Bill C-23

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First Reading

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	General
Annual report	86. (1) The Chairperson shall, within four months after the end of each fiscal year, submit to the Authority's members and the Minister a report of the operations of the Authority for that fiscal year.
Contents	(2) The annual report shall include the financial statements of the Authority and its auditor's opinion on them.
	Regulations
Regulations	87. The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister after consultation by the Minister with the Authority, make regulations
	(a) prescribing anything that is to be prescribed under subsection 80(1) and paragraphs 83(3)(c) and 85(2)(f);
	(b) increasing or decreasing the amount to be withheld from a loan under subsection 82(2);
	(c) respecting the imposition of charges under subsection 82(5), including the manner of calculating those charges and the share of those charges to be paid by each borrowing member; and
	(d) extending the application of this Part to any non-profit organization established to provide social welfare, housing, recreational or cultural services to first nations or their members on reserve lands and making such adaptations to the provisions of this Act as are necessary for that purpose.
	PART 5
	FIRST NATIONS STATISTICAL INSTITUTE
	Interpretation
Definitions	88. The following definitions apply in this Part.
``Institute'' « Institut »	``Institute'' means the First Nations Statistical Institute.
``other aboriginal group'' « autre groupe autochtone »	``other aboriginal group'' means an aboriginal group that was formerly a band under the Indian Act and that is a party to a treaty, land claim agreement or self-government agreement with Canada.
``respondent'' « intéressé »	``respondent'' means a person in respect of whom, or in respect of whose activities, a report or information is sought or provided under this Part.
	Establishment and Organization of Institute
Institute	89. There is hereby established an institute, to be known as the First Nations Statistical Institute, which may carry on business under the name of ``First Nations Statistics''.
Crown Corporation	90. The Institute is a Crown corporation and is governed by Part X of the Financial Administration Act, but to the extent that any provisions of this Part are inconsistent with sections 105 and 121 of that Act, the provisions of this Part prevail.
Not an agent of Her Majesty	91. The Institute is not an agent of Her Majesty.
Board of directors	92. (1) The Institute shall be managed by a board of directors, consisting of 10 to 15 directors, including the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson.
Ex officio director	(2) The Chief Statistician of Canada shall be a member of the board of directors.
Appointment of Chairperson	93. On the recommendation of the Minister, the Governor in Council shall appoint a Chairperson to hold office during pleasure for a term not exceeding five years.
Appointment of other directors	94. On the recommendation of the Minister, the Governor in Council shall appoint a minimum of eight, and a maximum of 13, additional directors to hold office during pleasure for a term not exceeding five years.
Staggered terms	95. (1) In determining the term of appointment of directors, the Governor in Council shall endeavour to ensure that the terms of no more than three directors expire in any one calendar year.
Qualifications	(2) The board of directors shall be composed of men and women from across Canada, including members of first nations, who are committed to improving first nations statistical information and analysis and who have the experience or capacity to enable the Institute to fulfil its mandate.
Status	96. The Chairperson and other directors shall hold office on a part-time basis.
Election of Vice-Chairper son	97. (1) The board of directors shall elect a Vice-Chairperson from among the directors.
Functions	(2) In the event of the absence or incapacity of the Chairperson, or if the office of Chairperson is vacant, the Vice-Chairperson shall assume the duties and functions of the Chairperson.
Re-appointme nt	98. A director may be re-appointed for a second or subsequent term of office.
Head office	99. The head office of the Institute shall be at a location determined by the Governor in Council.
First Nations Chief Statistician	100. (1) On the recommendation of the Minister, the Governor in Council shall appoint a First Nations Chief Statistician to hold office during pleasure on a full-time basis for a term not exceeding five years.
Remuneration	(2) The First Nations Chief Statistician shall be paid such remuneration as is determined by the Governor in Council.
Staff	(3) The board of directors shall determine the duties of other officers and employees and the conditions of their employment.
Staff	(4) The First Nations Chief Statistician may employ any other officers and employees that are necessary to conduct the work of the Institute.
Salaries and benefits	(5) Persons employed under subsection (4) shall be paid salaries and benefits fixed by the board of directors.
Oath of office	101. The First Nations Chief Statistician, every person employed by the Institute, every person retained under contract by the Institute and every employee and agent of a person retained under contract by the Institute shall, before commencing their duties, swear or solemnly affirm that he or she will comply with section 106 and will not without authority disclose any information acquired in the course of his or her duties that can be related to any identifiable individual, first nation, business or organization.
	Purposes
Mandate	102. The purposes of the Institute are to
	(a) provide statistical information on, and analysis of, the fiscal, economic and social conditions of
	(i) Indians and other members of first nations,
	(ii) members of other aboriginal groups, and
	(iii) other persons who reside on reserve lands or lands of other aboriginal groups;
	(b) promote the quality, coherence and compatibility of first nations statistics and their production in accordance with generally accepted standards and practices through collaboration with first nations, federal departments and agencies, provincial departments and agencies and other organizations;
	(c) work with, and provide advice to, federal departments and agencies and provincial departments and agencies on first nations statistics;
	(d) work in cooperation with Statistics Canada to ensure that the national statistical system meets the needs of first nations and Canada; and
	(e) build statistical capacity within first nation governments.
