Section 490.81 — Criminal Code: Management order

With respect to offence-related property other than a controlled substance within the meaning of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act or cannabis as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Cannabis Act , on application of the Attorney General or of any other person with the written consent of the Attorney General, a judge or justice in the case of offence-related property seized under section 487, or a judge in the case of offence-related property restrained under section 490.8, may, if he or she is of the opinion that the circumstances so require, appoint a person to take control of and to manage or otherwise deal with all or part of the property in accordance with the directions of the judge or justice; and require any person having possession of that property to give possession of the property to the person appointed under paragraph (a). When the Attorney General of Canada so requests, a judge or justice appointing a person under subsection (1) shall appoint the Minister of Public Works and Government Services. The power to manage or otherwise deal with property under subsection (1) includes the power to make an interlocutory sale of perishable or rapidly depreciating property; the power to destroy, in accordance with subsections (4) to (7), property that has little or no value; and the power to have property, other than real property or a conveyance, forfeited to Her Majesty in accordance with subsection (7.1). Before a person who is appointed to manage property destroys property that has little or no value, they shall apply to a court for a destruction order. Before making a destruction order, a court shall require notice in accordance with subsection (6) to be given to and may hear any person who, in the court’s opinion, appears to have a valid interest in the property. A notice shall be given in the manner that the court directs or that may be specified in the rules of the court; and specify the effective period of the notice that the court considers reasonable or that may be set out in the rules of the court. A court shall order that the property be destroyed if it is satisfied that the property has little or no financial or other value. On application by a person who is appointed to manage the property, a court shall order that the property, other than real property or a conveyance, be forfeited to Her Majesty to be disposed of or otherwise dealt with in accordance with the law if a notice is given or published in the manner that the court directs or that may be specified in the rules of the court; the notice specifies a period of 60 days during which a person may make an application to the court asserting their interest in the property; and during that period, no one makes such an application. A management order ceases to have effect when the property that is the subject of the management order is returned in accordance with the law, destroyed or forfeited to Her Majesty. For greater certainty, if property that is the subject of a management order is sold, the management order applies to the net proceeds of the sale. The Attorney General may at any time apply to the judge or justice to cancel or vary any condition to which a management order is subject, but may not apply to vary an appointment made under subsection (2).