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Bill C-42

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2001, c. 26

Canada Shipping Act, 2001

113. The Canada Shipping Act, 2001 is amended by adding the following after section 10:

Interim Orders

Interim orders

10.1 (1) The Minister of Transport or the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, or both, may make an interim order that contains any of the following provisions, if the Minister or Ministers, as the case may be, believe that immediate action is required to deal with a significant risk, direct or indirect, to safety, security or the environment:

    (a) in the case of the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, any provision that may be contained in a regulation made under paragraph 4(a) or subsection 136(2);

    (b) in the case of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, any provision that may be contained in a regulation made under subsection 35(3), Part 5, except subsection 136(2), or Part 7, 8 or 10; and

    (c) in the case of the Minister of Transport, any provision that may be contained in a regulation made under paragraph 4(b), section 7, subsection 35(1) or Part 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11 or 12.

Cessation of effect

(2) An interim order has effect from the time that it is made but ceases to have effect on the earliest of

    (a) 90 days after it is made, unless it is approved by the Governor in Council,

    (b) the day on which it is repealed,

    (c) the day on which a regulation made under this Act, that has the same effect as the interim order, comes into force, and

    (d) one year after the interim order is made or any shorter period that may be specified in the interim order.

Contravention of unpublished order

(3) No person or vessel shall be convicted of an offence consisting of a contravention of an interim order that, at the time of the alleged contravention, had not been published in the Canada Gazette unless it is proved that, at the time of the alleged contravention, the person or vessel had been notified of the interim order or reasonable steps had been taken to bring the purport of the interim order to the notice of those persons or vessels likely to be affected by it.

Exemption from Statutory Instruments Act

(4) An interim order

    (a) is exempt from the application of sections 3, 5 and 11 of the Statutory Instruments Act; and

    (b) shall be published in the Canada Gazette within 23 days after it is made.

Deeming

(5) For the purpose of any provision of this Act other than this section, any reference to regulations made under this Act is deemed to include interim orders, and any reference to a regulation made under a specified provision of this Act is deemed to include a reference to the portion of an interim order containing any provision that may be contained in a regulation made under the specified provision.

PART 19

BIOLOGICAL AND TOXIN WEAPONS CONVENTION

114. The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention Implementation Act is enacted as follows:

An Act to implement the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction

SHORT TITLE

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention Implementation Act.

IMPLEMENTATION OF CONVENTION

Definition of ``Minister''

2. In this Act, ``Minister'' means the member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada that the Governor in Council designates as the Minister for the purposes of this Act.

Purpose of Act

3. The purpose of this Act is to fulfil Canada's obligations under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction, which entered into force from March 26, 1975, as amended from time to time pursuant to Article XI of that Convention.

Publication of amendments

4. The Minister shall, as soon as practicable after any amendment to the Convention is made pursuant to Article XI of the Convention, cause a copy of the amendment to be published in the Canada Gazette.

Act binding on Her Majesty

5. This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

Prohibition

6. (1) No person shall develop, produce, retain, stockpile, otherwise acquire or possess, use or transfer

    (a) any microbial or other biological agent, or any toxin, for any purpose other than prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes; or

    (b) any weapon, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such an agent or toxin for hostile purposes or in armed conflict.

Biological defence

(2) For greater certainty, subsection (1) does not prohibit any program or activity carried out or authorized by Canada and specifically designed to protect or defend humans, animals or plants against the use of any microbial or other biological agent or toxin for hostile purposes or in armed conflict, or to detect or assess the impact of such use.

Authorization under regulations

7. (1) Except as authorized under the regulations or any Act of Parliament, no person shall develop, produce, retain, stockpile, otherwise acquire or possess, use or transfer any microbial or other biological agent or toxin identified in the regulations.

Exportation or importation

(2) Except as authorized under the Export and Import Permits Act or any other Act of Parliament, no person shall export or import a microbial or other biological agent or toxin identified in the regulations made under this Act.

ENFORCEMENT

Responsible authority

8. (1) The Minister may designate any person or class of persons to be the responsible authority for the purposes of this Act.

