Weights and Measures Act

This Act may be cited as the Weights and Measures Act.

In this Act,

dealer means any person who in the course of that person’s business sells, consigns, imports, leases or lends devices; (fournisseur)

device means any weight, weighing machine, static measure or measuring machine and includes any equipment and accessories attached to or used in conjunction with the device that have or can have an effect on the accuracy of the device; (instrument)

inspector means a person who is designated under subsection 16.1(1) to verify compliance with this Act; (inspecteur)

local standard means any standard designated by the Minister under section 13; (étalon local)

measure, when used as a verb, includes weigh and, when used as a noun, includes weight; (mesure et mesurer)

measuring machine means any machine that measures length, area, volume or capacity, temperature or time; (appareil de mesure)

Minister means the Minister of Industry; (ministre)

prescribed means prescribed by the regulations; (Version anglaise seulement)

reference standard means a standard that

represents or registers a unit of measurement referred to in Schedule I or II or that represents or registers a multiple or fraction of such a unit of measurement,

has been calibrated and certified by the National Research Council of Canada, and

is or is to be used as a standard for the purpose of determining the accuracy of a local standard; (étalon de référence)

static measure means any measure that measures length, volume or capacity and does not have a moving or movable part that has or can have an effect on the accuracy of the measure; (mesure matérialisée)

trade means the selling, purchasing, exchanging, consigning, leasing or providing of any commodity, right, facility or service on the basis of measure and includes the business of providing facilities for measuring; (commerce)

trader means any person who trades in the course of business; (commerçant)

weighing machine means any machine that measures mass or weight. (appareil de pesage)

The Minister shall, in accordance with the regulations, approve devices or classes, types or designs of devices for use in trade.

The Minister may, in any period during which a device or class, type or design of device is being evaluated for approval for use in trade under subsection (1), approve that device or class, type or design of device for use in trade on a temporary basis for such period and under such terms and conditions as the Minister may specify.

All units of measurement used in Canada shall be determined on the basis of the International System of Units established by the General Conference of Weights and Measures.

The basic, supplementary and derived units of measurement for use in Canada and the symbols therefor are as set out and defined in Parts I, II and III of Schedule I, respectively.

In addition to the units of measurement otherwise referred to in this section, the customary units of measurement and the symbols therefor as set out and defined in Part IV of Schedule I may be used in Canada, which units of measurement are commonly used with the International System of Units.

The prefixes for multiples and submultiples of the units of measurement referred to in subsection (2) and the symbols therefor are as set out and defined in Part V of Schedule I.

The Canadian units of measurement are as set out and defined in Schedule II, and the symbols and abbreviations therefor are as added pursuant to subparagraph 6(1)(b)(ii).

Notwithstanding section 7, the units of measurement set out and defined in Schedule III may be used to describe land in the Province of Quebec that was originally granted under seigneurial tenure.

The Governor in Council may by order

amend Schedule I by adding to or deleting from Part I, II, III, IV or V thereof any basic, supplementary, derived or customary unit of measurement or any prefix therefor, together with its symbol and definition; or

amend Schedule II

by adding thereto or deleting therefrom any Canadian unit of measurement, together with its definition,

by adding thereto a symbol or an abbreviation for any Canadian unit of measurement, or

by deleting therefrom any symbol or abbreviation referred to in subparagraph (ii).

Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Governor in Council may not amend Schedule II in such a manner that the ratio of any one unit of measurement to any other unit of measurement is altered.

No person shall, in trade, use or provide for the use of a unit of measurement unless

that unit of measurement is set out and defined in Schedule I or II; or

the use of that unit of measurement is authorized by the regulations.

No trader shall use, or have in their possession for use, in trade, any device unless

that device or class, type or design of device has been approved for use in trade pursuant to section 3; and

that device, in the case of a device other than a static measure, has been examined by an inspector who has certified that the device meets the requirements of this Act and the regulations.

