Bill C-6

1st Session, 38th Parliament,

53 Elizabeth II, 2004

house of commons of canada

BILL C-6

An Act to establish the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and to amend or repeal certain Acts

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Act.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT

2. (1) There is established a department of the Government of Canada, called the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, over which the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, appointed by commission under the Great Seal, presides.

(2) The Minister holds office during pleasure and has the management and direction of the Department.

3. The Governor in Council may appoint a Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to hold office during pleasure and to be the deputy head of the Department.

POWERS, DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE MINISTER

4. (1) The powers, duties and functions of the Minister extend to and include all matters over which Parliament has jurisdiction — and that have not been assigned by law to another department, board or agency of the Government of Canada — relating to public safety and emergency preparedness.

(2) The Minister shall, at the national level, exercise leadership relating to public safety and emergency preparedness.

5. The Minister shall coordinate the activities of the entities for which the Minister is responsible, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Firearms Centre, the Correctional Service of Canada and the National Parole Board, and establish strategic priorities for those entities relating to public safety and emergency preparedness.

6. (1) In exercising his or her powers and in performing his or her duties and functions and with due regard to the powers conferred on the provinces and territories, the Minister may

(a) initiate, recommend, coordinate, implement or promote policies, programs or projects relating to public safety and emergency preparedness;

(b) cooperate with any province, foreign state, international organization or any other entity;

(c) make grants or contributions; and

(d) facilitate the sharing of information, where authorized, to promote public safety objectives.

(2) The Minister may establish advisory and other committees and provide for their membership, duties, functions and operation.

(3) Members of a committee shall be paid, in connection with their work for the committee, the remuneration that may be fixed by the Governor in Council.

(4) Members of a committee are entitled to be reimbursed, in accordance with Treasury Board directives, the travel, living and other expenses incurred in connection with their work for the committee while absent, in the case of full-time members, from their ordinary place of work or, in the case of part-time members, from their ordinary place of residence.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

7. (1) Any person who holds the office of Solicitor General of Canada or Deputy Solicitor General of Canada on the day on which this section comes into force is deemed to have been appointed under this Act as Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness or Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness respectively from and after that day.

(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the status of an employee who, immediately before the coming into force of this section, occupied a position in the Department of the Solicitor General, except that the employee, on the coming into force of this section, occupies that position in the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

(3) In subsection (2), “employee” has the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Public Service Employment Act.

8. (1) Any power, duty or function that, immediately before the coming into force of this section, was vested in or exercisable by the Solicitor General of Canada, the Deputy Solicitor General of Canada or any officer of the Department of the Solicitor General under any Act, order, rule or regulation, or any contract, lease, licence or other document, is, on the coming into force of this section, vested in and exercisable by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness or the appropriate officer of the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, as the case may be, unless the Governor in Council by order designates another Minister, Deputy Minister or officer of the public service of Canada to exercise that power, duty or function.

(2) Any amount appropriated, for the fiscal year in which this section comes into force, by an appropriation Act based on the Estimates for that year for defraying the charges and expenses of the public service of Canada within the Department of the Solicitor General and that, on the day on which this section comes into force, is unexpended, is deemed, on that day, to be an amount appropriated for defraying the charges and expenses of the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS

Access to Information Act

9. Schedule I to the Access to Information Act is amended by striking out the following under the heading “Departments and Ministries of State”:

Department of the Solicitor General

10. Schedule I to the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order under the heading “Departments and Ministries of State”:

Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Act

11. Section 15 of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Act is replaced by the following:

15. The Deputy Minister of Health and the Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, or a delegate of each of those Deputy Ministers, are entitled to receive notice of all meetings of the Board and any of its committees and to attend and take part in, but not to vote at, those meetings.

Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal Act

12. Subsection 7(2) of the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal Act is replaced by the following:

(2) The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness shall nominate for award of the Medal those persons who are qualified and who are members or former members of a Canadian police force.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act

13. The definition “Deputy Minister” in section 2 of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act is replaced by the following:

“Deputy Minister” means the Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and includes any person acting for or on behalf of the Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness;

Citizenship Act

14. Section 19.3 of the Citizenship Act is replaced by the following:

19.3 The person appointed under subsection 19.1(1) must, not later than September 30, submit to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness a report of the activities of the person during the preceding fiscal year and that Minister must cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after the day on which the Minister receives it.

