Bill C-446
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1st Session, 41st Parliament,
60-61 Elizabeth II, 2011-2012
house of commons of canada
BILL C-446
An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (blood samples)
1992, c. 20
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
1. The Corrections and Conditional Release Act is amended by adding the following after section 57.1:
Taking of blood samples from inmates
57.11 The following definitions apply in this section and in sections 57.12 to 57.194.
“analyst” means any person or person of a class of persons designated by the Attorney General as being qualified to analyze blood samples for the purposes of this section and sections 57.12 to 57.194.
“designated virus” means the hepatitis B virus, the hepatitis C virus or a human immunodeficiency virus.
“justice” means a justice of the peace or a provincial court judge.
“peace officer” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Criminal Code.
“physician’s report” means a report that
(a) is made by a qualified medical practitioner who has expertise in occupational and environmental health matters and in protocols and standards of practice in respect of blood-borne pathogens; and
(b) provides an assessment of the risk to the health of a staff member described in section 57.12 as a result of coming into contact with a bodily substance of an inmate.
“provincial court judge” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Criminal Code.
“qualified medical practitioner” has the same meaning as in subsection 254(1) of the Criminal Code.
“qualified technician” means any person or person of a class of persons designated by the Attorney General as being qualified to take samples of blood for the purposes of this section and sections 57.12 to 57.194.
Application for warrant
57.12 A staff member may apply to a justice for a warrant authorizing the taking of blood samples from an inmate, in order to determine whether the inmate carries a designated virus, if the staff member believes on reasonable grounds that
(a) the staff member came into contact with a bodily substance of the inmate while in the execution of his or her duties;
(b) the staff member may have become infected with a designated virus as a result of coming into contact with the bodily substance; and
(c) by reason of the lengthy incubation periods for diseases caused by the designated viruses and the methods available for ascertaining the presence of such viruses in the human body, an analysis of the staff member's blood would not accurately determine, in a timely manner, whether he or she had become infected with a designated virus as a result of coming into contact with the bodily substance.
Appearance
57.13 A justice who receives an application under section 57.12 shall cause the staff member and the inmate in question to appear before the justice.
Issuance of warrant by justice
57.14 (1) A justice before whom a staff member and an inmate have appeared in accordance with section 57.13 may issue a warrant authorizing a peace officer to require a qualified medical practitioner to take, or to cause to be taken by a qualified technician acting under the direction of the qualified medical practitioner, such samples of the inmate’s blood as, in the opinion of the person taking the samples, are necessary to enable a proper analysis to be made in order to determine whether the inmate carries a designated virus, if
(a) the justice is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that
(i) the staff member came into contact with a bodily substance of the inmate while in the execution of his or her duties,
(ii) the staff member may have become infected with a designated virus as a result of coming into contact with the bodily substance, and
(iii) by reason of the lengthy incubation periods for diseases caused by the designated viruses and the methods available for ascertaining the presence of such viruses in the human body, an analysis of the staff member's blood would not accurately determine, in a timely manner, whether he or she had become infected with a designated virus as a result of coming into contact with the bodily substance;
(b) a qualified medical practitioner is of the opinion that the taking of the blood samples will not endanger the inmate’s life or health;
(c) the staff member has submitted to the justice a physician’s report made within seven days after he or she came into contact with the bodily substance; and
(d) the physician’s report referred to in paragraph (c) states that the analysis of the samples of the inmate’s blood is necessary to determine whether there is any risk to the staff member's health as a result of coming into contact with the bodily substance.
Examination of staff member
(2) A qualified medical practitioner who makes a physician’s report referred to in paragraph (1)(c) may require the staff member to submit to an examination or treatment for the purpose of making the report.
Issuance of warrant by provincial court judge
(3) The warrant referred to in subsection (1) may also be issued by a provincial court judge if the staff member and the inmate in question appear before the judge and the staff member establishes that
(a) he or she believes on reasonable grounds that the inmate is infected with a designated virus;
(b) there is a significant risk that staff members could come into contact with a bodily substance of the inmate and as a result become infected with such a virus;
(c) this risk prevents staff members from properly and safely exercising their duties; and
(d) a qualified medical practitioner is of the opinion that the taking of blood samples will not endanger the inmate’s life or health.
