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Bill C-74

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Disclosure of records

307. (1) Any record or information referred to in section 305 or 306 may be made available to

    (a) any judge or court for any purpose relating to proceedings relating to offences committed or alleged to have been com mitted by the person to whom the record relates;

    (b) any investigator, inspector, prosecutor or peace officer

      (i) for the purpose of investigating any offence that the person is suspected on reasonable grounds of having com mitted, or in respect of which the person has been arrested or charged, or

      (ii) for any purpose related to the admin istration of the case to which the record relates;

    (c) any member of a department or agency of a government in Canada, or any agent thereof, that is

      (i) engaged in the administration of environmental protection alternative measures in respect of the person, or

      (ii) preparing a report in respect of the person pursuant to this Act; or

    (d) any other person who is deemed, or any person within a class of persons that is deemed, by a judge of a court to have a valid interest in the record, to the extent directed by the judge, if the judge is satisfied that the disclosure is

      (i) desirable in the public interest for research or statistical purposes, or

      (ii) desirable in the interest of the proper administration of justice,

    and if that person gives a written undertak ing not to subsequently disclose the in formation except in accordance with sub section (2).

Subsequent disclosure

(2) Where a record is made available to any person under subparagraph (1)(d)(i), that person may subsequently disclose informa tion contained in the record, but shall not disclose the information in any form that could reasonably be expected to identify the person to whom it relates and any other person specified by the judge.

Information, copies

(3) Any person to whom a record is authorized to be made available under this section may be given any information con tained in the record and may be given a copy of any part of the record.

Evidence

(4) Nothing in this section authorizes the introduction into evidence of any part of a record that would not otherwise be admissible in evidence.

Exception for public access to court record

(5) For greater certainty, this section does not apply to an agreement, a varied agreement or report that is filed with the court in accordance with section 300.

Agreements respecting exchange of information

308. The Minister may enter into an agree ment with a department or agency of a government in Canada respecting the ex change of information for the purpose of administering environmental protection alter native measures or preparing a report in respect of a person's compliance with an agreement.

Regulations

309. The Minister may make regulations respecting the environmental protection alter native measures that may be used for the purposes of this Act including, but not limited to, regulations

    (a) excluding specified offences under this Act from the application of those measures;

    (b) respecting the manner of preparing and filing reports relating to the administration of and compliance with agreements;

    (c) respecting the types of reasonable costs and manner of paying the costs associated with supervising and verifying compliance with an agreement; and

    (d) respecting the terms and conditions that may be provided for in an agreement and the effects of those terms and conditions.

Contraventions

Ticketing

310. (1) Notwithstanding anything in this Act, the Governor in Council may, by regula tion, on the recommendation of the Minister, designate any offence under this Act as an offence with respect to which, notwithstand ing the Criminal Code, an inspector may lay an information and issue and serve a summons by completing a ticket in the prescribed form, affixing the inspector's signature thereto and delivering the ticket to the person alleged to have committed the offence specified therein at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed.

Regulations

(2) Any regulations made under this section

    (a) shall establish a procedure for entering a plea and paying a fine in respect of each offence to which the regulations relate;

    (b) shall prescribe the amount of the fine to be paid in respect of each offence; and

    (c) may prescribe any other matter neces sary to carry out the purposes of this section.

Failure to respond to ticket

(3) Where a person is served with a ticket and does not enter a plea within the time prescribed by the regulations, a justice shall examine the ticket and

    (a) if the ticket is complete and regular on its face, the justice shall enter a conviction in the person's absence and impose a fine of the prescribed amount; or

    (b) if the ticket is not complete and regular on its face, the justice shall quash the proceedings.

Other Remedies

Injunction

311. (1) Where, on the application of the Minister, it appears to a court of competent jurisdiction that a person has done or is about to do or is likely to do any act or thing constituting or directed toward the commis sion of an offence under this Act, the court may issue an injunction ordering any person named in the application

    (a) to refrain from doing any act or thing that it appears to the court may constitute or be directed toward the commission of an offence under this Act; or

    (b) to do any act or thing that it appears to the court may prevent the commission of an offence under this Act.

Notice

(2) No injunction shall be issued under subsection (1) unless 48 hours notice is given to the party or parties named in the application or the urgency of the situation is such that service of notice would not be in the public interest.

Defence

Defence

312. In a prosecution for a contravention of a provision of Division V of Part VII by a company engaged in the business of assem bling or altering vehicles, it is a defence for the company to establish that the contravention occurred as a result of work previously done on a vehicle by another company engaged in the manufacture of the vehicle.