No trader shall sell, offer for sale or have in their possession for sale on the basis of number or measure any commodity, unless its quantity is stated accurately within prescribed limits of error and in the manner prescribed in terms of number or units of measurement of length, area, volume or capacity, or mass or weight on the following items, as may be prescribed:

the commodity;

the package containing the commodity; or

a shipping bill, bill of lading or other document accompanying the commodity.

Subsection (1) does not apply with respect to any commodity that has been packaged, on the basis of number or measure, or labelled, in terms of number or a unit of measurement, as required or authorized by or under any other Act of Parliament.

The Governor in Council may make regulations

prescribing the manner in which a person may apply to have any device or any class, type or design of device approved for use in trade;

prescribing a date beyond which a class, type or design of device shall not be approved for use in trade unless it is capable of weighing or measuring in terms of units of measurement set out and defined in Schedule I;

establishing temperature scales and prescribing the purposes for which those scales may be used in Canada;

respecting the manner in which inspectors shall carry out their functions under this Act;

prescribing the manner in which an inspector shall determine whether any lot, shipment, proposed shipment or identifiable quantity of any commodity meets the requirements of this Act and the regulations;

prescribing a period, in relation to any category of trade or any class, type or design of device, for the purposes of subsection 15(1);

prescribing the circumstances in which an examination shall be required where an adjustment, alteration or repair is made to a device;

prescribing the circumstances and the manner in which a trader shall report the location of any device that is owned by the trader or held in the trader’s possession for use in trade;

requiring any person to report, and specifying the manner in which a report shall be made of, the removal of any marking or tag or the breaking of any seal placed on or attached to a device by an inspector or any person who has adjusted, altered or repaired that device and the nature of any adjustment, alteration or repair made to a device;

establishing or providing for the establishment of specifications relating to design, composition, construction and performance to which any device or class, type or design of device shall conform before it may be approved for use in trade and specifications relating to the installation and use of any device or class, type or design of device;

prescribing, in respect of any or all categories of trade and in respect of any or all class or classes of persons carrying on business therein, in any geographical areas of Canada, a date beyond which a class, type or design of device shall not be used in trade unless it is capable of weighing or measuring in terms of units of measurement set out and defined in Schedule I;

respecting the detention of things seized and detained under paragraph 17(1)(c);

respecting the disposition of things forfeited under section 41;

authorizing for any particular purpose the use of a unit of measurement that is not otherwise authorized under this Act;

prescribing, in respect of any or all categories of trade in any geographical areas of Canada, the units or multiples or subdivisions of units of measurement that shall be used for offering, advertising or displaying commodities for retail trade in terms of price per unit of measurement;

prescribing, in respect of any or all categories of trade and in respect of any or all class or classes of persons carrying on business therein, in any geographical areas of Canada, a date beyond which units of measurement set out and defined in Schedule II shall not be used in trade;

respecting the form of any receipts, certificates, statements, tags, seals or documents that may be used under this Act;

prescribing the fees that shall be paid by any person for any examination or other service provided by an inspector under this Act;

designating any class of examination or other service provided by an inspector under this Act as a class of examination or service to which any fees prescribed, or charges payable, under this Act do not apply;

determining the nature of any charges that a person may be required to pay in relation to any examination or other service provided by an inspector under this Act and the manner in which those charges shall be determined;

prescribing the time when or the period of time within which, and the manner in which any fees or charges shall be paid;

requiring any person who sells or offers for sale any liquid commodity by means of a coin-operated machine to state on the machine the owner’s name and address, the identification number of the machine and the quantity of the commodity being sold or offered for sale in terms of a unit of measurement of volume or capacity together with the price demanded for that quantity and prescribing the form and manner in which such information shall be stated;

exempting, conditionally or unconditionally, any device or class, type or design of device or any class or type of trade transaction from any or all of the provisions of this Act; and

prescribing any matter or thing that by this Act may be prescribed.

Subject to subsection (3), the Minister shall publish in the Canada Gazette a copy of each regulation that the Governor in Council proposes to make under paragraphs (1)(b), (j), (n) and (o) and a reasonable opportunity shall be afforded to interested persons to make representations with respect thereto.

