We have seen a new trend in the administrative monetary
penalties ("AMPs") being issued by Alberta Environment
and Parks ("AEP or the "Department") against parties
that AEP has found to have contravened either the Water
Act or the Environmental Protection and Enhancement
Act ("EPEA") and associated regulations. Recently,
the Department has been increasing these penalties by including an
"economic benefit" component. The increasing use of the
economic benefit component is used not only to deter future
non-compliance, but to disgorge from the offender the economic
benefit they derived from their contravening behaviour.
Previously, AMPs were typically used in a manner akin to a
traffic ticket to address minor contraventions. However, in recent
years AMPs have often included an economic benefit component,
resulting in a dramatic increase in the monetary amount of these
penalties. The authority to include the economic benefit component
has always existed under the Water
