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Bill C-8

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ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Register

42. (1) The Minister shall establish and maintain a Register of Pest Control Products in accordance with the regulations, if any, that contains information about pest control products, including information about applications, registrations, re-evaluations and special reviews.

Contents of Register

(2) The Register shall contain the following information:

    (a) for each application to register or amend the registration of a pest control product,

      (i) the active ingredient of the product, proposed new uses for it or any uses proposed to be withdrawn, and

      (ii) how the application was disposed of or whether it was withdrawn;

    (b) the conditions of registration, registration number and registration validity period for each registered pest control product;

    (c) information, in respect of each registered pest control product, that is provided by applicants and registrants

      (i) in support of an application for registration or for the amendment of a registration, or

      (ii) for the purposes of a re-evaluation or special review;

    (d) information provided by applicants and registrants that is used to specify maximum residue limits;

    (e) information, in respect of each registered pest control product, that is considered by the Minister under paragraphs 7(6)(b) and 19(1)(c);

    (f) any reports of the evaluation of the health and environmental risks and the value of registered pest control products prepared by the Minister;

    (g) any advice from a person or body referred to in paragraph 44(1)(f), unless disclosure of the advice may be refused under section 23 of the Access to Information Act;

    (h) the status, including cancelled status, of all registrations to which this Act applies;

    (i) information provided to the Minister pursuant to subsection 8(5);

    (j) notices delivered under subsections 12(1), 16(3) and 18(1) and paragraph 19(1)(a);

    (k) conclusions of the Minister that were made public under section 15;

    (l) consultation statements and decision statements made public under subsections 28(2) and (5), respectively;

    (m) notices of objection filed under subsections 35(1) and (2), public notices given under subsection 35(4) and the Minister's decisions and reasons under subsections 35(5) and 39(2);

    (n) authorizations under sections 33 and 41 and amendments and cancellations under sections 34 and 41; and

    (o) any other information required by this Act or the regulations to be included in the Register.

Evaluation reports

(3) An evaluation report referred to in paragraph (2)(f) shall contain a summary of the information considered and shall contain any confidential test data and confidential business information that the Minister considers appropriate.

Public access to information in the Register

(4) The Minister shall allow the public to have access to, and copies of, any information in the Register that

    (a) is not confidential test data or confidential business information; or

    (b) is confidential test data that has been made subject to public disclosure in accordance with the regulations made under paragraph 67(1)(m).

Access to evaluation reports

(5) The Minister shall allow the public to obtain a copy of any evaluation report in the Register, except for any confidential business information that it contains.

Means of access to information in Register

(6) Information in the Register that the public may obtain a copy of under this Act or the regulations shall be made available to the public in as convenient a manner as practicable.

Electronic public registry

(7) The Minister shall establish an electronic public registry, which shall include

    (a) the information referred to in subsection (6), as soon as reasonably practicable;

    (b) memoranda of understanding among federal government departments relating to the regulation of pest control products;

    (c) reports of international harmonization activities relating to the regulation of pest control products;

    (d) regulations and proposed regulations under this Act when published in the Canada Gazette; and

    (e) policies, guidelines and codes of practice relating to the regulation of pest control products when proposed for public consultation, and their final texts when adopted.

Consultation with public

42.1 The public shall be consulted as to policies, guidelines and codes of practice relating to the regulation of pest control products.

Confidential test data

43. (1) A person who wishes to inspect confidential test data in the Register must submit to the Minister

    (a) an application in the form and manner directed by the Minister; and

    (b) an affidavit made under oath or a statutory declaration under the Canada Evidence Act made before a commissioner for oaths or for taking affidavits, stating

      (i) the purpose of the inspection, and

      (ii) that the person does not intend to use the test data, or make the test data available to others, in order to register a pest control product in Canada or elsewhere or to amend a registration.

Right to inspection

(2) The Minister shall permit the person to inspect confidential test data in the Register if the Minister is satisfied that the person does not intend to

    (a) use the test data in order to register a pest control product in Canada or elsewhere, or to amend a registration; or

    (b) make the test data available to others for the purpose of registering a pest control product in Canada or elsewhere, or of amending a registration.

Notice to registrant

(2.1) If the Minister permits a person to inspect confidential test data in the Register, the Minister shall make a reasonable effort to immediately notify any registrant who provided the data that the Minister has permitted a person to inspect the data.

