b'Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal5NOTEThe administrative monetary penalty regime is one of absolute liability and is therefore highly punitive.The regime punishes diligent persons, even if they took every reasonable precaution to avoid the commission of the alleged violation. It also denies the right to make a mistake, even if the mistake could have been made by a reasonable person in the same circumstances. The regime denies the right to the benefit of reasonable doubt that would be available to a person for a criminal offence, and instead determines liability on a simple balance of probabilities.Being careful and taking steps to avoid the commission of the violation is not a defence under the AMP regime. The most common and effective defence is to challenge the essential elements of the violation, as explained in Doyon. 3However, subsection 18(2) of the AAAMP Act provides that any common law rule or principle that allows a circumstance to be used as a justification or excuse in relation to a charge for an offence under an agri-food Act may also apply in respect of a violation (except where it is inconsistent with the AAAMP Act). To date, only two common law defences have been successfully raised before the Tribunal: necessity and automatism. For more details on essential elements and the Doyon decision, please refer toAppendix 2 in this document.3Doyon v. Canada (Attorney General), 2009 FCA 152 at para 28.'