	Powers
General powers	103. (1) In furtherance of the purposes set out in section 102, the Institute may enter into agreements with aboriginal and other governments and organizations.
Particular powers	(2) The Institute may collect, compile, analyze and abstract data for statistical purposes respecting any of the following matters as they relate to first nations, to reserve lands, to Indians and other members of first nations, to members of other aboriginal groups, and to other persons who reside on reserve lands or lands of other aboriginal groups:
	(a) population;
	(b) agriculture;
	(c) health and welfare;
	(d) commercial and industrial activities;
	(e) law enforcement, the administration of justice and corrections;
	(f) finance;
	(g) education;
	(h) language, culture and traditional activities;
	(i) labour and employment;
	(j) prices and the cost of living;
	(k) transportation and communications;
	(l) electric power, gas and water utilities;
	(m) public administration;
	(n) community services;
	(o) the environment;
	(p) forestry, fishing and trapping; and
	(q) any other matter prescribed by regulation.
Publication	(3) The Institute shall publish and make publicly available statistical information collected, compiled, analyzed or abstracted under subsection (2) in a manner that does not permit the information to be related to any identifiable individual, business or organization.
Sharing of information	104. (1) The Institute may enter into an agreement with a first nation or other aboriginal group, federal department or agency, provincial department or agency, municipality, corporation or other organization for the sharing of information collected by or on behalf of either party and for its subsequent tabulation or publication.
Agreement	(2) An agreement under subsection (1) shall provide that
	(a) respondents from whom information is collected are to be informed by notice that the information is being collected on behalf of the Institute and the first nation, department, agency, municipality, corporation or organization, as the case may be; and
	(b) where the respondents object by notice in writing to the First Nations Chief Statistician to the sharing of the information by the Institute, the information will not be shared unless the first nation, department, agency, municipality, corporation or organization is authorized by law to require respondents to provide that information.
Federal data	105. (1) Subject to subsection (2), documents or records relating to first nations, Indians or other members of first nations, or to members of other aboriginal groups, that are maintained by any department, body or corporation set out in any of Schedules I to III to the Financial Administration Act that is prescribed by regulation shall be disclosed to the Institute for the purposes of this Part in accordance with an agreement referred to in subsection (3).
Exception	(2) A department, body or corporation referred to in subsection (1) is not required to disclose any information that it is required to, or may, withhold under any federal law or under any privilege at law.
Agreement required	(3) The Institute shall enter into an agreement for the collection and use of information referred to in subsection (1) with the department, body or corporation from whose documents or records it is to be obtained.
	General
Protection of information	106. (1) Except for the purpose of communicating information in accordance with the conditions of an agreement made under section 104, for the conduct of a prosecution under this Act or for the purposes of subsection (2),
	(a) no person, other than a person employed by, or under contract to, the Institute and sworn or affirmed under section 101, shall be permitted to examine any identifiable individual return made for the purposes of this Part; and
	(b) no person who has been sworn or affirmed under section 101 shall knowingly disclose any information obtained by the Institute that can be related to any identifiable individual, first nation, business or organization.
Permissible disclosure	(2) The First Nations Chief Statistician may authorize the following information to be disclosed:
	(a) information collected by persons, first nations, organizations or departments for their own purposes and communicated to the Institute, subject to the same secrecy requirements applicable to it when it was collected, and in the manner and to the extent agreed on by its collector and the First Nations Chief Statistician;
	(b) information relating to a person, first nation, business or organization in respect of which disclosure is consented to in writing by that person, first nation, business or organization;
	(c) information available to the public under an Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province;
	(d) information relating to a hospital, institution for individuals with a mental health disability, library, educational institution or other similar non-commercial institution that cannot be related to an individual to whom services were or are provided by that institution; and
	(e) a list of businesses, showing
	(i) their names and addresses,
	(ii) the telephone numbers at which they may be reached in relation to statistical matters,
	(iii) the official language in which they prefer to be addressed in relation to statistical matters,
	(iv) the products they produce, transport, store, purchase or sell, or the services they provide, in the course of their business, or
	(v) the number of persons they employ, as a specified range.
Information privileged	107. (1) Except for the purpose of conducting a prosecution under this Act, information obtained by the Institute that can be related to any identifiable individual, business, organization or first nation is privileged and shall not be used as evidence in a legal proceeding.
No compulsion to produce	(2) No person referred to in section 101 shall be required by an order of a court, tribunal or other body to give testimony in respect of any information referred to in subsection (1).
Powers of Statistics Canada	108. Nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to limit the powers and duties of Statistics Canada under the Statistics Act.