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act

15. (1) The portion of subsection 55(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act before paragraph (b) is replaced by the following:

(2) The Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, may make regulations that pertain to investigations and other law enforcement activities conducted under this Act by a member of a police force and other persons acting under the direction and control of a member and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations

(a) authorizing the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness or the provincial minister responsible for policing in a province, as the case may be, to designate a police force within their jurisdiction for the purposes of this subsection;

(2) The portion of subsection 55(2.1) of the Act before paragraph (b) is replaced by the following:

(2.1) The Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, may, for the purpose of an investigation or other law enforcement activity conducted under another Act of Parliament, make regulations authorizing a member of a police force or other person under the direction and control of such a member to commit an act or omission — or authorizing a member of a police force to direct the commission of an act or omission — that would otherwise constitute an offence under Part I or the regulations and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations

(a) authorizing the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness or the provincial minister responsible for policing in a province, as the case may be, to designate a police force within their jurisdiction for the purposes of this subsection;

16. Section 57 of the Act is replaced by the following:

57. The Minister’s powers, duties or functions under this Act or the regulations — and those of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness under the regulations — may be exercised or performed by any person designated, or any person occupying a position designated, for that purpose by the relevant Minister.

Corrections and Conditional Release Act

17. The definition “ministre” in section 157 of the French version of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act is replaced by the following:

Criminal Code

18. (1) Subsections 83.05(1.1) to (4) of the Criminal Code are replaced by the following:

(1.1) The Minister may make a recommendation referred to in subsection (1) only if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that the entity to which the recommendation relates is an entity referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b).

(2) On application in writing by a listed entity, the Minister shall decide whether there are reasonable grounds to recommend to the Governor in Council that the applicant no longer be a listed entity.

(3) If the Minister does not make a decision on the application referred to in subsection (2) within 60 days after receipt of the application, he or she is deemed to have decided to recommend that the applicant remain a listed entity.

(4) The Minister shall give notice without delay to the applicant of any decision taken or deemed to have been taken respecting the application referred to in subsection (2).

(2) Paragraph 83.05(6)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(a) examine, in private, any security or criminal intelligence reports considered in listing the applicant and hear any other evidence or information that may be presented by or on behalf of the Minister and may, at his or her request, hear all or part of that evidence or information in the absence of the applicant and any counsel representing the applicant, if the judge is of the opinion that the disclosure of the information would injure national security or endanger the safety of any person;

(3) Subsections 83.05(7) to (10) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(7) The Minister shall cause to be published, without delay, in the Canada Gazette notice of a final order of a court that the applicant no longer be a listed entity.

(8) A listed entity may not make another application under subsection (2), except if there has been a material change in its circumstances since the time when the entity made its last application or if the Minister has completed the review under subsection (9).

(9) Two years after the establishment of the list referred to in subsection (1), and every two years after that, the Minister shall review the list to determine whether there are still reasonable grounds, as set out in subsection (1), for an entity to be a listed entity and make a recommendation to the Governor in Council as to whether the entity should remain a listed entity. The review does not affect the validity of the list.

(10) The Minister shall complete the review as soon as possible and in any event, no later than 120 days after its commencement. After completing the review, he or she shall cause to be published, without delay, in the Canada Gazette notice that the review has been completed.

19. Subsections 83.06(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:

83.06 (1) For the purposes of subsection 83.05(6), in private and in the absence of the applicant or any counsel representing it,

(a) the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness may make an application to the judge for the admission of information obtained in confidence from a government, an institution or an agency of a foreign state, from an international organization of states or from an institution or an agency of an international organization of states; and

(b) the judge shall examine the information and provide counsel representing the Minister with a reasonable opportunity to be heard as to whether the information is relevant but should not be disclosed to the applicant or any counsel representing it because the disclosure would injure national security or endanger the safety of any person.

(2) The information shall be returned to counsel representing the Minister and shall not be considered by the judge in making the determination under paragraph 83.05(6)(d), if

(a) the judge determines that the information is not relevant;

(b) the judge determines that the information is relevant but should be summarized in the statement to be provided under paragraph 83.05(6)(b); or

(c) the Minister withdraws the application.

