A Guide to Our Process
6. Defences you can use and cannot use
In Canada, Federal AMPS relating to agriculture and agri-food are part of an absolute liability system. As a result, if the Respondent can prove that you committed the violation, you will be responsible to pay the penalty.
The Respondent does not have to prove that you meant (or intended) to break the law – in general, it won’t matter why you committed the violation.
As a result, in a request to CART, you cannot use these defences:
- “I did my best” or “I didn’t intend to” (also called “due diligence” defences)
- “I didn’t know” or “I thought I was doing the right thing” (also called “mistake of fact” defences)9
However, you may use other defences such as:
- “I had no other choice” (also called “necessity”)
- “A government official told me (“officially induced error”)
- “I was not in control of what I was doing” (also called “automatism”)10