The Minister is not required to publish a proposed regulation if it has been published pursuant to subsection (2) whether or not it has been amended as a result of representations made by interested persons as provided in that subsection.

The Minister may make regulations authorizing the use of a unit of measurement that is not otherwise authorized under this Act if new technologies use such a unit.

A regulation made under subsection (1) ceases to have effect on the earliest of

the day on which a regulation made under paragraph 10(1)(m) that has the same effect as the regulation comes into force,

the third anniversary of the day on which the regulation made under subsection (1) comes into force, or

the day on which it is repealed.

The reference standards for use in Canada are those described in Schedule IV.

The Governor in Council may by order amend Schedule IV

by adding thereto any standard that is to be used as a reference standard; or

by deleting therefrom any reference standard.

The reference standards and other standards of measurement that are retained under the authority of the Minister for the purpose of determining the accuracy of local standards or of standards that are used by inspectors under the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act shall, at the request of the Minister, be calibrated and certified by the National Research Council of Canada in terms of the units of measurement set out and defined in Schedule I or II.

The National Research Council of Canada may request the Minister to forward to the Council for calibration and certification any standards referred to in subsection (1).

The Minister may designate as a local standard any standard that has been calibrated and certified in relation to a reference standard as accurate within prescribed tolerances.

Every local standard shall be calibrated and certified within such periods of time as may be prescribed.

If a local standard that is owned by Her Majesty in right of Canada or a reference standard is lost, destroyed, defaced or damaged, the Minister shall take such action as may be necessary to replace or restore the standard.

Every trader who uses a device in trade, or possesses a device for trade, shall cause it to be examined, within the prescribed period, by an inspector.

The Minister may, in the prescribed circumstances, grant to a trader an extension of the period.

An inspector may examine a device at the request of the owner or the person who is in possession of it.

When an inspector examines a device, they may, with the consent of the owner or person who is in possession of it, make any prescribed adjustments or alterations to that device.

For the purposes of the administration and enforcement of this Act, the Minister may designate persons, or classes of persons, to exercise powers in relation to any matter referred to in the designation.

The Minister shall ensure that, for each particular sector, all persons designated under subsection (1) are trained and qualified in the same manner and that all examinations made by these persons are conducted consistently.

The Minister may designate only persons employed in the federal public administration to exercise powers under any of sections 17 to 18, subsection 19(3) or section 21 or subsection 22.11(1).

The Minister may suspend or revoke a designation made under subsection (1).

An inspector who has reasonable grounds to believe that an object to which this Act applies is located in or on a place, including a vehicle, or that an activity regulated by this Act is conducted in a place, including a vehicle, may, for the purpose of verifying compliance with this Act,

enter the place;

examine the place or anything found in or on the place;

seize and detain anything in or on the place;

use any means of communication in the place or cause it to be used;

use any computer system in the place, or cause it to be used, to examine data contained in or available to it;

prepare a document, or cause one to be prepared, based on the data;

use any copying equipment in the place, or cause it to be used;

direct any person to put anything in or on the place into operation or to cease operating it; and

prohibit or limit access to all or part of the place.

The Minister shall provide the inspector with a certificate of their designation, and on entering the place, the inspector shall, on request, produce the certificate to the person in charge of that place.

The owner or person in charge of the place and every person in the place shall give all assistance that is reasonably required to enable the inspector to verify compliance with this Act and shall provide any documents, data or information that are reasonably required for that purpose.

If the place is a dwelling-house, the inspector may not enter it without the occupant’s consent except under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (2).

On ex parte application, a justice of the peace may issue a warrant authorizing an inspector who is named in it to enter a dwelling-house, subject to any conditions specified in the warrant, if the justice is satisfied by information on oath that

the dwelling-house is a place referred to in subsection 17(1);

entry to the dwelling-house is necessary to verify compliance with this Act; and

entry was refused by the occupant or there are reasonable grounds to believe that entry will be refused or that consent to entry cannot be obtained from the occupant.

