Changes would increase dramatically fines for violating some

Ontario’s new Provincial Penalties Adjustment Act, now awaiting proclamation, will substantially increase fines for companies that contravene the Mining Act or a number of other provincial statutes. The legislation increases most of the fines and penalties set out in provincial statutes including the Industrial Standards Act, Ministry of Labour Act, and Workers’ Compensation Act.

Now, for example, the maximum fine for a breach of the Mining Act will increase to $10,000 from $20, while the maximum daily penalty for operating a refinery without a permit goes up to $30,000 from $500. The maximum fine for making a false statement in a document filed under the Mining Act will increase to $10,000 from $500, while the maximum penalty for constructing, without approval, a plant from which fumes escape will rise to $30,000 from $1,000.

In certain statutes, huge increases in fines were made, largely because the former penalties were not regarded as a significant deterrent.

In many cases, the old penalties — some as low as $10 per offence — were treated merely as a cost of doing business by some companies.

“I’m willing to bet that 80% of people in the mining industry are not aware these provincial statute penalty charges are increasing in Ontario,” said lawyer Karl Harries of the firm Fasken Campbell Godfrey.

“It should be noted, however, that fines are increasing right across the board, and this is not something that’s aimed at any one specific industry.”

He said that the fines had long been “out of whack” with the real dollar value of today and that companies are now more likely to think twice before deliberately incurring the cost of fines as simply an expense of doing business.

Under the Industrial Standards Act, maximum fines for employers who contravene a prescribed schedule, including minimum wages required, will increase to $50,000 from $500. Under the Ministry of Labour Act, the maximum fine for any contravention of the act will increase to $25,000 from $500.

A number of penalty charges are also being increased for contraventions of various sections of the Workers’ Compensation Act. For example, the maximum fine for hindering the board’s inspection of a workplace will increase to $25,000 from $500, while the maximum fine for failure to report an accident to the board within three days will increase to $25,000 from $200. The maximum fine for any breach of a regulation in the Act will increase to $10,000 from $50.