Offences. Discrimination.—Unlawful rebates, etc.

508D. (1) Any insurance company, or any officer, agent or representative thereof, who,

(a) makes or permits any distinction or discrimination in
favour of individuals between the insured of the
same class and equal expectation of life in the
amount of premiums charged or in the dividends
payable upon any policy of life insurance issued by
or on behalf of the company; or,

(b) makes or assumes to make any stipulation or agree-
ment which is intended to operate as a part of any
insurance contract to which the company is or is to
become a party, whether in respect of the amount,
terms or conditions of the insurance, the premium
to be paid or otherwise, except such as is plainly
expressed in the policy issued in the case; or,
(c) pays, allows or gives, or offers to pay, allow or give,
directly or indirectly, as inducement to insure, any
rebate of the premium stipulated by the policy to be
payable, or any special favour or advantage in the
dividends or other benefits to accrue thereon, or any
advantage by way of local or advisory directorship
unless for actual service bona fide performed, or any
paid employment or contract for service of any kind
or any inducement whatever intended to be in the
nature of a rebate of premium; or,

(d) gives, sells or purchases as such inducement or in con-
nection with such insurance any stock, bonds or
other securities of any insurance company, or other
corporation, association or partnership;

And any person who knowingly receives as an inducement to insure, any rebate of premium or any such special favour, advantage or inducement as aforesaid;

shall for a first offence be liable to a penalty of double the amount of the annual premium chargeable upon the application or policy in respect of which the offence is committed, such penalty not to be less than one hundred dollars, and for a second or subsequent offence to a penalty of double the amount of such

annual premium, the latter penalty not to be less than two hu. dred and fifty dollars.

(2) Moreover every director, manager or other officer of any insurance company who knowingly consents to or permits the violation of any of the provisions of this section by any agent officer,, employee or servant of the company shall be liable to a penalty of five hundred dollars.

(3) The penalties provided for in this section may be recovered either upon summary conviction under Part XV of the Criminal Code, or in any court of competent civil jurisdiction. at the suit of any person suing therefor as well for His Majesty as for himself; one-half of any such penalty when recovered to be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund and the other half to belong to the informer or person at whose suit the same is recovered.

(4) No director, manager, agent, officer or servant of any insurance company shall be indemnified, either in whole or in part, from the funds of the company for any penalty or costs which he may be adjudged to pay on account of any offence committed against this section.

Origin] Can. Stat., 1917, 7-8 Geo. V, ch. 26, sec. 1.

649

PART VIII.

WILFUL AND FORBIDDEN ACTS IN RESPECT OF CERTAIN PROPERTY.

Interpretation.

"Wilfully" defined for purposes of Part VIII.

509. Every one who causes any event by an act which he knew would probably cause it, being reckless whether such event happens or not, is deemed for the purposes of this Part to have caused it wilfully."

Origin]-Sec. 481, Code of 1892; R.S.C. 1886, ch. 168, sec. 60.

Legal justification or colour of right]-See sec. 541, and as to summary conviction offences under sec. 539, the further limitations of sec. 540 as to fair and reasonable supposition of right.

“Wilful” offences]-Where the Code declares an offence in respect of an act "wilfully" done, the indictment or charge will be insufficient if it omits the word "wilfully" or words to the like import, although the charge alleges the act to have been done "unlawfully." Ex parte O'Shaughnessy, 13 Que. K.B. 178, 8 Can. Cr. Cas. 136; R. v. Barre, 2 W.L.R. 376, 11 Can. Cr. Cas. 1; and see R. v. Johnson, 7 O.L.R. 525, 8 Can. Cr. Cas. 123; R. v. Tupper, 11 Can. Cr. Cas. 199; R. v. Bridges, 13 B.C.R. 67, 12 Can. Cr. Cas. 548; R. v. Graf, 19 O.L.R. 238. Under an election law a “wilful” refusal by an official to permit a voter to vote was held to imply that the refusal was perverse or malicious. Johnson v. Allen, 26 Ont. R. 550. And in a prosecution for wilful refusal or neglect of a husband to maintain his wife it was held that there must be an absence of any reasonable ground for believing the refusal or neglect to be lawful. H6 Can. Cr. Cas. 165;

v. H

and see McGillivray v. Muir, 7 Can. Cr. Cas. 360, 6 O.L.R. 154.

It is to be noted that the definition as to reckless acts given by sec. 509 applies only to Part VIII (secs. 509-545). Compare secs. 259 (b), 283, 285.

"Wilful" ordinarily means voluntary or deliberate; Century Dictionary, vol. 8; but is often used in penal statutes so as to include the idea of an act intentionally done with a bad motive or purpose, an evil intent, 40 Cyc. 944; R. v. Child, L.R. 1 C.C.R. 307, 12 Cox 64, 24 L.T. 556; R. v. Faulkner, 13 Cox C.C. 550; R. v. Cooper, 5 C. & P. 535; R. v. Cronin, 36 U.C.Q.B. 342.

The general principle is that where a person commits an unlawful act unaccompanied by any circumstances justifying its commission, it is a presumption of law that he acted advisedly and with intent to produce the consequences which have ensued. A person cannot shelter himself from punishment on the ground that the mischief he committed was wider in its consequences than he originally intended. R. v. Pembliton, L.R. 2 C.C.R 119, 12 Cox 607, 30 L.T. 405; Roper v. Knott [1898] 1 Q.B. 868, 67 L.J.Q.B. 574, 78 L.T. 595; R. v. Latimer, 17 Q.B.D. 359, 51 J.P. 184, 16 Cox 70; R. v. Welch, 40 J.P. 183, 1 Q.B.D. 23, 13 Cox 121; R. v. Ward, 1 C.C.R. 356, 12 Cox 123.

In the Welch case, supra, Coleridge, C.J., expressed the view that where the act was reckless and cruel there was malice enough to sustain a conviction.

Mischief.

Mischief. Wilful destruction or damage to property.

510. Every one is guilty of the indictable offence of mischief who wilfully destroys or damages any of the property in this section mentioned, and is liable to the punishment in this section specified, that is to say:-

(4) To imprisonment for life if the object damaged is,(a) a dwelling-house, ship or boat, and the damage is

caused by an explosion, and any person is in such dwelling-house, ship or boat; and the damage causes actual danger to life; or,

(b) a bank, dyke or wall of the sea, or of any inland water, natural or artificial, or any work in, on, or belonging to any port, harbour, dock or inland water, natural or artificial and the damage causes actual danger of inundation; or,

(c) any bridge, whether over any stream of water or not, or any viaduct, or aqueduct, over or under which bridge, viaduct or aqueduct any highway, railway or canal passes, and the damage is done with intent to render and does render such bridge, viaduct or aqueduct, or the highway, railway or canal passing over or under the same, or any part thereof, dangerous or impassable; or,

(d) a railway damaged with the intent of rendering and so as to render such railway dangerous or impassable :