For the purpose of gaining entry to a place referred to in subsection 17(1), an inspector may enter private property and pass through it, and is not liable for doing so. For greater certainty, no person has a right to object to that use of the property and no warrant is required for the entry, unless the property is a dwelling-house.

A person may, at the inspector’s request, accompany the inspector to assist them to gain entry to the place referred to in subsection 17(1) and is not liable for doing so.

In executing a warrant to enter a dwelling-house, an inspector shall not use force unless the use of force has been specifically authorized in the warrant and the inspector is accompanied by a peace officer.

A member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or of any provincial or municipal police force may, at the request and in the company of an inspector, stop and detain any vehicle so that the inspector may examine it for the purposes of verifying compliance with this Act.

The inspector may require the operator of the vehicle to proceed with it to an appropriate place, if doing so is necessary to conduct the examination.

If an inspector examines a device, they shall issue to the owner or person who is in possession of it,

in the case of a device that is or is to be used in trade, a certificate showing whether the device meets the requirements of this Act and the regulations; and

in the case of a device other than a device described in paragraph (a), a statement showing the results of the examination.

If an inspector determines that a device referred to in paragraph (1)(a) meets the requirements of this Act and the regulations, they shall mark the device as prescribed and

attach the prescribed seals that are intended to indicate any adjustments to the device; or

if those seals are already attached to the device, verify that they can indicate any adjustments and, in the case of electronic seals, collect the information that is necessary to detect any adjustments.

Where an inspector determines that a device referred to in paragraph (1)(a) does not meet the requirements of this Act and the regulations, the inspector shall, in the manner and circumstances prescribed, attach to the device such tags and seals as may be prescribed to prevent the use of that device.

The fees and charges payable by a person in respect of an examination or other service performed by an inspector under this Act are payable, subject to the regulations, after the examination or service is performed.

All fees and charges payable under this Act may be recovered as a debt due to the Crown.

If a dispute arises between a trader and any other person with respect to the accuracy of a device that is used by the trader in trade and an inspector examines the device at the request of the trader or other person, the fee for the examination shall be paid

by the trader, where the device does not meet the requirements of this Act and the regulations; and

by the other person, where the device meets the requirements of this Act and the regulations.

An inspector may examine the device at the request of a person referred to in subsection (1).

The Governor in Council may make regulations

designating any provision of this Act — other than paragraph 29(b), subsections 30(1) and 31(2) and section 32 — or of the regulations as a provision whose contravention may be proceeded with as a violation in accordance with sections 22.1 to 22.28;

establishing a penalty, or a range of penalties, in respect of each violation;

establishing criteria to be considered in determining the amount of the penalty if a range of penalties is established;

classifying each violation as a minor violation, a serious violation or a very serious violation;

respecting the circumstances under which, the criteria by which and the manner in which the amount of a penalty may be increased or reduced in whole or in part; and

respecting a lesser amount that may be paid as complete satisfaction of a penalty if it is paid within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner, including the circumstances in which the lesser amount may be set out in a notice of violation.

Every person who contravenes a provision designated under paragraph 22(a) commits a violation and is liable to a penalty established in accordance with the regulations.

The purpose of a penalty is to promote compliance with this Act and not to punish.

The maximum penalty for a violation is $2,000.

An inspector may issue a notice of violation and cause it to be provided to a person if the inspector has reasonable grounds to believe that the person has committed a violation.

The notice of violation must

name the person believed to have committed the violation;

identify the acts or omissions that constitute the alleged violation;

set out the penalty for the violation that the person is liable to pay;

set out the particulars concerning the time and manner of payment; and

subject to the regulations, set out a lesser amount that may be paid as complete satisfaction of the penalty if it is paid within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner that are set out in the notice.

A notice of violation must clearly summarize, in plain language, the rights and obligations under this section and sections 22.12 to 22.25 of the person to whom it is provided, including the right to request a review of the acts or omissions that constitute the alleged violation or of the amount of the penalty and the procedure for requesting the review.

The Minister may establish a short-form description of each violation to be used in notices of violation.

