Assignment Description

This assignment engages students in a comprehensive analysis of the law relating to provincial offences. Students will be required to demonstrate their understanding of the classification of offences, defences and penalty provisions under different statutes governed by theProvincial Offences Act.

Students will then have an ability to practice their advocacy skills in mock sentencing proceedings.

Assignment Steps

1. Familiarize yourself with the details of the fact patterns provided. Facts will not be provided to you in perfect order and some facts may not be relevant.
2. Review, analyze and interpret the governing legislation.

Fact Pattern - Part A: Understanding the Legislation

An Employment Standards Officer attended at Love to Read Books, a used bookstore, to conduct a regular inspection. While reviewing the payroll records, the inspector noticed that the manager, Mark, had not accurately recorded the hours worked by the staff. The inspector asked Mark some questions about the records and Mark lied and told him that complete records were stored at another location. The inspector discovered that the information was false and served an offence notice charging Mark with violating section 91(12)(b) of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). Answer the following questions:

a. What type of offence has Mark committed?

b. What does the prosecutor have to prove to secure a conviction?

c. What defences might be available to Mark?