O. Reg. 236/03: SPECIAL PURPOSE ACCOUNTS

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Prohibiting Profiting from Recounting Crimes Act, 2002

ONTARIO REGULATION 236/03

SPECIAL PURPOSE ACCOUNTS

Consolidation Period: From July 1, 2003 to the e-Laws currency date.

No amendments.

This is the English version of a bilingual regulation.

General

Definitions

1. In this Regulation,

“adjudicator” means a person appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under section 3; (“arbitre”)

“direct victim” means a person who suffered pecuniary or non-pecuniary losses, including losses recoverable under Part V of the Family Law Act, as a result of a crime that is the subject of a contract for recounting crime; (“victime directe”)

“final day for filing” means the date named in a notice published under section 4 on or before which all claims for the compensation pursuant to the notice must be filed; (“échéance de production”)

“special purpose account” means an account established under section 9 of the Act. (“compte spécial”) O. Reg. 236/03, s. 1.

Priority of payments from special purpose accounts

2. (1) Money shall be paid out of a special purpose account established under section 9 of the Act as follows:

1. First, to compensate direct victims of the crime that is the subject of the contract for recounting crime pursuant to which money is deposited into the special purpose account, in accordance with sections 3 to 10.

2. If any money remains after payment under paragraph 1, or if no money is paid under paragraph 1, then to assist victims of crime, in accordance with section 11. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 2 (1).

(2) Any money deposited to a special purpose account after compensation has been determined or paid under paragraph 1 of subsection (1) shall be applied to payments from the account under paragraph 2 of subsection (1), but shall not be applied to payments or be considered in determining or altering compensation under paragraph 1 of subsection (1). O. Reg. 236/03, s. 2 (2).

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to royalties or other money deposited to a special purpose account that was determined by the adjudicator to be part of a direct victim claimant’s compensation. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 2 (3).

Compensation to Direct Victims of Crime

Adjudicator

3. (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint one or more persons to act as adjudicator of the claims made by direct victim claimants under this Regulation. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 3 (1).

(2) An adjudicator shall receive remuneration and expenses as determined by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 3 (2).

(3) The Attorney General may assign one or more employees of the Ministry of the Attorney General to assist an adjudicator in carrying out his or her duties under this Regulation. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 3 (3).

Notice

4. (1) Within one year after the first deposit of money into a special purpose account, the Attorney General shall give notice in accordance with this section. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 4 (1).

(2) The notice shall be published in The Ontario Gazette and may also be published in any other way or ways that, in the opinion of the Attorney General or his or her designate, will bring the right to make a claim for compensation to the attention of direct victims of the crime to which the special purpose account relates. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 4 (2).

(3) The notice shall,

(a) identify the proceeding under the Act as a result of which the money was deposited into the special purpose account;

(b) state that any person who suffered pecuniary or non-pecuniary losses as a result of the crime that is the subject of the contract for recounting crime respecting which the proceeding was commenced is entitled to make a claim for compensation;

(c) describe the steps to be taken to make a claim;

(d) name the final day for filing, which shall not be earlier than six months after the first publication of the notice in The Ontario Gazette or later than nine months after that first publication;

(e) state that a claim that does not comply with this Regulation will be denied;

(f) give an address and telephone number to which inquiries about potential claims may be directed;

(g) give an address where claims should be filed;

(h) include any other information that the Attorney General considers appropriate. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 4 (3).

(4) If the Attorney General or his or her designate is of the opinion, having regard to the number of potential direct victim claimants for compensation from a special purpose account and the amount available for compensation from the account, that the payment to each direct victim claimant would be too small to justify the administrative costs of adjudicating the claims, the Attorney General or his or her designate, as the case may be, may decide that no compensation will be paid to any direct victim claimant from the special purpose account and, in that case, the Attorney General shall not give notice in accordance with this section. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 4 (4).

Claim

5. (1) A direct victim claimant shall use the claim form provided by the Attorney General. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 5 (1).

(2) The claim shall include a description of the claimant’s pecuniary losses and documentary evidence of the losses, including receipts and invoices. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 5 (2).

(3) If the claim is also for non-pecuniary losses, it shall include a description of the claimant’s non-pecuniary losses and documentary evidence of the losses. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 5 (3).

(4) The claim shall identify any other sources from which compensation for the losses claimed by the claimant under this section have been paid or are payable to the claimant, and the amount of that compensation. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 5 (4).

(5) The claim shall be filed on or before the final day for filing. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 5 (5).

(6) The claimant shall revise the information required under subsection (4) as the information changes or as more such information becomes available to the claimant, even after receiving compensation from the special purpose account under section 7 or 8. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 5 (6).

No payments made until all claims are adjudicated

6. No payments shall be made out of the special purpose account to direct victim claimants until all the claims filed by direct victim claimants in accordance with section 5 have been adjudicated and the amount of compensation to each claimant is determined under section 7 or 8. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 6.

Determination of eligibility and amount of compensation

7. (1) The adjudicator shall review all the direct victim claims filed on or before the final day for filing and shall determine,

(a) each direct victim claimant’s eligibility for compensation; and

(b) the amount of compensation to be paid to each eligible direct victim claimant. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 7 (1).