Representativ es of responsible authority

(2) The Minister may designate persons or classes of persons to act as representatives of the responsible authority.

Designation of inspectors

9. The Minister may designate persons or classes of persons as inspectors for the purpose of the enforcement of this Act after consulting any other Minister who has powers in relation to inspections for biological agents or toxins.

Certificates of designation

10. (1) An inspector or a representative of the responsible authority shall be given a certificate of designation and shall, on entering any place under this Act, produce the certificate at the request of any individual in charge of that place.

Statutory Instruments Act

(2) A certificate of designation is not a statutory instrument for purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act.

Entry and inspection

11. (1) Subject to subsection (5), for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act, an inspector may enter and inspect, at any reasonable time, any place in which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds there is

    (a) any microbial or other biological agent, or any toxin;

    (b) any weapon, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such an agent or toxin; or

    (c) any information relevant to the administration of this Act.

Powers of inspectors

(2) An inspector carrying out an inspection may

    (a) require the attendance of and question any person who the inspector considers will be able to assist in the inspection;

    (b) examine, take samples of, detain or remove any thing referred to in subsection (1);

    (c) require any person to produce for inspection, or to copy, any document that the inspector believes contains any information relevant to the administration of this Act; and

    (d) require that any individual in charge of the place take any measures that the inspector considers appropriate.

Operation of computer and copying equipment

(3) An inspector carrying out an inspection may

    (a) use or cause to be used any computer or data processing system to examine any data contained in or available to the computer or system;

    (b) reproduce or cause to be reproduced any record from the data, in the form of a printout or other intelligible output, and remove the printout or other output for examination or copying; and

    (c) use or cause to be used any equipment at the place to make copies of any data or any record, book of account or other document.

Inspector may be accompanied

(4) An inspector carrying out an inspection may be accompanied by any other person chosen by the inspector.

Warrant to enter dwelling-hous e

(5) An inspector may not enter a dwelling-house except with the consent of the occupant or under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (6).

Authority to issue warrant

(6) If on ex parte application a justice of the peace is satisfied by information on oath that

    (a) the conditions for entry described in subsection (1) exist in relation to a dwelling-house,

    (b) entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose relating to the administration of this Act or the regulations, and

    (c) entry into the dwelling-house has been refused or there are reasonable grounds to believe that entry will be refused,

the justice may issue a warrant authorizing the inspector named in the warrant to enter the dwelling-house, subject to any conditions that may be specified in the warrant.

Use of force

(7) The inspector may not use force to execute the warrant unless its use is specifically authorized in the warrant.

Detention, forfeiture and disposal

12. Sections 40 to 49 of the Health of Animals Act apply, with any modifications that may be required, with respect to

    (a) microbial or other biological agents, or toxins;

    (b) weapons, equipment and means of delivery designed to use such agents or toxins; and

    (c) any information relevant to the administration of this Act or the regulations.

Obstruction and false statements

13. (1) No person shall obstruct or hinder, or knowingly make any false or misleading statement either orally or in writing to, an inspector or a representative of the responsible authority engaged in carrying out duties under this Act.

Interference

(2) Except with the authority of an inspector, no person shall remove, alter or interfere in any way with any thing seized under this Act.

Punishment

14. (1) Every person who contravenes section 6 or 7 is guilty of an indictable offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or to both.

Punishment

(2) Every person who contravenes section 13 or 17, subsection 18(2) or section 19 or any provision of the regulations is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.

Continuing offence

15. Where an offence under this Act is committed or continued on more than one day, the person who committed the offence is liable to be convicted for a separate offence for each day on which the offence is committed or continued.

Jurisdiction

16. (1) Where a person is alleged to have committed an offence under this Act, proceedings in respect of that offence may be commenced at the instance of the Government of Canada and conducted by the Attorney General of Canada or counsel acting on his or her behalf in any territorial division in Canada, if the offence is alleged to have occurred outside the province in which the proceedings are commenced, whether or not proceedings have previously been commenced elsewhere in Canada.

Trial and punishment

(2) An accused may be tried and punished in respect of an offence referred to in subsection (1) in the same manner as if the offence had been committed in the territorial division where the proceeding is conducted.

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