PART XI

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS

Disclosure of Information

Request for confidentia-
lity

313. (1) A person who provides information to the Minister under this Act, or to a board of review in respect of a notice of objection filed under this Act, may submit with the informa tion a request that it be treated as confidential.

Contents of request

(2) A request under subsection (1) shall be submitted in writing and contain such supple mentary information as may be prescribed.

Prohibition of disclosure

314. The Minister shall not disclose any information in respect of which a request for confidentiality has been made under section 313, except in accordance with section 315, 316 or 317.

Disclosure by Minister for public interest

315. (1) The Minister may disclose in formation, other than information in respect of which section 318 applies, where

    (a) the disclosure is in the interest of public health, public safety or the protection of the environment; and

    (b) the public interest in the disclosure clearly outweighs in importance

      (i) any material financial loss or preju dice to the competitive position of the person who provided the information or on whose behalf it was provided; and

      (ii) any damage to the privacy, reputation or human dignity of any individual that may result from the disclosure.

Notice of disclosure

(2) Subject to subsection (3), at least 24 hours before disclosing any information under subsection (1), the Minister shall give notice of the proposed disclosure to the person who provided the information or on whose behalf it was provided.

Exception

(3) Notice under subsection (2)

    (a) is not required where the person to whom it is to be given cannot be found after reasonable efforts have been made to do so; or

    (b) may be given later than the time required by that subsection where an emer gency exists.

Certain purposes for which information may be disclosed

316. (1) Information may be disclosed

    (a) with the written consent of the person who provided it or on whose behalf it was provided;

    (b) as may be necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act;

    (c) under an agreement or arrangement between the Government of Canada or any of its institutions and any other government in Canada, the government of a foreign state or an international organization or any of its institutions, or between the Minister and any other minister of the Crown in right of Canada, where

      (i) the purpose of the agreement or arrangement is the administration or enforcement of any law, and

      (ii) the government, international orga nization, institution or other minister undertakes to keep the information confi dential;

    (d) under an agreement or arrangement between the Government of Canada and the government of a foreign state or an interna tional organization; or

    (e) to a physician or prescribed medical professional who requests the information for the purpose of making a medical diagnosis of, or rendering medical treat ment to, a person in an emergency.

Disclosure by physician, etc.

(2) A physician or prescribed medical professional to whom information has been disclosed under paragraph (1)(e) shall not disclose the information except as may be necessary for the purposes referred to in that paragraph.

Disclosure of personal information

(3) Personal information as defined in section 3 of the Privacy Act may not be disclosed under paragraph (1)(b) or (c) unless

    (a) the disclosure is in the interest of public health, public safety or the protection of the environment; and

    (b) the public interest in the disclosure clearly outweighs in importance any dam age to the privacy, reputation or human dignity of any individual that may result from the disclosure.

Disclosure by Minister

317. (1) The Minister may disclose in formation in respect of which a request for confidentiality has been made under section 313 where the Minister determines that the disclosure would not be prohibited under section 20 of the Access to Information Act.

Application of certain provisions of Access to Information Act

(2) Where the Minister intends to disclose information under subsection (1), sections 27, 28 and 44 of the Access to Information Act apply, with such modifications as the circum stances require, and, for that purpose, that information shall be deemed to be contained in a record that the Minister intends to disclose and any reference in those sections to the person who requested access shall be disre garded.

Protection from civil proceeding or prosecution

(3) Notwithstanding any other Act of Par liament, no civil or criminal proceedings lie against the Minister, or against any person acting on behalf of or under the direction of the Minister, and no proceedings lie against the Crown for the disclosure in good faith of any information pursuant to this Act, for any consequences that flow from that disclosure, or for the failure to give any notice required under section 27 or any other provision of the Access to Information Act if reasonable care is taken to give the required notice.

Hazardous Materials Information Review Act

318. Except as provided in sections 316 and 317, information in respect of which a request for confidentiality has been made under section 313 shall not be disclosed where

    (a) a claim for exemption has been filed in respect of the information under section 11 of the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act;

    (b) the information is exempt under section 19 of that Act from the requirement in respect of which the exemption is claimed; and

    (c) the person claiming the exemption has disclosed the contents of the claim to the Minister.

Regulations

319. The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing

    (a) information that shall accompany a request made under section 313; and

    (b) medical professionals for the purposes of paragraph 316(1)(e).

non-
disclosure by Minister of National Defence

320. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Minister of National Defence may refuse to disclose under this Part any information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be injurious to the defence or security of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada.

Security requirements for disclosure

321. Any person who receives, obtains or has access to information under this Act shall comply with any security requirements appli cable to, and take any oath of secrecy required to be taken by, persons who normally have access to and use of the information.