20. Section 83.07 of the Act is replaced by the following:

83.07 (1) An entity claiming not to be a listed entity may apply to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness for a certificate stating that it is not a listed entity.

(2) The Minister shall, within 15 days after receiving the application, issue a certificate if he or she is satisfied that the applicant is not a listed entity.

21. Subsections 83.09(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:

83.09 (1) The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, or a person designated by him or her, may authorize any person in Canada or any Canadian outside Canada to carry out a specified activity or transaction that is prohibited by section 83.08, or a class of such activities or transactions.

(2) The Minister, or a person designated by him or her, may make the authorization subject to any terms and conditions that are required in their opinion and may amend, suspend, revoke or reinstate it.

22. The portion of subsection 185(1) of the Act before paragraph (b) is replaced by the following:

185. (1) An application for an authorization to be given under section 186 shall be made ex parte and in writing to a judge of a superior court of criminal jurisdiction or a judge as defined in section 552 and shall be signed by the Attorney General of the province in which the application is made or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness or an agent specially designated in writing for the purposes of this section by

(a) the Minister personally or the Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness personally, if the offence under investigation is one in respect of which proceedings, if any, may be instituted at the instance of the Government of Canada and conducted by or on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada, or

23. The portion of subsection 186(6) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

(6) Renewals of an authorization may be given by a judge of a superior court of criminal jurisdiction or a judge as defined in section 552 on receipt by him or her of an ex parte application in writing signed by the Attorney General of the province in which the application is made or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness — or an agent specially designated in writing for the purposes of section 185 by the Minister or the Attorney General, as the case may be — accompanied by an affidavit of a peace officer or public officer deposing to the following matters:

24. Subsection 187(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(2) An order under subsection (1.2), (1.3), (1.4) or (1.5) made with respect to documents relating to an application made pursuant to section 185 or subsection 186(6) or 196(2) may only be made after the Attorney General or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness by whom or on whose authority the application for the authorization to which the order relates was made has been given an opportunity to be heard.

25. Subsections 196(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:

196. (1) The Attorney General of the province in which an application under subsection 185(1) was made or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness if the application was made by or on behalf of that Minister shall, within 90 days after the period for which the authorization was given or renewed or within such other period as is fixed pursuant to subsection 185(3) or subsection (3) of this section, notify in writing the person who was the object of the interception pursuant to the authorization and shall, in a manner prescribed by regulations made by the Governor in Council, certify to the court that gave the authorization that the person has been so notified.

(2) The running of the 90 days referred to in subsection (1), or of any other period fixed pursuant to subsection 185(3) or subsection (3) of this section, is suspended until any application made by the Attorney General or the Minister to a judge of a superior court of criminal jurisdiction or a judge as defined in section 552 for an extension or a subsequent extension of the period for which the authorization was given or renewed has been heard and disposed of.

DNA Identification Act

26. Section 13.1 of the DNA Identification Act is replaced by the following:

13.1 (1) The Commissioner shall, within three months after the end of each fiscal year, submit to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness a report on the operations of the national DNA data bank for the year.

(2) The Minister shall cause the report of the Commissioner to be tabled in each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after he or she receives it.

Financial Administration Act

27. Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act is amended by striking out the following:

Department of the Solicitor General

28. Schedule I to the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Firearms Act

29. The definition “federal Minister” in subsection 2(1) of the Firearms Act is replaced by the following:

“federal Minister” means the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness;

Privacy Act

30. The schedule to the Privacy Act is amended by striking out the following under the heading “Departments and Ministries of State”:

Department of the Solicitor General

31. The schedule to the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order under the heading “Departments and Ministries of State”:

Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Public Sector Compensation Act

32. Schedule I to the Public Sector Compensation Act is amended by striking out the following under the heading “Departments”:

Department of the Solicitor General

33. Schedule I to the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order under the heading “Departments”:

Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Terminology Changes

34. (1) Unless the context requires otherwise, every reference to “Solicitor General of Canada”, “Solicitor General” or “Solicitor General of Canada to be styled Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness” is replaced by a reference to the “Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness” in any Act of Parliament, and more particularly wherever it occurs in the following provisions:

