Bill 29, Gareth Rodgers Act for Sport Parachuting (Freefalling Regulation), 2005

Versions

Bill 29 2005

An Act in memory of
Gareth Rodgers to regulate freefalling

Note: This Act amends the Licence Appeal Tribunal Act, 1999. For the legislative history of the Act, see Public Statutes - Detailed Legislative History on www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Definitions

Definitions

1. In this Act,

"investigator" means an investigator appointed under section 15; ("enquêteur")

"Minister" means the Minister of Government Services or whatever other member of the Executive Council to whom the administration of this Act is assigned under the Executive Council Act; ("ministre")

"Ministry" means the Ministry of the Minister; ("ministère")

"parachute" means an apparatus of whatever kind that relies solely on slowing the flow of air around the person using the parachute to allow the person to descend safely from a height without any other assistance, whether motorized or not; ("parachute")

"permit" means a permit issued under this Act; ("permis")

"permittee" means the holder of a permit; ("titulaire de permis")

"Registrar" means the Registrar appointed by the Minister; ("registrateur")

"regulations" means the regulations made under this Act; ("règlements")

"Tribunal" means the Licence Appeal Tribunal. ("Tribunal")

Permits

Permit required

2. (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall participate in freefalling unless the person holds a permit and uses a parachute that meets the prescribed requirements.

Exceptions

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who engages in freefalling if,

(a) the freefalling is from a height of not more than seven metres from the surface of the ground or whatever other distance the regulations prescribe;

(b) the freefalling is from a height of not more than 10 metres from the surface of water or whatever other distance the regulations prescribe, if the depth of the water is at least equal to the height of the freefall; or

Application for permit

3. (1) A person may apply to the Registrar for the issuance or the renewal of a permit.

Qualifications

(2) A person is not eligible for a permit unless the person,

(a) has attained the age of 18 years; and

(b) has passed the prescribed examinations or has attained the prescribed standards with respect to the safe use of a parachute while freefalling.

Form of application

(3) An application for the issuance or the renewal of a permit shall be in a form approved by the Registrar, shall be completed and signed by the applicant and shall include,

(a) the information with respect to the application that the Registrar determines or the regulations prescribe, which information may include information relating to personal identification; and

(b) payment of the fee, if any, prescribed by the regulations.

Address for service

4. (1) Every applicant for the issuance of a permit or the renewal of a permit shall state in the application an address for service in Ontario.

Change in address

(2) A permittee who changes address for service shall notify the Registrar in writing within five days of making the change.

Service

(3) All notices under this Act are sufficiently given or served if sent by a form of mail that provides proof of delivery or if delivered to the latest address given under this section.

Refusal to issue or renew permit

5. (1) The Registrar shall refuse to issue a permit to an applicant or to renew the permit of an applicant on finding that the applicant is not eligible for a permit under section 3.

No hearing required

(2) The Registrar is not required to hold a hearing or to afford to any person an opportunity for a hearing before refusing to issue or to renew a permit under subsection (1).

Identification card

6. (1) Upon issuing or renewing a permit, the Registrar shall issue to the applicant an identification card bearing the name of the applicant, the expiry date of the permit and the Registrar's signature or a facsimile of it.

Return of card

(2) A permittee to whom the Registrar has issued an identification card shall return it to the Registrar as soon as the permit is no longer in effect under this Act and shall not make any further use of it.

Terms of permit

7. (1) A permit is subject to those terms to give effect to the purposes of this Act that the Registrar imposes or that the regulations prescribe.

No transfers

(2) A permit is not transferable.

Suspension or revocation of permit

8. (1) The Registrar may propose to suspend or to revoke a permit if, based on an investigation under section 16, the Registrar finds that the permittee has contravened or failed to comply with this Act, the regulations or the terms of a permit.

Registrar's proposed order

(2) If the Registrar proposes to suspend or revoke a permit, the Registrar shall serve notice of a proposed order, together with written reasons, on the applicant or permittee.

Right to hearing

(3) The notice of the proposed order shall inform the applicant or permittee that the person is entitled to a hearing before the Tribunal.

Request for hearing

(4) To request a hearing, the person shall serve a written request on the Registrar and the Tribunal within 15 days after the Registrar serves the notice of the proposed order.

If no hearing

(5) The Registrar may make the proposed order, if the person does not request a hearing within the allowed time.

Hearing

(6) If the person requests a hearing, the Tribunal shall schedule and hold the hearing.

Parties

(7) The Registrar, the person who requested the hearing and the other persons that the Tribunal specifies are parties to the hearing.

Order of Tribunal

(8) After holding a hearing, the Tribunal may by order,

(a) confirm or set aside the proposed order;

(b) direct the Registrar to take the action that the Tribunal considers the Registrar ought to take to give effect to the purposes of this Act.

Discretion of Tribunal

(9) In making an order, the Tribunal may substitute its opinion for that of the Registrar.

Terms of order

(10) The Tribunal may attach those terms to its order or to the permit that it considers appropriate.

Immediate suspension

9. (1) The Registrar may by order suspend a permit without serving a proposed order under section 8 if the Registrar considers it to be necessary in the public interest.

