1. Definitions

AAAMP Act:
Short form of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Act.
Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP):
A monetary penalty (a fine) issued by an agency to an individual accused of breaching agri-food or agriculture law.
Admissible:
A request that CART can evaluate. This means that CART has the power to determine the questions raised in a request and if the request was made in the manner required by law.
Agency:

The government organization that issued the notice of violation under review by CART. The agencies that appear most often before CART are:

  • Canadian Food Inspection Agency
  • Canada Border Security Agency
  • Pest Management Regulatory Agency
Agri-food or Agriculture Law:
Federal laws about agri-food or agriculture that may form the basis of a notice of violation. They include the AAAMP Act, the Safe Food for Canadians Act, and the Health of Animals Act.
Applicant:
A person who is requesting a review of a notice of violation or a minister’s decision.
CART:
Short form of the Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal.
Evidence:

The information you present to CART to prove a fact.

Evidence may include:

  • documents;
  • photographs;
  • video recordings;
  • sound recordings; and
  • testimony (what a witness says).
Member:
An impartial decision maker at CART who decides the outcome of the request. Members are also sometimes called adjudicators.
Minister:
Defined in the AAAMP Act. Use of the term “minister” depends on the notice of violation and could refer either to the minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Health, or Agriculture and Agri-Food.
Notice:
The “notice of violation” document issued by an agency with information about the alleged violation and the warning or amount of the penalty.
Parties:
The people who can participate in a review of a notice or a minister’s decision. The applicant and the respondent are each a party.
Respondent:
Either the minister or the agency. The respondent is the party that will defend the notice or decision in question.
Regulations:
Refers to the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations.
Request:
A request for review that the applicant submitted to CART about the notice or minister’s decision.
Rules:
The Rules of the Review Tribunal (Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal).
Service:
The way that a document is provided to a person.
Unrepresented:
The person or party does not have a lawyer or another representative to help them.
Violation:
A breach of an agriculture or agri-food law. Sometimes an agency will issue a notice following an alleged violation. Violations are not criminal offences.
Introduction 2. CART’s jurisdiction