Denial of application

(3) The Minister shall deny an application if the Minister is satisfied that

    (a) the applicant intends to use the test data for a purpose referred to in subsection (2); or

    (b) the applicant has used test data obtained from a prior inspection for a purpose referred to in subsection (2).

Confidential business information

(4) Subject to subsections (5) and (6), confidential business information is information provided under this Act that is designated as confidential business information by the person who provided it, or information provided under the Pest Control Products Act, chapter P-9 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, and that concerns

    (a) manufacturing or quality control processes relating to a pest control product;

    (b) methods for determining the composition of a pest control product; or

    (c) the monetary value of sales of pest control products provided to the Minister pursuant to subsection 8(5) and other financial or commercial information provided to the Minister pursuant to this Act or the regulations.

Formulants and contaminants

(5) Unless otherwise excluded by the regulations, if any, made under paragraph 67(1)(n), confidential business information also includes information that

    (a) is provided under this Act and is designated as confidential business information by the person who provided it or was provided under the Pest Control Products Act, chapter P-9 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985; and

    (b) contains the identity and concentration of the formulants and contaminants in a pest control product, other than those that the Minister considers to be of health or environmental concern and are identified on a list to be established and maintained by the Minister and made available to the public.

Designation not satisfactory

(6) If the Minister decides that information designated under subsection (4) or (5) does not meet the requirements of that subsection, the information is not confidential business information for the purposes of this Act.

Notice

(7) If the Minister decides that designated information is not confidential business information, the Minister shall give written notice to the person who provided the information of the decision and the reasons for it.

Interpretation

(8) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as

    (a) preventing the Minister from refusing to disclose confidential test data or confidential business information under the Access to Information Act; or

    (b) entitling a person to make or obtain a copy of confidential test data, other than confidential test data to which the public has access

      (i) in documents referred to in subsections 28(6), 39(2) and 42(3), or

      (ii) under the authority of the regulations made under paragraph 67(1)(m).

Offence and punishment

(9) Every person who makes a false statement in an affidavit or a statutory declaration referred to in subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable

      (a) on summary conviction, to a fine of not more than $200,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both; or

      (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of not more than $500,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than three years, or to both.

Permitted disclosure

44. (1) The Minister may, in accordance with the regulations, if any, disclose confidential test data or confidential business information that has been provided under this Act or is in the Register to

    (a) any person who provides services to Her Majesty in right of Canada for the purpose of protecting human health or safety or the environment;

    (b) an international organization or the government of a province or a country that is a party to an agreement with Her Majesty in right of Canada or an agent of Her Majesty, relating to the exchange of information about pest control products;

    (c) a medical professional who requests the information for the purpose of making a medical diagnosis or giving medical treatment to a person;

    (d) a department or an agency of the federal or a provincial government that requests the information in order to respond to a situation that endangers human health or safety or the environment;

    (e) a review panel established by the Minister under subsection 35(3); or

    (f) any other person or body, including an advisory council established under subsection 5(1), from whom the Minister requests advice for the purposes of this Act.

Protection of disclosed information

(2) Before disclosing information under paragraph (1)(b), the Minister must be satisfied that the party to the agreement, other than Her Majesty in right of Canada or an agent of Her Majesty, can provide protection from unfair commercial use or disclosure of the information that is consistent with the protection provided under this Act.

Prohibition against disclosure

(3) No person shall disclose information obtained under subsection (1) unless authorized by the person who provided the information to the Minister or unless authorized under the Access to Information Act, this Act or the regulations.

Prohibition against use

(4) No person shall use information obtained under subsection (1) for any purpose other than the purpose for which it was obtained, unless authorized by the person who provided the information to the Minister.

Offence and punishment

(5) Every person who contravenes subsection (3) or (4) is guilty of an offence and liable

    (a) on summary conviction, to a fine of not more than $200,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both; or

    (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of not more than $500,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than three years, or to both.

Security measures

(6) Every person who obtains information under subsection (1) shall comply with any prescribed security measures and take all reasonable precautions to avoid any prohibited disclosure of the information.

Offence and punishment

(7) Every person who contravenes subsection (6) is guilty of an offence and liable

    (a) on summary conviction, to a fine of not more than $200,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both; or

    (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of not more than $500,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than three years, or to both.