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