subsection (1) and, if the Minister so directs, the costs of the disposal or destruction shall be paid by the owner of the thing or the person who was in lawful possession of it at the time of the seizure. Forfeiture by order of court Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act and a thing seized under subsection 11(1) is then being detained, if the court so directs, the thing is, on the conviction and in addition to any punishment imposed for the offence, forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada; or the thing shall, on the expiration of the time for taking an appeal from the conviction or on the final conclusion of the proceedings, as the case may be, be returned to the person from whom it was seized or to any other person entitled to possession of it, on such conditions, if any, as may be imposed by order of the court and as, in the opinion of the court, are necessary to avoid the commission of any further offence under this Act. The Minister may dispose of or destroy a thing forfeited under subsection (1) and the costs of the forfeiture and the disposal or destruction shall be paid by the offender. Notice for removal Where an inspector believes on reasonable grounds that an energy-using product is being or has been imported into Canada in contravention of this Act or the regulations, the inspector may, whether or not the product is seized, require the importer to remove it from Canada by delivering personally to the importer a notice for its removal or by sending the notice by registered mail to the importer’s business address in Canada. Forfeiture Where an energy-using product is not removed from Canada within the period specified for its removal in a notice under subsection (1) or, where no period is specified, within ninety days after the notice was delivered or sent to the importer, the product shall, notwithstanding sections 13 and 14, be forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada. The Minister may dispose of or destroy an energy-using product forfeited under subsection (2) and, if the Minister so directs, the costs of the disposal or destruction shall be paid by the importer of the product. Protection of persons claiming interest Sections 74 to 76 of the Fisheries Act apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to a thing forfeited under section 15 or 16, or an energy-using product forfeited under section 17, as though it were a thing forfeited under subsection 72(1) of that Act. Disclosure is not warranty A disclosure relating to energy efficiency that is required to be made by a dealer under this Act in respect of tests conducted under this Act does not create an express or implied warranty by anyone, including Her Majesty in right of Canada, that the energy efficiency established by those tests will be achieved under conditions of actual use. Regulations The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing as an energy-using product any manufactured product, or class of manufactured products, that is designed to operate using electricity, oil, natural gas or any other form or source of energy or that affects or controls energy consumption; prescribing energy efficiency standards for energy-using products or classes of energy-using products; respecting the labelling of energy-using products or their packages, or classes of energy-using products or their packages; providing for the testing of energy-using products to determine their energy efficiency; respecting the detention of things seized and detained under subsection 6(4) or 11(1); and respecting the disposition or destruction of anything forfeited under section 15, 16 or 17. Incorporation by reference A regulation made under paragraph (1)(b) or (d) incorporating standards by reference may incorporate the standards as amended from time to time. The following definitions apply in this section and in section 20.2: harmonize means, with respect to requirements, to make them correspond substantively. (harmoniser) jurisdiction means the government of a province; any agency or body that is established under an Act of the legislature of a province; a government or court of a foreign state or of a subdivision of a foreign state, or any agency, body or institution of such a government; and an international organization of states or any agency, body, court or institution of such an organization. (instance) requirement means energy efficiency standards, testing or information that must be provided by a dealer under section 5. (exigence) Ministerial regulations The Minister may, by regulation — with respect to energy-using products or classes of energy-using products that are specified in regulations made by the Governor in Council under paragraph 25(c) — amend regulations made under paragraph 20(1)(b) or (d) or 25(b) for the purpose of maintaining harmonization between a requirement set out in those regulations and that of a jurisdiction. Restrictions In exercising the power under subsection (2), the Minister may update an erroneous reference to a document incorporated by reference, as it is amended from time to time; modify an energy efficiency standard for energy-using products or classes of energy-using products; provide for modified or alternative testing of energy-using products to determine their energy efficiency; and prescribe information respecting energy-using products, including their energy efficiency, that must be provided by a dealer under section 5. Definition of technical standards document In this section, technical standards document means a document that is published in both official languages by the Minister and that adapts, combines or reproduces, in whole or in part, documents that are produced by jurisdictions, standards development organizations or industry associations and that, for energy-using products or classes of energy-using products, set out requirements or guidance related to those requirements. The adaptations may include modifications to the content of the originating document. Incorporation of technical standards document Regulations made under paragraphs 20(1)(b) or (d) or 25(b) may, for the purpose of harmonizing the requirements set out in those regulations with those of a jurisdiction to which those regulations or a technical standards document refers, incorporate by reference, in whole or in part, a technical standards document, as it is amended from time to time. Powers of Minister The Minister may, for the purpose of promoting the efficient use of energy and the use of alternative energy sources, conduct, or cooperate with persons conducting, research, development, tests, demonstrations and studies; publish information, research or test results; assist, cooperate with, consult and enter into agreements with any person, including any department or agency of the Government of Canada or of any province; make grants and contributions; and undertake such other projects, programs and activities as in the Minister’s opinion advance that purpose. The Governor in Council may make regulations requiring prescribed persons to file with the Minister, in the prescribed form and manner, at the prescribed time and for each prescribed reporting period, a report setting out prescribed statistics and information respecting the value, quantity, type and use of energy, including alternative energy, purchased, consumed or sold by that person; the expenditures of that person on the research, development, acquisition and operation of energy-using equipment and related technology; and the sales of prescribed energy-using products or classes of energy-using products by that person, including the revenue from, and geographic distribution of, the sales. In this section and section 24, authorized person means any person engaged or employed, or formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act; (personne autorisée) official means any person employed in, or occupying a position of responsibility in, the service of Her Majesty in right of Canada, and any person formerly so employed or occupying such a position. (fonctionnaire) Privileged information Except as provided in section 24, the statistics and information filed with the Minister pursuant to regulations made under section 22 are privileged and no official or authorized person shall knowingly communicate or allow to be communicated to any person any statistics or information so filed (in this section and section 24 referred to as “privileged information”); or allow any person to inspect or have access to any report, statement or other document containing any privileged information. Evidentiary privilege Notwithstanding any other Act or law, no official or authorized person shall be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give evidence relating to any privileged information; or to produce any report, statement or other document containing any privileged information. Exception for proceedings under this Act Subsections 23(2) and (3) do not apply in respect of proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act or the regulations. Exception for authorized persons An authorized person may communicate or allow to be communicated privileged information, or allow inspection of or access to any report, statement or other document containing any privileged information, to or by any person engaged or employed by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act; the Chief Statistician of Canada for the purposes of the Statistics Act; or any person, with the consent of the person who filed the information. Exception for compilations Compilations of privileged information may be published in any manner that does not identify or permit the identification of any person who filed the information, unless that person consents in writing to being identified. General regulations exempting any person, energy-using product or transaction, or any class thereof, from the application of any or all of the provisions of this Act or the regulations; prescribing anything that by this Act is to be prescribed; and generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act. [Repealed, 2017, c. 33, s. 222] Offence and punishment Every person who contravenes subsection 4(1) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars; or is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand dollars. Idem Every person who contravenes subsection 4(2), section 5, subsection 6(1), section 7 or 8, subsection 11(3), section 12 or subsection 23(2) or any regulation made under this Act is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars. Every person who, in purported compliance with this Act or the regulations, submits any report, statistic, information, document or record, makes any statement or answers any question knowing that the report, statistic, information, document, record, statement or answer is false or misleading, or misrepresents or fails to disclose a material fact, is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars. Every person who contravenes any provision of this Act or the regulations, other than a provision referred to in subsection (1) or (2), is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars. Continuing offences Where an offence under section 27 is committed on more than one day or is continued for more than one day, it shall be deemed to be a separate offence for each day on which the offence is committed or continued. Officers, etc., of corporations Where a corporation commits an offence under section 27, any officer, director or agent of the corporation who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable on conviction to the punishment provided for the offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted. Defence In a prosecution for a contravention of subsection 4(1) by a dealer engaged in the business of assembling or altering energy-using products, it is a defence for the dealer if the contravention occurred as a result of work done previously on an energy-using product by another dealer engaged in the manufacture of the energy-using products. Limitation period A prosecution by way of summary conviction under this Act may not be instituted later than two years after the time when the subject-matter of the prosecution arose. Venue A prosecution under this Act may be instituted, tried and determined by a court in any territorial jurisdiction in which the accused is resident or carries on business regardless of where the subject-matter of the prosecution arose. Court order Where a person is convicted of an offence under section 27, in addition to any other punishment that may be imposed, the court may, having regard to the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission, make an order to any or all of the following effects: prohibiting the person from doing any act or engaging in any activity that may result in the continuation or repetition of the offence; directing the person to publish, in any manner the court considers appropriate, the facts relating to the commission of the offence; directing the person to compensate the Minister, in whole or in part, for the cost of examining and testing any energy-using product in respect of which the offence was committed; directing the person to submit to the Minister, on application by the Minister within three years after the date of the conviction, such information respecting the activities of that person as the court considers appropriate in the circumstances; directing the person to post such bond, or pay into court such amount of money, as the court considers appropriate for ensuring compliance with any order made under this subsection; and requiring the person to comply with such other reasonable conditions as the court considers appropriate for securing the person’s good conduct and preventing the person from repeating the offence or committing other offences under this Act. Duration of order An order under subsection (1) comes into force on the day on which it is made or on such other day as the court may fix and continues in force for such period, not exceeding three years, as the court may fix. Publication Where a person fails to comply with an order made under paragraph (1)(b), the Minister may publish the facts and recover the costs of publication from that person. Debt due to Her Majesty The costs referred to in paragraph (1)(c) and subsection (3) constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered as such in any court of competent jurisdiction. Variation of order A court that has made an order under section 33 may, on application by the Attorney General of Canada or the person to whom the order applies, require that person to appear before it and may, after hearing that person and the Attorney General, make an order varying the original order in any manner the court considers appropriate, including an order extending the period for which the original order is to remain in force for a period not exceeding one year; decreasing the period for which the original order is to remain in force; or relieving that person, either absolutely or conditionally or for such period as the court considers appropriate, from compliance with any term of the original order. Limitation Where an application to vary an order has been heard under subsection (1), no other application may be made under that subsection in respect of that order except with leave of the court. Every person who contravenes an order made under section 33 or 34 is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding the maximum fine to which a person is liable on summary conviction for the original offence; or is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to a fine not exceeding the maximum fine to which a person is liable on conviction on indictment for the original offence. Annual report The Minister shall, as soon as possible after the end of each fiscal year, prepare and cause to be laid before each House of Parliament a report on the administration and enforcement of this Act for that year. Comparison of energy efficiency standards Once every three years, in the report referred to in subsection (1), the Minister shall demonstrate the extent to which the energy efficiency standards prescribed under this Act are as stringent as comparable standards established by a province, the United Mexican States, the United States of America or a state of the United States of America. Report on extent energy efficiency standards established Within four years after the day on which this section comes into force, the Minister shall, in the report referred to in subsection 36(1), demonstrate the extent to which energy efficiency standards have been prescribed under this Act for all energy-using products whose use has a significant impact on energy consumption in Canada. Coming into force This Act or any provision thereof shall come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council. [Note: Section 21 in force September 1, 1992, sections 1 to 20 and 22 to 37 in force January 1, 1993, see SI/92-153.]