Safer Municipalities Act, 2025

RÉSUMÉ DU REGISTRE OFFICIEL

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SCHEDULE 1 RESTRICTING PUBLIC CONSUMPTION OF ILLEGAL SUBSTANCES ACT, 2025 The Schedule enacts the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act, 2025 . Subject to specified exemptions, the Act prohibits the consumption of an illegal substance in a public place. The Act provides that a “public place” is a place to which the general public is invited or permitted. It includes any structure, such as a tent, used as a dwelling in a public place, if its use as a dwelling in the public place is not permitted by law. A police officer or prescribed provincial offences officer may issue directions to a person if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is consuming an illegal substance in a public place. The person may be directed to cease consuming the illegal substance in the public place. The person may be directed to leave the public place. Finally, the person may be directed to provide their full name, date of birth and address. The officer may also seize, remove and destroy substances they reasonably believe to be illegal substances. Seized substances may be submitted for analysis by designated analysts. It is an offence to fail to comply with a direction. An officer may arrest, without warrant, a person who the officer believes on reasonable grounds is guilty of an offence. A person convicted of an offence is liable to a fine of not more than $10,000 or to imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. The Lieutenant Governor in Council is given authority to make regulations respecting various matters under the Act. SCHEDULE 2 TRESPASS TO PROPERTY ACT Section 2 of the Trespass to Property Act establishes a trespass offence, and sets out a penalty on conviction of a fine of not more than $10,000. The Schedule amends section 2 by adding two aggravating factors that must be considered in the court’s determination of a penalty under that section: 1. The defendant was given notice to leave the premises and was on the premises in contravention of section 2 after the applicable period of time, regardless of whether the defendant left the premises in the interval. 2. At the time of sentencing, the court finds that the defendant is likely to trespass at any time in the future. In addition, a small number of corrections and updates are made to the French version of the Act.