(a) subsection 28(2) of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority Act;

(b) the definition “Minister” in section 2 of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act;

(c) the definition “Minister” in section 3 of the Charities Registration (Security Information) Act;

(d) section 61 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act;

(e) the definition “Minister” in subsection 2(1) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act;

(f) in the Criminal Code,

(i) subparagraph (b)(i) of the definition “justice system participant” in section 2,

(ii) paragraph (a) of the definition “competent authority” in subsection 25.1(1),

(iii) subsection 83.05(1),

(iv) the portion of subsection 83.31(3) before paragraph (a),

(v) subsection 185(2),

(vi) subsection 186(5),

(vii) paragraph 188(1)(a),

(viii) subsections 191(2) and (3),

(ix) the portion of subsection 195(1) before paragraph (a),

(x) subsection 195(4),

(xi) subsection 461(2),

(xii) subsection 667(5),

(xiii) subsection 672.68(1), and

(xiv) Forms 44 and 45;

(g) the definition “Minister” in subsection 2(1) of the Criminal Records Act;

(h) subsection 5(1) of the DNA Identification Act;

(i) paragraph 41(6)(a) of the Employment Equity Act;

(j) subsections 66(4) and (5) of the Excise Act;

(k) subsection 10(1) of the Excise Act, 2001;

(l) in the Extradition Act,

(i) subsection 66(10), and

(ii) subparagraph 77(b)(i);

(m) column II of Schedule I.1 to the Financial Administration Act;

(n) subsection 10.1(4) of the Foreign Missions and International Organizations Act;

(o) in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act,

(i) the heading before section 76,

(ii) subsection 77(1), and

(iii) subsection 82(1);

(p) the portion of subsection 273.6(2) of the National Defence Act before paragraph (a);

(q) subsection 60.1(1) of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act;

(r) in the Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act,

(i) subsection 4(3),

(ii) subsection 10(1),

(iii) subsection 14(1),

(iv) subsection 25(1),

(v) subsection 36(6),

(vi) subsection 37(3),

(vii) subsection 39(8),

(viii) subsection 44(2),

(ix) subsection 45(1),

(x) section 47, and

(xi) subsection 48(1);

(s) the definition “Minister” in subsection 2(1) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act;

(t) in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act,

(i) the definition “Minister” in subsection 3(1),

(ii) the portion of subsection 32.12(1) before paragraph (a),

(iii) the portion of subsection 32.13(1) before paragraph (a), and

(iv) section 32.14;

(u) paragraph 4(2)(k) of the Salaries Act;

(v) subsection 6(2) of the Security Offences Act;

(w) section 29 of the Statistics Act;

(x) the definition “Minister” in section 2 of the Transfer of Offenders Act; and

(y) the definition “Minister” in section 2 of the Witness Protection Program Act.

(2) In paragraphs 78(e) and (f) of the English version of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the reference to “Solicitor General of Canada” is replaced by a reference to “Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness”.

COORDINATING AMENDMENTS

35. (1) In this section, “other Act” means the International Transfer of Offenders Act, chapter 21 of the Statutes of Canada, 2004.

(2) If paragraph 34(1)(x) of this Act comes into force before, or on the same day as, section 1 of the other Act, then, on the coming into force of that paragraph 34(1)(x), the definition “Minister” in section 2 of the other Act is replaced by the following:

“Minister” means the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

(3) If section 1 of the other Act comes into force before the coming into force of paragraph 34(1)(x) of this Act, then, on the coming into force of that section 1 of the other Act, paragraph 34(1)(x) is replaced by the following:

(x) the definition “Minister” in section 2 of the International Transfer of Offenders Act; and

36. On the later of the coming into force of section 224 of the Public Service Modernization Act, chapter 22 of the Statutes of Canada, 2003, and the coming into force of section 8 of this Act, any reference to “public service of Canada” in section 8 of the English version of this Act is replaced by a reference to “federal public administration”.

REPEAL

37. The Department of the Solicitor General Act is repealed.

COMING INTO FORCE

38. This Act, other than sections 35 and 36, comes into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.