Summary

This bill expands the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act to allow the director of SCAN to take action against properties with ongoing graffiti and stolen goods, and creates a new framework for the government to demolish derelict properties or seize them outright when owners fail to restore them. The bill grants investigators new entry and information-collection powers, and establishes penalties for interfering with enforcement.

Under this bill, the SCAN director can now pursue action against properties where graffiti repeatedly appears and is not cleaned up, or where stolen goods are stored, sold, or exchanged. The bill also creates a new two-track process for properties deemed to be nuisance properties, meaning properties unfit for human use that negatively affect health, safety, or economic wellbeing in the neighbourhood. The director can apply to court for either a rehabilitation order (giving the director authority to demolish structures and restore the site, with the owner paying the costs) or a forfeiture order (transferring the property to the province). In both cases, owners can be granted up to six months to restore the property themselves before the order takes effect. The bill gives investigators authority to enter properties, collect information from government databases, and apply for warrants. Failure to comply with orders or investigations can result in fines up to $100,000 for corporations and imprisonment for individuals.