EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill amends the Trespass to Property Act to provide minimum fines where a person trespasses for the purpose of taking, holding, concealing or destroying mail addressed to another person with the intent to deprive the other person of the mail or to defraud any person.

Bill 243 2020

An Act to amend the Trespass to Property Act to establish minimum fines for specified types of trespass

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

1 Section 2 of the Trespass to Property Act is amended by adding the following subsections:

Minimum fines for certain offences

(3)  If, in the commission of an offence under clause (1) (a), a person enters on the premises for the purpose of taking, holding, concealing or destroying mail addressed to another person with the intent to deprive the other person of the mail or to defraud any person, the person who committed the offence is liable to a fine of,

  (a)  not less than $500 and not more than $10,000 on a first conviction;

  (b)  not less than $1,000 and not more than $10,000 on a second conviction; and

  (c)  not less than $2,000 and not more than $10,000 on each subsequent conviction.

Definition

(4)  In this section,

“mail” means a letter, postal card, package, bag or any other sealed article addressed to a person and includes any article or thing contained in the letter, postal card, package, bag or sealed article.

Commencement

2 This Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.

Short title

3 The short title of this Act is the Trespass to Property Amendment Act (Protecting Consumers from Package Piracy), 2020.