Safety codes – Administrative penalties

Overview

The administrator of administrative penalties may consider issuing a penalty when a person has failed to comply with one or all of the following:

• certain provisions of the Safety Codes Act
• an order made under the act
• a condition in a permit, certificate or variance issued under the act

Administrative penalties support improved compliance outcomes and do not replace orders and prosecution under the Safety Codes Act.

Who can apply

Any request for an administrative penalty must be authorized by the person who administers the quality management plan within accredited bodies, or by the Alberta Safety Codes Authority manager in unaccredited areas.

How penalties are determined

The administrator decides on a penalty, on a case-by-case basis, considering factors such as:

• severity and extent of the contravention
• risk of harm resulting from the contravention
• compliance history of the contravener
• degree of negligence or wilful non-compliance
• economic benefit received by the contravener from the negligence

Penalty amounts

An administrative penalty is a single amount or an amount for each day or part of a day that a contravention or failure to comply continues.

The maximum daily amount is $10,000, and the total amount of the penalty cannot exceed $100,000.

Notice

The administrator will serve a Notice of Administrative Penalty on a contravener and will advise the responsible authority, such as the municipality accredited under the Safety Codes Act or other responsible authority under the act.

The notice of administrative penalty includes the:

• contravention
• penalty amount
• payment deadline
• appeal information

Appeals

Recipients of an administrative penalty may submit a notice of appeal within 30 days of service of the penalty.

Appeals will be handled by the Land and Property Rights Tribunal.

Enforcement

Payment of the penalty is due on or before the date specified in the notice of administrative penalty, which must be at least 30 days after the notice was served.

The penalty may go to collections after 30 days if the contravener has not:

• remedied the contravention
• paid the penalty
• filed for an appeal

In addition, a municipality accredited under the Safety Codes Act or other responsible authority under the Act can refuse to issue new permits.

The responsible authority may also suspend or cancel existing permits previously issued to the contravener if the contravener fails to comply with an administrative penalty.

Administrative penalties issued

No administrative penalties were issued for 2022 and 2023 and currently no administrative penalties have been issued for 2024.

Contact

Connect with the administrator of administrative penalties:

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-866-421-6929