Bill S-3: An Act amending the Weights and Measures Act, the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act, the Weights and Measures Regulations and the Electricity and Gas Inspection Regulations

Bill S-3: An Act amending the Weights and Measures Act, the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act, the Weights and Measures Regulations and the Electricity and Gas Inspection Regulations

Tabled in the Senate, November 18, 2025

Explanatory Note

Section 4.2 of the Department of Justice Act requires the Minister of Justice to prepare a Charter Statement for every government bill to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on government bills. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for inconsistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed.

A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms. Section 1 of the Charter provides that rights and freedoms may be subject to reasonable limits if those limits are prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. This means that Parliament may enact laws that limit Charter rights and freedoms. The Charter will be violated only where a limit is not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.

A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill’s potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. It is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all conceivable Charter considerations. Additional considerations relevant to the constitutionality of a bill may also arise in the course of Parliamentary study and amendment of a bill. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill.

Charter Considerations

The Minister of Justice has examined Bill S-3, An Act amending the Weights and Measures Act, the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act, the Weights and Measures Regulations and the Electricity and Gas Inspection Regulations, for any inconsistency with the Charter. This review involved consideration of the objectives and features of the bill.

What follows is a non-exhaustive discussion of the ways in which Bill S-3 potentially engages the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter. It is presented to assist in informing the public and Parliamentary debate on the bill. It does not include an exhaustive description of the entire bill, but rather focuses on those elements relevant for the purposes of a Charter Statement.

Overview

The bill would amend the Weights and Measures Act (WMA) and the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act (EGIA) to create moremodern and flexible trade measurement frameworks. Proposed amendments include updating existing inspection powers so that these authorities are aligned with contemporary business and regulatory practices. For example, the powers of inspectors would be updated to ensure that inspections may be conducted remotely using telecommunications technologies, that warrants may be issued by a means of telecommunication, and that electronic data may be examined and copied in the same manner as other business records. In addition, a new definition of ‘vehicle’ would be added to clarify the places where compliance inspections may occur and inspectors’ powers would be broadened to include new powers to issue certain orders, such as an order to take measures necessary to remedy or prevent non-compliance. Offence provisions under both the WMA and EGIA would be expanded to reflect updated regulatory requirements, including the creation of offences for failure to comply with inspector orders.

Inspection Powers – Section 8 of the Charter

Section 8 of the Charter protects against “unreasonable” searches and seizures. The purpose of section 8 is to protect individuals against unreasonable intrusion into a reasonable expectation of privacy. A search or seizure that intrudes upon a reasonable expectation of privacy will be reasonable if it is authorized by a law, the law itself is reasonable (in the sense of striking an appropriate balance between privacy interests and the state interest being pursued), and it is carried out in a reasonable manner. The assessment of the reasonableness of the law is a flexible one that takes into account the nature and purpose of the legislative scheme, and the nature of the affected privacy interests.

Because modernized inspection powers have the potential to interfere with privacy interests, the proposed amendments may engage section 8 of the Charter. The following considerations support the consistency of these provisions with section 8. Modernized inspection powers further the important objectives of the Act, which include consumer protection and a fair and competitive marketplace. These powers would be available for the regulatory purpose of verifying compliance and preventing non-compliance with the relevant trade measurement framework, not penal investigations. Given this commercial and regulatory context, privacy interests are generally lower. Many of the proposed amendments aim only to clarify the application of current powers to modern technologies. Where new powers have been added, they represent targeted and tailored approaches to compliance monitoring. For both new and clarified inspection powers, the provisions are consistent with similar regulatory frameworks.

Offences – Section 7 of the Charter

Section 7 of the Charter protects against the deprivation of an individual’s life, liberty and security of the person unless done in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. These include the principles against arbitrariness, overbreadth and gross disproportionality. An arbitrary law is one that impacts section 7 rights in a way that is not rationally connected to the law’s purpose. An overbroad law is one that impacts section 7 rights in a way that, while generally rational, goes too far by capturing some conduct that bears no relation to the law’s purpose. A grossly disproportionate law is one whose effects on section 7 rights are so severe as to be “completely out of sync” with the law’s purpose. Offences that carry the possibility of imprisonment have the potential to deprive liberty and so must accord with the principles of fundamental justice.

The bill proposes offences for interfering with things seized or detained by an inspector, failing to do anything ordered by an inspector or the Minister under certain provisions of the Act, and entering a place or part of a place after an inspector has prohibited or limited access to it. Because new offences under the WMA may be punishable by way of imprisonment, they have the potential to engage the liberty interest under section 7 of the Charter, and so must accord with the principles of fundamental justice. In reviewing the offence provisions, the Minister has not identified any potential inconsistencies between the provisions and the principles of fundamental justice under section 7. The scope of new and updated offences are tailored to the relevant legislative objectives, such as aligning inspection powers with new market realities, promoting consumer protection and ultimately enhancing compliance with the law. More specifically, they promote compliance with the Act by giving practical effect to the orders of inspectors and of the Minister. Finally, upon conviction a judge will have discretion to impose a fit and appropriate sentence.