(2) A direct victim claimant is eligible for compensation from the special purpose account if the claim is filed in accordance with section 5 and if the adjudicator is satisfied by the claim and by any other information obtained by the adjudicator under section 11 of the Act that,

(a) the claimant suffered pecuniary or non-pecuniary losses as a result of the unlawful activity;

(b) the amount of the losses can be quantified; and

(c) full compensation for the losses has not been paid or is not payable to the claimant from other sources. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 7 (2).

(3) In determining whether a direct victim claimant is eligible for compensation and the amount of compensation to be paid to an eligible direct victim claimant, the adjudicator shall have regard to all relevant circumstances, including any behaviour of the claimant that may have directly or indirectly contributed to the claimant’s losses. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 7 (3).

(4) Even if a direct victim claimant is eligible to receive compensation as determined under subsections (2) and (3), the adjudicator may decline to pay any compensation to the claimant if, in the adjudicator’s opinion,

(a) the amount of the compensation would be too small to justify the administrative costs of paying it; or

(b) the losses suffered by the claimant are remote from the crime that is the subject of the contract for recounting crime. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 7 (4).

Amount of compensation where claims exceed balance of account

8. If the total amount of the compensation that would otherwise be paid to all the eligible direct victim claimants under section 7 exceeds the balance available in the special purpose account, the amount of compensation shall be determined and paid as follows:

1. Compensation for pecuniary losses of direct victim claimants who are individuals shall be determined first.

2. If the total amount that would otherwise be paid to all the eligible individual direct victim claimants for pecuniary losses exceeds the balance available in the special purpose account, the amount that would otherwise be paid to each individual direct victim claimant for pecuniary losses shall be reduced pro-rata in the proportion that the balance of the special purpose account bears to the total amount that would otherwise be paid to all the eligible individual direct victim claimants for pecuniary losses.

3. If, in the adjudicator’s opinion, the payment for pecuniary losses to each individual direct victim claimant would be too small to justify the administrative costs of paying them, the adjudicator may decline to pay any compensation under paragraph 1 or 2.

4. If there is any balance available in the special purpose account after compensation for the pecuniary losses is determined under paragraph 1 or 2, compensation for non-pecuniary losses of direct victim claimants who are individuals shall be determined.

5. If the total of the amount that would otherwise be paid to all the eligible individual direct victim claimants for non-pecuniary losses exceeds the balance available in the special purpose account after compensation for the pecuniary losses under paragraph 1 or 2 is paid, the amount that would otherwise be paid to each individual direct victim claimant for non-pecuniary losses shall be reduced pro-rata in the proportion that the balance of the special purpose account bears to the total amount that would otherwise be paid to all the eligible individual direct victim claimants for non-pecuniary losses.

6. If, in the adjudicator’s opinion, the payment for non-pecuniary losses to each individual direct victim claimant would be too small to justify the administrative costs of paying them, the adjudicator may decline to pay any compensation under paragraph 4 or 5.

7. If there is any balance available in the special purpose account after compensation for the pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses of individual direct victim claimants is determined under paragraphs 1 to 6, compensation for pecuniary losses of direct victim claimants who are not individuals shall be determined.

8. If, in the adjudicator’s opinion, the payment for pecuniary losses to each direct victim claimant who is not an individual would be too small to justify the administrative costs of paying them, the adjudicator may decline to pay any compensation under paragraph 7. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 8.

Judicial review

9. (1) A decision of the adjudicator under section 7 or 8 is final and not subject to appeal, and shall not be altered or set aside in an application for judicial review or in any other proceeding unless the decision is patently unreasonable. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 9 (1).

(2) An application for judicial review from a decision of the adjudicator under section 7 or 8 must be filed within 30 days after being notified of the determination that is subject to review. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 9 (2).

Payments from other sources

10. (1) The amount that would otherwise be paid to a direct victim claimant under section 7 or 8 shall be reduced by the amount of compensation paid or payable to the claimant from any other source. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 10 (1).

(2) If, after receiving a payment under section 7 or 8, a direct victim claimant receives a payment as compensation for some or all of the same losses from another source that was not identified in the claimant’s claim or in an amount exceeding the amount identified in the claimant’s claim, the claimant shall report the payment to the adjudicator, or if the adjudicator is no longer acting in respect of the special purpose account, to the Attorney General, and shall reimburse the Minister of Finance for the amount of money received from the other source that was also paid to the claimant from the special purpose account. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 10 (2).

(3) The Minister of Finance may recover the amount of money received by a claimant from another source as compensation for the same losses for which the claimant received money as compensation from the special purpose account in any court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to the Crown. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 10 (3).

(4) The Minister of Finance shall deposit any reimbursed or recovered money to the special purpose account from which it had been paid. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 10 (4).

Assisting Victims of Crime

11. (1) The Attorney General may pay grants out of a special purpose account to any person or organization in order to assist victims of crime. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 11 (1).

(2) The Attorney General shall establish criteria and guidelines for the payment of the grants, including the eligibility of persons and organizations to receive grants. O. Reg. 236/03, s. 11 (2).

12. Omitted (provides for coming into force of provisions of this Regulation). O. Reg. 236/03, s. 12.

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