The Bloc québécois amendment raises a single problem. They want the maximum penalty to be $50,000, but I see nowhere in the act any criteria on which a decision can be made on the amount of the penalty or when it will be imposed. Perhaps it's me who's not seeing it.
For example, we're talking about a maximum penalty of $50,000. However, a public office holder must have been found “guilty” of violating a provision that is not contemplated in subclause 1. However, no mention is made of the manner in which the amount of the penalty will be determined. I find this serious.
So I ask my colleagues if we can examine this again.
I'm told that subclause 53(3) states, and I quote:
(3) The amount of a proposed penalty is, in each case, to be determined taking into account the following matters: (a) the fact that penalties have as their purpose to encourage compliance with this Act rather than to punish; (b) the public office holder's history of prior violations under this Act during the five-year period immediately before the violation; and (c) any other relevant matter.
Perfect, that answers my question.