Classification of Offences (POA)

Caselaw.Ninja, Riverview Group Publishing 2021 ©
Date Retrieved:	2024-05-18
CLNP Page ID:	2338
Page Categories:	[Provincial Offences]
Citation:	Classification of Offences (POA), CLNP 2338, <>, retrieved on 2024-05-18
Editor:	Sharvey
Last Updated:	2024/02/02

R. v. Sault Ste. Marie, 1978 CanLII 11 (SCC), [1978] 2 SCR 1299

[Page 1303]

and might well be regarded as a branch of administrative law to which traditional principles of criminal law have but limited application. They relate to such everyday matters as traffic infractions, sales of impure food, violations of liquor laws, and the like. In this appeal we are concerned with pollution.

The doctrine of the guilty mind expressed in terms of intention or recklessness, but not negligence, is at the foundation of the law of crimes. In the case of true crimes there is a presumption that a person should not be held liable for the wrongfulness of his act if that act is without mens rea: (R. v. Prince[4]; R. v. Tolson[5]; R. v. Rees[6]; Beaver v. The Queen[7]; R. v. King[8]). Blackstone made the point over two hundred years ago in words still apt: “…to constitute a crime against human law, there must be first a vicious will, and secondly, an unlawful act consequent upon such vicious will…,” 4 Comm. 21. I would emphasise at the outset that nothing in the discussion which follows is intended to dilute or erode that basic principle.

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The Mens Rea Point

The distinction between the true criminal offence and the public welfare offence is one of prime importance. Where the offence is criminal, the Crown must establish a mental element, namely, that the accused who committed the prohibited act did so intentionally or recklessly, with knowledge of the facts constituting the offence, or with wilful blindness toward them. Mere negligence is excluded from the concept of the mental

[Page 1310]

element required for conviction. Within the context of a criminal prosecution a person who fails to make such enquiries as a reasonable and prudent person would make, or who fails to know facts he should have known, is innocent in the eyes of the law.

In sharp contrast, “absolute liability” entails conviction on proof merely that the defendant committed the prohibited act constituting the actus reus of the offence. There is no relevant mental element. It is no defence that the accused was entirely without fault. He may be morally innocent in every sense, yet be branded as a malefactor and punished as such.

Public welfare offences obviously lie in a field of conflicting values. It is essential for society to maintain, through effective enforcement, high standards of public health and safety. Potential victims of those who carry on latently pernicious activities have a strong claim to consideration. On the other hand, there is a generally held revulsion against punishment of the morally innocent.