Mr. Johns

An Act to establish a procedure for expunging certain drug-related convictions

Short Title

1 This Act may be cited as the Expungement of Certain Drug-related Convictions Act.

Interpretation

2 The following definitions apply in this Act.

Board means the Parole Board of Canada.‍ (Commission)

Chairperson means the Chairperson of the Board designated under section 104 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.‍ (président)

Powers, Duties and Functions

3 The Board may, in accordance with this Act, order or refuse to order expungement of a conviction in respect of an offence under section 4 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, as that Act read immediately before the day on which the Health-based Approach to Substance Use Act came into force, if the activity that is the subject of the offence would not have constituted an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act or any other Act of Parliament had it been conducted on or after that day.

4 The Board, subject to the approval of the Chairperson, may confer on any of its employees or class of its employees any of its powers, duties or functions under this Act.

Expungement

5 (1) If the Board orders expungement of a conviction, the person convicted of the offence is deemed never to have been charged with and convicted of that offence.

(2) Nothing in this Act has the effect of making unlawful a lawful act or omission related to the expunged conviction that was committed prior to the expungement order.

6 Nothing in this Act in any manner limits or affects Her Majesty’s royal prerogative of mercy.

7 (1) A person who has been convicted in respect of an activity described in section 3 may apply to the Board for an expungement order.

(2) An application for an expungement order must be in the form and manner determined by the Board and must include a sworn statement or solemn declaration by the applicant that the conviction in question is in respect of an activity described in section 3.

(3) No fee may be imposed in respect of an application made under subsection (1).

8 If the Board determines that an application is incomplete, the Board may return it to the applicant at any time.

9 (1) The Board must reject any application that does not relate to a conviction in respect of an activity described in section 3.

(2) The applicant must be advised in writing of the rejection of their application.

10 On receipt of an application, the Board may cause inquiries to be made

• (a) for the purpose of determining whether the applicant is eligible to apply for an expungement order under section 7; and

• (b) for the purposes of the review under section 11.

11 Subject to sections 8 and 9, the Board must review the application and the evidence gathered through any inquiries and determine whether there is evidence that the activity in respect of which the application is made is prohibited under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act or any other Act of Parliament at the time the application is reviewed.

12 Subject to sections 8 and 9, the Board must order expungement of the conviction in respect of the offence for which the application was made if the Board’s review reveals no evidence referred to in section 11.

13 Subject to sections 8 and 9, the Board must refuse to order expungement of the conviction in respect of the offence for which the application was made if the Board’s review reveals evidence referred to in section 11.

14 The Board must notify the applicant in writing of the expungement order or of its refusal to order expungement.

15 The Board must notify the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of any expungement order. The Board must also notify any superior, provincial or municipal court that, to its knowledge, has custody of any judicial record of the conviction to which the expungement order relates.

16 As soon as feasible after receipt of a notification from the Board, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police must destroy or remove any judicial record of the conviction to which the expungement order relates that is in its repositories or systems.

17 As soon as feasible after receipt of a notification from the Board, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police must provide notification of the expungement order to any federal department or agency, and to any provincial or municipal police force, that, to its knowledge, has custody of any judicial record of the conviction to which the expungement order relates.

18 As soon as feasible after receipt of a notification from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, each federal department or agency must destroy or remove any judicial record of the conviction to which the expungement order relates that is in its repositories or systems.

19 Sections 16 and 18 apply despite sections 12 and 13 of the Library and Archives of Canada Act, subsections 6(1) and (3) of the Privacy Act and any other provision of an Act of Parliament.

20 For greater certainty, sections 16 to 19 do not apply to documents submitted or produced in respect of an application under this Act.

An Act respecting the development of a national strategy to address substance use

Short Title

Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the National Strategy on Substance Use Act.

National Strategy

National strategy

2 (1) The Minister of Health must develop a national strategy to address the harm caused by problematic substance use by promoting a comprehensive public health approach.

Consultations

(2) In developing the strategy, the Minister must consult with representatives of the provincial governments responsible for health care services and key stakeholders including advocacy organizations, frontline health care providers, individuals with lived experience of substance use, harm reduction workers and experts in problematic substance use and substance use disorder.

Content

(3) The strategy must include measures to

• (a) address the harm associated with the criminalization of substance use;

• (b) ensure that interventions are founded on evidence-based best practices and address the root causes of problematic substance use;

• (c) ensure low-barrier access to a safe supply of medically regulated substances;

• (d) provide universal access to recovery, treatment and harm reduction services for problematic substance use and substance use disorder, including overdose prevention services, relapse prevention services and supervised consumption sites and services;

• (e) implement evidence-based prevention programs that address social and economic factors that contribute to problematic substance use; and

• (f) reduce the stigma associated with substance use, including through outreach and public awareness programs.

Reports to Parliament

Tabling of national strategy

3 (1) Within one year after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister of Health must prepare a report setting out the national strategy and cause it to be tabled in each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after it is completed.

Publication

(2) The Minister must publish the report on the website of the Department of Health within 10 days after it has been tabled in both Houses of Parliament.

Report

4 Within one year after the report referred to in section 3 has been tabled in both Houses of Parliament, the Minister of Health must, in consultation with the parties referred to in subsection 2(2), prepare a report on the results of the implementation of the national strategy in each province that sets out the Minister’s conclusions and recommendations, and cause the report to be tabled in each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after it is completed.

Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons