Office of the Fire Marshal |
OFM-TG-02-2009 |
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Commencing Proceedings Under Part I
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June 2009 |
3.1 Appointment
3.2 Limitations of Appointment
4.1 The Offences and Penalty
4.2 Commencing A Proceeding
4.3 Completing The Certificate Of Offence and Offence Notice Or Summons
4.4 Serving
The Offence Notice Or Summons - On A Person On The Offence Date
4.5 Serving The
Offence Notice Or Summons - On A Person After The Offence Date By The Provincial
Offences Officer Who Signed The Certificate Of Offence
4.6 Serving The Offence
Notice Or Summons – On A Corporation
4.7 Service By A Provincial Offences Officer
Other Than The Provincial Offences Officer Who Signed The Certificate Of Offence
7.1 Option For A Trial
7.2 First Attendance Meeting
7.3 Plead Guilty With Representations
7.4 Plead Guilty
7.5 Fail To Respond
June 2009
OFM Section: Fire Safety Standards at (416) 325-3100
The reproduction of this guideline for non-commercial purposes
is permitted and encouraged. Permission to reproduce the guideline for commercial
purposes must be obtained from the Office of the Fire Marshal, Ontario.
Assistants to the Fire Marshal have been appointed as provincial offences officers with limited authority under the Provincial Offences Act. This designation authorizes them to commence proceedings under Part I of the Provincial Offences Act for offences under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 4 for non-compliance with the Ontario Fire Code (O. Reg. 213/07) for which short form wording and set fines have been established.
This guideline is intended to assist these provincial offences officers by providing a step-by-step process to follow while initiating a proceeding.
Only offences which have approved set fines can be commenced by Certificate of Offence in a Part I proceeding. Articles 2.13.2.1., and 6.3.3.2. through 6.3.3.5. of Division B of the Ontario Fire Code may be enforced under Part I of the Provincial Offences Act by a provincial offences officer. A set fine of $195.00 has been prescribed by the Chief Judge, Provincial Division for each of these offences. Alternatively, anyone can institute a proceeding for these violations under Part III of the Provincial Offences Act by swearing an information. Set fines can be found at www.ontariocourts.on.ca.
This guideline will assist a provincial offences officer in initiating a proceeding under Part I of the Provincial Offences Act. The guideline provides a variety of steps that may be taken depending upon the circumstances (i.e. issuing an offence notice or summons on the offence date, after the offence date, on a corporation, on a person, etc.).
Article 2.13.2.1. of Division B of the Fire Code requires the installation of smoke alarms in all dwelling units, with the exception of dwelling units constructed under the Building Code and dwelling units regulated under Part 9 of Division B of the Fire Code.
Article 6.3.3.2. of Division B requires that the owner of the property or the landlord (in the case of a rental dwelling unit including a dwelling unit regulated under Section 9.8 of Division B under Article 6.3.3.2 (2) maintain smoke alarms in operating condition. Article 6.3.3.3. of Division B requires that the landlord provide a copy of the smoke alarm manufacturers' maintenance instructions or approved alternative to the occupant of each rental dwelling unit, including the occupant in a dwelling unit regulated under Section 9.8 of Division B. Article 6.3.3.4. of Division B prohibits anyone from intentionally disabling a smoke alarm. Article 6.3.3.5. of Division B ensures that when smoke alarms are replaced, the installation shall not reduce the level of detection originally required at the time of construction (under the Building Code) or the level prescribed by municipal by-laws in effect before this Section of Division B of the Fire Code came into force.
Prosecution for each of these offences can be initiated by a provincial offences officer under Part I of the Provincial Offences Act.
Persons designated as an inspector under the provisions of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act (FPPA) must be familiar with their authority and limits of their authority as outlined under the FPPA. Before proceeding further, you should review in detail Section 15 and Parts VI through VIII of the FPPA.
The Office of the Fire Marshal has developed this guideline to assist fire departments in meeting their inspection and enforcement responsibilities. The guideline is not a complete reference for all fire safety and Code enforcement issues. If you require further information or assistance, please contact the appropriate Regional Office of the Fire Marshal and your legal adviser(s).
For guidance on matters relating to fire safety inspection practices and enforcement refer to your department’s operational guidelines and the following Office of the Fire Marshals technical guidelines.
These technical guidelines can be accessed at http://www.ofm.gov.on.ca/english/Publications/Guidelines/default.asp.
3.1 Appointment
A provincial offences officer
is defined in Section 1 of the Provincial Offences Act
as a police officer or any other person designated as a provincial offences officer
by "a (cabinet) minister".
The Solicitor General and Minister of Correctional
Services has appointed every Assistant to the Fire Marshal who has been designated
under the FPPA as a provincial offences officer for
the purposes of all offences under the FPPA and the Fire Code (O. Reg. 213/07) which
are commenced under Part I of the Provincial Offences Act.
Please refer to Appendix A for a replica of the designation
letter.
3.2 Limitations of Appointment
The appointment of every Assistant to the Fire Marshal as a provincial offences officer is limited by the appointment to initiating an offence under Part I of the Provincial Offences Act (i.e. this appointment does not provide authority to serve a summons under Part III of the Provincial Offences Act).
4.1 The Offences and Penalty
Fire Code Short Form Wording, Set Fine, and Victim Fine Surcharge
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Schedule 17.4 |
SET FINE | ||
| ITEM | COLUMN 1 | COLUMN 2 SECTION |
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| 1. | Fail to install smoke alarm as required | Article 2.13.2.1. of Division B | $195.00 |
| 2. | Fail to maintain smoke alarm in operating condition | Article 6.3.3.2. of Division B | $195.00 |
| 3. | Fail to provide smoke alarm maintenance instructions to occupant | Article 6.3.3.3. of Division B | $195.00 |
| 4. | Intentionally disable smoke alarm to make it inoperable | Article 6.3.3.4. of Division B | $195.00 |
| 5. | Replace smoke alarm with reduced level of detection | Article 6.3.3.5. of Division B | $195.00 |
Short form wording used to describe violations under the Fire Code, Ontario
Regulation 213/07 are outlined in Schedule 17.4 of R.R.O 1990, Reg. 950. This schedule
and the corresponding set fines are consolidated in the table above for ease of
reference.
The short form wording listed in the table must be used when describing
the contravention.
The total payable amount shown in the Certificate of Offence
actually consists of three separate amounts, namely:
The approved Certificate of Offence Form 1 can be found at Provincial Offences Act, O. Reg. 950.
All Ontario Statutes and Regulation can be found at http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca.
4.2 Commencing A Proceeding
| WHEN: | "A Provincial Offences Officer who believes that one or more persons have committed an offence… |
| HOW: | …may issue, by completing and signing, a certificate
of offence certifying that an offence has been committed
AND a) an offence notice, OR b) a summons" (Refer to Section 5.0 of the guideline "Issuing A Summons") |
4.3 Completing The Certificate Of Offence And Offence Notice Or Summons
4.4 Serving The Offence Notice Or Summons – On A Person On The Offence Date
4.5 Serving The Offence Notice Or Summons – On A Person After The Offence Date By The Provincial Offences Officer Who Signed The Certificate Of Offence
4.6 Serving The Offence Notice Or Summons – On A Corporation
4.7 Service By A Provincial Offences Officer Other Than The Provincial Offences Officer Who Signed The Certificate Of Offence
Part I of the Provincial Offences Act contains provisions for serving a summons for instances where there is short form wording and an approved set fine and where there is no established short form wording or set fine, and where it would not be appropriate for the defendant to pay out of court. Currently, less than 1% of the tickets issued by provincial offences officers in Ontario involve a summons.
The practice of issuing a summons under Part I of the Provincial Offences Act for Fire Code violations is not a recommended practice. Instead, Part III of the Provincial Offences Act should be used. A trial of the evidence is required when a summons has been issued.
In instances where the set fine is not deemed to be appropriate
(e.g. second offence), the Assistant to the Fire Marshal should commence a proceeding
for the violation under Part III of the Provincial Offences Act. Commencement of
a proceeding under Part III of the Provincial Offences Act may result in the maximum
penalty imposed under the FPPA upon conviction whereas the maximum fine for commencing
a proceeding under Part I of the Provincial Offences Act s. 12(1) is limited to
$500.00.
The provincial offences officer who serves the offence notice or summons shall not receive payment of any money in respect of a fine or receive the offence notice for delivery to the court.
7.1 Option For A Trial
In the following regions;
a defendant may give notice of intention to appear in court for the purpose of
entering a plea and having a trial of the matter by attending in person or by an
agent at the court office specified in the offence notice at the time or times specified
in the offence notice. The defendant or agent must file a notice of intention to
appear (using the prescribed form) with the clerk of the court. (O. Reg. 950
made under the Provincial Offences Act) In
those parts of Ontario designated above, the offence notice shall be in Form 4.
(Refer to Appendix D)
In all
other regions in Ontario, a defendant may give notice of intention to appear in
court for the purposes of entering a plea and having a trial of the matter by so
indicating on the offence notice and delivering the notice to the court office specified
in it. In these regions, the offence notice shall be a Form 3.
(Refer to Appendix C)
The clerk of the court will then set a trial date and send a notice
to the defendant and the prosecutor of the time and place of the trial. In instances
where the defendant indicates an intention to challenge the officer's evidence,
the clerk of the court shall notify the provincial offences officer as well.
7.2 First Attendance Meeting
In the regions listed above, when the defendant attends the court to request a trial, (or calls the court office) the clerk of the court will ask the defendant if he/she wants a first attendance meeting with the prosecutor. If so, the clerk of the court schedules a first attendance meeting and issues a first attendance notice to the defendant and prosecutor. When the prosecutor is served with a copy of the first attendance notice, he or she will obtain the information from the provincial offences officer who laid the charge. At a first attendance meeting, the prosecutor using the same threshold test used at a trial, will consider whether or not there is reasonable prospect of conviction if the case were to go to trial and whether or not it is in the public interest to accept a plea to a lesser offence or a reduction in sentence, taking into consideration all of the circumstances of the particular case.
If the defendant fails to attend the first attendance meeting, a default conviction
may be registered against the defendant.
If the first attendance meeting
results in an agreement between the prosecutor and the defendant, both will appear
before Justice, at which time the plea will be entered to either the original charge,
a substituted offence, or the charge will be withdrawn.
If the first attendance
meeting does not result in resolution, the prosecutor will advise the defendant
to complete a notice of intention to appear in court and file it with the clerk
of the court.
7.3 Plead Guilty With Representations
The defendant may plead guilty with representations where there is no dispute as to the charge but the defendant wishes to make submissions as to penalty and/or extensions of time for payment. This is an informal, recorded proceeding which takes place before a justice of the peace at the court specified on the offence notice without a prosecutor. The justice of the peace, after hearing representations, may impose the set fine or such lesser fine as is permitted by law. The Justice of the Peace does not have the authority to amend the charge at this stage of a proceeding.
7.4 Plead
Guilty
The defendant may simply plead guilty by signing the offence
notice and delivering the total payable amount (with the signed offence notice)
to the court office.
7.5 Fail To Respond
The defendant may do nothing in which case, after 15 days have elapsed after
the defendant has been served, he/she will be deemed not to wish to dispute the
charge. A justice will then inspect the certificate of offence and either enter
a conviction and impose the set fine or, where the
certificate of offence is incomplete or irregular, the justice shall quash the certificate.
[Provincial Offences Act, s. 9.(1)] The justice is required to keep a separate record of all quashed certificates of
offence and the corresponding reasons for that action. The prosecutor is entitled
to inspect that record. If the defendant has done nothing and a conviction has been
entered, the defendant may be able to re-open the case. Section 11 of the
Provincial Offences Act allows
the case to be re-opened where, through no fault of the defendant, necessary notice
or documents never reached the defendant's attention.
Under Part I proceedings the maximum penalty is either $500 or the maximum penalty
specified in the Act creating the offence WHICHEVER IS THE
LESSER.
Under Part I proceedings, no provision for imprisonment applies.
If the proceeding is initiated by an offence notice (as opposed to a Part I
summons):
Tickets may be obtained from the local Provincial Offences Court Office where
the tickets would normally be returned to. The fire department official requesting
a supply of tickets would have to contact the Manager of Court Operations to order
the desired number of tickets that would be expected to be used within a 6 month
to one year period. There is no cost for the tickets.
In some instances,
a supply of tickets may not be readily available for immediate pick-up.
It is essential to establish a record retention system to facilitate retrieval
of all original records should a case involve a first attendance meeting, a trial,
or if the case is re-opened or there is an appeal.
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