If the person who is named in a notice of violation pays, within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner that are set out in the notice, the amount of the penalty — or, if applicable, the lesser amount that may be paid as complete satisfaction of the penalty — set out in the notice,

they are deemed to have committed the violation to which the amount paid relates;

the Minister shall accept that amount as complete satisfaction of the penalty; and

the proceedings commenced in respect of the violation under section 22.11 are ended.

Instead of paying the penalty or, if applicable, the lesser amount that may be paid as complete satisfaction of the penalty, the person who is named in the notice may, within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner that are set out in the notice,

request to enter into a compliance agreement with the Minister that ensures the person’s compliance with the provision to which the violation relates, if the penalty is $1,000 or more; or

request a review by the Minister of the acts or omissions that constitute the alleged violation or the amount of the penalty.

If the person who is named in the notice does not pay the penalty, or, if applicable, the lesser amount that may be paid as complete satisfaction of the penalty, within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner and does not exercise any right referred to in subsection (2) within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner, the person is deemed to have committed the violation identified in the notice.

After considering a request made under paragraph 22.12(2)(a), the Minister may enter into a compliance agreement, as described in that paragraph, with the person making the request on any conditions that are satisfactory to the Minister, which conditions may

include a provision for the giving of reasonable security, in a form and in an amount that are satisfactory to the Minister, as a guarantee that the person will comply with the compliance agreement; and

provide for the reduction, in whole or in part, of the amount of the penalty for the violation.

A person who enters into a compliance agreement with the Minister is, on doing so, deemed to have committed the violation to which the compliance agreement relates, and the proceedings commenced in respect of the violation under section 22.11 are ended.

If the Minister is of the opinion that a person who has entered into a compliance agreement has complied with it, the Minister shall cause the person to be provided with a notice to that effect, at which time any security given by the person under that agreement shall be returned to the person.

If the Minister is of the opinion that a person who has entered into a compliance agreement has not complied with it, the Minister shall cause the person to be provided with a notice of default to the effect that

instead of the penalty set out in the compliance agreement, the person is liable to pay, within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner set out in the notice of default, twice the amount of the penalty set out in the notice of violation and, for greater certainty, subsection 22.1(3) does not apply in respect of that amount; or

the security, if any, given by the person under the compliance agreement is forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada.

Once they have been provided with the notice of default, the person shall pay the amount set out in it or, if the notice provides for the forfeiture of the security given under the compliance agreement, that security is forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada.

If the person pays the amount set out in a notice of default under paragraph (4)(a) within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner that are set out in the notice,

the Minister shall accept the amount as complete satisfaction of the amount owing; and

the compliance agreement entered into under subsection (2) terminates.

If the Minister refuses to enter into a compliance agreement after considering a request made under paragraph 22.12(2)(a), the Minister shall cause the person to be provided with a notice to that effect and the person who is named in the notice is liable to pay the amount of the penalty within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner that are set out in the notice.

If the person pays the amount within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner

they are deemed to have committed the violation to which the amount paid relates;

the Minister shall accept the amount as complete satisfaction of the penalty; and

the proceedings commenced in respect of the violation under section 22.11 are ended.

If the person does not pay the amount within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner that are set out in the notice, they are deemed to have committed the violation.

After completing a review requested under paragraph 22.12(2)(b) with respect to the acts or omissions that constitute the alleged violation identified in the notice of violation, the Minister shall determine whether the person who is named in the notice committed the violation and, if the Minister determines that the person did so but considers that the amount of the penalty for the violation was not established in accordance with the regulations, the Minister shall correct that amount and cause the person to be provided with a notice of the Minister’s decision.

After completing a review requested under paragraph 22.12(2)(b) with respect to the amount of the penalty set out in the notice of violation, the Minister shall determine whether the amount of the penalty was established in accordance with the regulations and, if the Minister determines that it was not, the Minister shall correct that amount and cause the person to be provided with a notice of the Minister’s decision.

The person who is provided with a notice of the Minister’s decision is liable to pay the amount of the penalty that is set out in it within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner that are set out in the notice.