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| Duty to
disclose
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66.1 (1) The head of a government institu
tion, and any person acting on behalf or under
the direction of the head of a government
institution, shall disclose to the Information
Commissioner and to the Archivist any in
formation relating to the actual or appre
hended destruction or falsification of docu
ments, including
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(a) the fact that an order was given to
destroy or falsify a record;
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(b) the name of the person who gave the
order to destroy or falsify a record;
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(c) the fact that a person did or did not
comply with an order described in para
graph (a);
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(d) the fact that a record was copied prior to
being destroyed or falsified;
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(e) the fact that a record has been removed
from the place where it is usually kept,
whether to save it from destruction or
falsification or to shield it from the applica
tion of this Act; and
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(f) the fact that a record has been lost.
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(2) Subsection (1) applies regardless of
whether a request for access to a record has
been made under this Act.
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| Review,
investigation
or disclosure
by the
Commissioner
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(3) Upon receiving the information referred
to in subsection (1), the Information Commis
sioner shall
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(a) examine forthwith the circumstances
surrounding the information disclosed to
the Commissioner;
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(b) conduct an investigation, if necessary;
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(c) notify the Attorney General of Canada,
if appropriate; and
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(d) not reveal the identity of the person
disclosing the information except with the
consent of the person.
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(4) With such modifications as the circum
stances require, paragraph 30(1)(f), sections
32, 34, 35 and 36, paragraphs 37(1)(a) and (b),
section 61, subparagraph 63(1)(a)(i), para
graph 63(1)(b), subsection 63(2) and sections
64, 65 and 66 apply to investigations con
ducted by the Information Commissioner
under this section.
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| Prohibition
against
reprisals by
employer
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(5) An employer or a person in a position of
authority in a government institution shall not
take or threaten to take reprisals against a
person who
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(a) discloses information referred to in
subsection (1);
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(b) refuses to destroy or falsify a record;
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(c) copies a record with the intention of
sending a copy to the Information Commis
sioner; or
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(d) removes a record from the place where
it is usually kept in order to save it from
destruction or falsification.
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| Presumption
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(6) For the purposes of this section, where
an employer or a person in a position of
authority in a government institution, within
twelve months following disclosure to the
Information Commissioner of information
referred to in subsection (1), dismisses or
transfers an employee or imposes a change in
the working conditions of the employee that is
disadvantageous to the employee, the employ
er or the person in a position of authority is
deemed to have taken reprisals.
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16. The Act is amended by adding the
following after section 67:
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| Destruction or
falsification of
record
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67.1 (1) Every person who destroys or
falsifies a record is guilty of an indictable
offence and liable to imprisonment for a term
of five years.
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(2) Every person who gives an order to
destroy or falsify a record is guilty of an
indictable offence and liable to imprisonment
for a term of five years.
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(3) Every person who contravenes subsec
tion 66.1(5) is guilty of an indictable offence
and liable to imprisonment for a term of five
years.
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17. Section 69 of the Act is repealed.
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18. Paragraph 70(1)(a) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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(a) cause to be kept under review the
manner in which records under the control
of government institutions are maintained,
managed and kept to ensure compliance
with the provisions of this Act and the
regulations made thereunder relating to
access to records;
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19. Section 74 of the Act is renumbered as
subsection 74(1) and is amended by adding
the following:
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| Protection
from civil
proceedings
or from
prosecution
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(2) Notwithstanding section 67.1 or any
other Act of Parliament, no civil or criminal
proceedings shall be instituted against the
head of any government institution, or against
any person acting on behalf or under the
direction of the head of a government institu
tion, for
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(a) the disclosure in good faith to the
Information Commissioner and the Archi
vist of the information referred to in
subsection 66.1(1);
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(b) because of a fear of reprisals, obeying an
order to destroy or falsify a record, provided
that the person informed the Information
Commissioner of this and, to the extent
possible in the circumstances, took all
possible steps to save a copy of the record
and to transmit it to the Information Com
missioner and the Archivist as soon as
possible; or
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(c) removing a record from the place where
it is usually kept in order to save it from
destruction or falsification.
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20. (1) Subsection 77(1) of the Act is
amended by adding the following after
paragraph (d):
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(d.1) prescribing the factors to be consid
ered in waiving the requirement to pay a fee
or other amount or a part thereof or
refunding a fee or other amount or a part
thereof paid under subsection 11(6);
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(d.2) after consulting the Information Com
missioner and the committee that normally
considers matters relating to this Act,
prescribing a minimum and maximum fee
structure in respect of the fees that may be
charged for responding to a request for
access to a record and the disclosure and
reproduction of a record;
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(2) Paragraph 77(1)(h) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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(h) prescribing the procedures to be fol
lowed by the Information Commissioner
and any person acting on behalf or under the
direction of the Information Commissioner
in examining or obtaining copies of records
in relation to an investigation of a com
plaint arising from a refusal to disclose a
record or a part of a record under paragraph
13(1)(a) or (b) or section 15 or 23.1 ; and
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(3) Subsection 77(1) of the Act is amended
by adding the following after paragraph
(h):
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(i) specifying, for the purpose of subsection
40(3), the criteria to be followed by the
committee.
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| R.S., c. 1 (3rd
Supp.)
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21. Subsection 4(4) of the National Ar
chives of Canada Act is replaced by the
following:
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| Restricted
access
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(4) Subject to section 23.1 of the Access to
Information Act, the Archivist shall not dis
close confidences of the Queen's Privy Coun
cil for Canada.
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22. Subsection 5(5) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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| Exception
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(5) For the purposes of this subsection, the
Archivist shall not have access to
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(a) a record to which subsection 23.1(1) of
the Access to Information Act applies,
except with the consent of the Clerk of the
Privy Council; and
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(b) a record of a government institution that
contains information the disclosure of
which is restricted by or pursuant to any
provision set out in Schedule II to the
Access to Information Act, except with the
consent of the head, within the meaning of
that Act, of that government institution.
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| Coming into
force
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23. This Act comes into force sixty days
after it is assented to.
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