Effect of order

(2) The Registrar shall serve a copy of the order made together with written reasons for it on the permittee and it takes effect immediately on being served.

Right to hearing

(3) Subsections 8 (3), (4) and (6) to (10) apply to the order in the same way as to a proposed order under that section.

Expiry of order

(4) If the permittee requests a hearing, the order expires on the day the order of the Tribunal takes effect.

Combined hearing

(5) If the Registrar makes an order under this section with respect to a permittee before a hearing is held under section 8 with respect to a notice of a proposed order that the Registrar has served on the permittee, the Tribunal may hold only one hearing to deal with both the order made and the proposed order.

Continuation pending renewal

10. If, within the time prescribed by the regulations or, if no time is prescribed, before the expiry of a permit, the permittee applies in accordance with the regulations for renewal of the permit and pays the fee, if any, prescribed by the regulations, the permit shall be deemed to continue until the Registrar grants or refuses to grant the renewal.

Cancellation on request

11. The Registrar may cancel a permit upon the request in writing of the permittee and section 8 does not apply to the cancellation.

Further applications

12. (1) No person whose permit is revoked may apply to the Registrar for a permit unless the person, after the revocation, passes the prescribed examinations or attains the prescribed standards with respect to the safe use of a parachute while freefalling.

Suspended permits

(2) No person whose permit is suspended may apply to the Registrar for a permit during the suspension.

Regulation of Permittees
and Investigations

Identification card

13. A permittee shall, when using or preparing to use a parachute while freefalling, carry the identification card that the Registrar has issued to the permittee under this Act and, upon request, shall produce it for investigation.

Facilitating investigation

14. It is a term of every permit that the permittee facilitate investigations under this Act.

Investigators

15. (1) The Registrar may appoint any person to be an investigator for the purpose of determining whether a person has complied with this Act, the regulations or the terms of a permit.

Certificate of appointment

(2) The Registrar shall issue to every investigator a certificate of appointment, bearing the Registrar's signature or a facsimile of it.

Police officers

(3) Police officers, by virtue of office, are investigators for the purposes of this Act and the regulations, but subsection (2) does not apply to them.

Proof of appointment

(4) Every investigator who exercises powers under this Act shall, upon request, produce the certificate of appointment as an investigator or identification as a police officer, as the case may be.

Investigation without warrant

16. (1) An investigator may, without warrant or court order, conduct an investigation in accordance with this section if the investigator does so for the purpose of determining whether a person has contravened or failed to comply with this Act, the regulations or the terms of a permit.

Powers of investigator

(2) In an investigation under this section, an investigator may,

(a) stop, detain, enter and inspect a conveyance if the investigator has reasonable grounds to believe that a person is using it to assist in freefalling or to store a parachute used in freefalling;

(b) enter and inspect any premises in accordance with this section if the investigator has reasonable grounds to believe that a person is using it to assist in freefalling or to store a parachute used in freefalling;

(d) demand the production for inspection of any thing relevant to the investigation;

(e) use any data storage, processing or retrieval device or system belonging to the persons being inspected in order to produce a record in readable form of the records and other matters produced in response to a demand mentioned in clause (d); or

(f) in accordance with the regulations, seize or detain any thing relevant to the investigation if the thing is capable of being seized or detained.

Entry to dwellings

(3) An investigator shall not, without the consent of the occupier, exercise a power to enter a place that is being used as a dwelling, except under the authority of a search warrant issued under section 158 of the Provincial Offences Act.

Time for entry

(4) An investigator shall exercise the power to enter a premises or conveyance under this section only during reasonable hours for the premises or conveyance.

Written demand

(5) A demand for things or copies or extracts from them under subsection (2) shall be in writing and shall include a statement of the nature of the things that are required to be produced.

No obstruction

(6) No person shall obstruct an investigator who is exercising powers under this section or provide an investigator with false or misleading information.

Assistance

(7) An investigator who exercises powers under this section may,

(a) call on any person for whatever assistance the investigator considers necessary to accomplish what the investigator is empowered to do;

(b) call for the assistance of any member of the Ontario Provincial Police or the municipal police force in the area where the assistance is required to preserve the peace.

Person assisting

(8) A person assisting an investigator in exercising powers under this section has the powers of an investigator while acting under the direction of the investigator.

Police

(9) It is the duty of every member of a police force called to render assistance under clause (7) (b) to render the assistance.

Obligation to assist

(10) If an investigator makes a demand for any thing under subsection (2), the person having custody of the thing shall produce it to the investigator and, at the request of the investigator, shall provide whatever assistance is reasonably necessary, including using any data storage, processing or retrieval device or system to produce a record in readable form, if the demand is for a document.

Removal of things

(11) If a person produces things to an investigator, the investigator may, on issuing a written receipt, remove them and may,

(a) review or copy any of them or part of them; or

(b) bring them before a justice, in which case section 159 of the Provincial Offences Act applies.

Return of things seized

(12) The investigator shall carry out any reviewing or copying of things with reasonable dispatch, and shall forthwith after the reviewing or copying return the things to the person who produced them.

Admissibility of copies

(13) A copy certified by an investigator as a copy made under clause (11) (a) is admissible in evidence to the same extent, and has the same evidentiary value, as the thing copied.

General

Non-compellable witness

17. No person employed in the administration or enforcement of this Act shall be required to give testimony in any civil proceeding, except in a proceeding under this Act, with regard to information obtained in the discharge of the person's duties.

Crown liability

18. (1) In this section,

"Crown appointee" means a person who is appointed under this Act but who is not a Crown employee within the meaning of the Public Service Act.

No liability

(2) No action or other proceeding shall be instituted against the Crown, the Minister or any employee of the Ministry,

(a) for any act done or neglect or default in the execution or intended execution of a power or duty under this Act by,

(i) a person who is not a Crown employee within the meaning of the Public Service Act and not a Crown appointee, or

(ii) a person who is assisting an investigator in exercising powers under section 16, if the investigator is not a Crown employee within the meaning of the Public Service Act or not a Crown appointee; or

(b) for any tort committed by a person described in clause (a) or an employee or agent of the person in relation to a power or duty described in that clause.

No personal liability

(3) Except in the case of an application for judicial review or an action or proceeding that any Act or regulation under this or any other Act specifically provides with respect to a person mentioned in this subsection, no action or other proceeding for damages or otherwise shall be instituted against any of the following persons for any act done in good faith in the execution or intended execution of any duty or authority under this Act or for any alleged neglect or default in the execution in good faith of that duty or authority:

1. An employee of the Ministry.

2. A Crown employee within the meaning of the Public Service Act.

3. A member of the Tribunal.

4. A Crown appointee.

5. A person who is assisting an investigator in exercising powers under section 16, if the investigator is a Crown employee within the meaning of the Public Service Act or a Crown appointee.

Crown liability

(4) Subsection (3) does not, by reason of subsections 5 (2) and (4) of the Proceedings Against the Crown Act, relieve the Crown of liability in respect of a tort committed by an agent or servant of the Crown to which it would otherwise be subject.

Offences

19. (1) Every person is guilty of an offence who,

(a) knowingly furnishes false information in any application under this Act or in any statement or return required to be furnished under this Act or the regulations;

(b) contravenes or fails to comply with a term of a permit;

(d) manufactures a parachute that does not meet the prescribed requirements.

Directors, officers

(2) If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, every director, officer, employee or other agent of the corporation who authorized, or who had the authority to prevent the offence from being committed but knowingly refrained from doing so, is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable, on conviction, to the penalty for the offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted.

Penalty

(3) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section is liable, on conviction,

(a) to a fine of not more than $50,000, if the person is an individual; and

(b) to a fine of not more than $500,000, if the person is not an individual.

Regulations

20. (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,

(a) prescribing anything that is mentioned in this Act as being prescribed by the regulations;

(b) exempting any person or class of persons from any or all of the provisions of this Act and the regulations;

(c) requiring that parachutes that meet the prescribed requirements carry the label or form of identification that the regulations specify;

(d) governing applications for permits or renewal of permits;

(e) specifying what bodies can set the examinations mentioned in clause 3 (2) (b) and what the examinations must contain;

(f) governing the expiry of permits;

(g) specifying requirements that investigators must comply with when seizing or detaining things under clause 16 (2) (f);

(h) respecting any matter necessary or advisable to carry out effectively the purposes of this Act.

Scope of regulations

(2) A regulation may be of general application or specific to any person or persons or class or classes in its application.

Complementary amendment

21. Section 11 of the Licence Appeal Tribunal Act, 1999 is amended by adding the following paragraph:

Gareth Rodgers Act for Sport Parachuting (Freefalling Regulation), 2005.

Commencement

22. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

23. The short title of this Act is the Gareth Rodgers Act for Sport Parachuting (Freefalling Regulation), 2005.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill enacts an Act to regulate persons who participate in freefalling. Under the Act, persons who participate in freefalling must hold a permit issued under the Act and use a parachute that meets the requirements set out in the regulations made under the Act, except in certain circumstances. The exceptions include freefalling from a height of not more than seven metres from the surface of the ground and freefalling from a height of not more than 10 metres from the surface of water if the depth of the water is at least equal to the height of the freefall. To obtain a permit, a person must have passed the examinations or have attained the standards specified by the regulations with respect to the safe use of a parachute while freefalling.

The Registrar, who is appointed by the Minister responsible for the administration of the Act, may appoint investigators to make investigations to determine whether a person has failed to comply with the Act, the regulations or the terms of a permit. If an investigator determines that to be the case, the Registrar may, upon holding a hearing, refuse to issue or to renew a permit or may suspend or revoke a permit. The Registrar may also suspend a permit without a hearing if the Registrar considers it to be necessary in the public interest.

When using or preparing to use a parachute while freefalling, a permittee is required to carry the identification card that the Registrar has issued to the permittee under the Act and to produce it upon request.

The Act establishes a system of offences for persons who fail to comply with the Act and the terms of a permit or who manufacture parachutes that do not meet the requirements specified by the regulations.