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Bill C-279

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First Reading

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1st Session, 39th Parliament,

55 Elizabeth II, 2006

house of commons of canada

BILL C-279

An Act to amend the DNA Identification Act (establishment of indexes)

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

1998, c. 37

DNA IDENTIFICATION ACT

1. Section 2 of the DNA Identification Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

“human remains”
« restes humains »

“human remains” means the remains of persons who have died but cannot be identified.

“relative”
« parent »

“relative” includes any one of the following persons, namely, the spouse, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, child, grandchild, brother, sister or other next of kin of a missing person.

2. Section 3 of the Act is replaced by the following:

Purpose

3. The purpose of this Act is to establish a national DNA data bank to help law enforcement agencies

(a) identify persons alleged to have committed designated offences, including those committed before the coming into force of this Act; and

(b) identify persons reported missing by comparing each missing person’s DNA profile or that of the person’s relative with other profiles held in the data bank.

3. Section 4 of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a):

(a.1) the identification of missing persons, especially those believed to have been victims of crime, often helps bring relief and comfort to their relatives;

4. (1) Subsection 5(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Establishment

5. (1) The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness shall, for the purpose set out in section 3, establish a national DNA data bank, to be maintained by the Commissioner, consisting of a crime scene index, a convicted offenders index, a human remains index and a missing persons index, and containing other information.

(2) Section 5 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (4):

Human remains index

(4.1) The human remains index shall contain DNA profiles derived from bodily substances of persons who have died but cannot be identified.

Missing persons index

(4.2) The missing persons index shall contain DNA profiles derived from bodily substances, or objects from which those substances can be derived, of missing persons or, where applicable, a relative of the missing persons.

(3) Section 5 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5):

Missing persons information

(6) Where a person is reported to a law enforcement agency as missing, the Commissioner may, if the Commissioner believes that a DNA profile may assist in the search for and identification of the missing person, ask a relative of the person

(a) to consent to the collection and testing of bodily substances from the missing person in order to derive the DNA profile of the person;

(b) to provide an object from which the DNA profile of the person can be derived; and

Duty to inform

(7) The Commissioner shall not use any DNA profile derived under subsection (6) unless the Commissioner explains to the relative who gave the consent, or provided the object or sample, that the DNA profile is to be used only for the purpose of searching for and identifying the person reported missing, and obtains the written consent of the relative to use the DNA profile.

Authorized use

(8) The Commissioner shall compare the DNA profile derived under subsection (6) with the other DNA profiles in the data bank to determine whether any one of those profiles is that of the missing person, and may, for the purposes of investigation, communicate that information to a law enforcement agency or laboratory that the Commissioner considers appropriate.

No criminal or civil liability

(9) No criminal or civil liability is incurred by the Commissioner or those acting under the Commissioner’s direction for anything done in the performance of their duties for the purposes of this Act.

Destruction of DNA profiles

(10) The Commissioner shall destroy all DNA profiles, objects and samples of the bodily substances of the missing person or their relative once the missing person has been identified and found to be alive.

COMING INTO FORCE

Order in council

5. The provisions of this Act come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons

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