For greater certainty
57.15 No person shall take a blood sample from an inmate without his or her consent unless
(a) a warrant has been issued under section 57.14 authorizing the taking of the blood sample;
(b) the blood sample is taken by a qualified medical practitioner or by a qualified technician acting under the direction of a qualified medical practitioner; and
(c) the qualified medical practitioner is of the opinion that the taking of the blood sample will not endanger the inmate’s life or health.
No offence committed
57.16 (1) No qualified medical practitioner or qualified technician is guilty of an offence only by reason of his or her refusal to take blood samples from an inmate for the purposes of this Act.
No offence committed
(2) No qualified medical practitioner is guilty of an offence only by reason of his or her refusal to cause a qualified technician to take blood samples from an inmate for the purposes of this Act.
No criminal or civil liability
57.17 No qualified medical practitioner by whom or under whose direction blood samples are taken from an inmate pursuant to a warrant issued under section 57.14 and no qualified technician acting under the direction of a qualified medical practitioner incurs any criminal or civil liability for anything that they have done in accordance with sections 57.12 to 57.194 with reasonable care and skill.
Certificate of qualified medical practitioner
57.18 (1) On completion of the taking of blood samples from an inmate by a qualified medical practitioner or a qualified technician pursuant to a warrant issued under section 57.14, the qualified medical practitioner shall give to the peace officer responsible for executing the warrant, or to another peace officer acting on his or her behalf, a copy of a certificate
(a) stating
(i) that the qualified medical practitioner took the blood samples from the inmate mentioned in the warrant,
(ii) that, before the blood samples were taken, the qualified medical practitioner was of the opinion that the taking of the samples would not endanger the inmate’s life or health, and
(iii) the time and place where the blood samples were taken; or
(b) stating
(i) that the qualified medical practitioner caused the blood samples to be taken by a qualified technician under his or her direction from the inmate referred to in the warrant, and
(ii) that, before the blood samples were taken, the qualified medical practitioner was of the opinion that the taking of the samples would not endanger the inmate’s life or health.
Certificate of qualified technician
(2) On completion of the taking of blood samples from the inmate pursuant to a warrant issued under section 57.14, the qualified technician shall give to the qualified medical practitioner who caused him to take the samples and to the peace officer responsible for executing the warrant, or to another peace officer acting on his or her behalf, a copy of a certificate stating
(a) that the qualified technician took the blood samples;
(b) the time and place where the blood samples were taken; and
(c) that the blood samples were taken directly from the inmate referred to in the warrant.
Report of analyst
57.19 (1) On completion of the analysis of a blood sample taken from an inmate pursuant to a warrant issued under section 57.14, the analyst shall
(a) take all reasonable measures to provide a report on the results of the analysis to the inmate's physician;
(b) if the analyst succeeds in providing the report to the inmate’s physician pursuant to paragraph (a), take all reasonable measures to notify the inmate in writing that his or her physician received the report;
(c) take all reasonable measures to provide a report on the results of the analysis to the staff member's physician; and
(d) take all reasonable measures to provide to the staff member
(i) a notice in writing that the analyst has taken all reasonable measures to provide a report on the results of the analysis to the staff member's physician, and
(ii) a recommendation in writing that the staff member consult his or her physician for a proper interpretation of the results of the analysis.
Certificate of analyst
(2) On completion of an analysis of a blood sample taken from an inmate pursuant to a warrant issued under section 57.14, the analyst shall give to the peace officer responsible for executing the warrant, or to another peace officer acting on his or her behalf, a copy of a certificate stating
(a) that the analyst completed the analysis of the blood sample; and
(b) that the analyst took all reasonable measures to provide the reports and notices referred to in subsection (1).
Protection of blood sample
(3) Every analyst who receives a blood sample for analysis pursuant to a warrant issued under section 57.14
(a) shall ensure that the sample is not used for any purpose other than the analysis and the reporting of results described in this section;
(b) shall not disclose the results of the analysis to any person, except in accordance with this section; and
(c) shall not release the blood sample to any person unless the release is
(i) for a purpose described in this section, or
(ii) for the purpose of the retention of the blood sample by a person authorized by the analyst to retain the sample, to which only that person and the analyst have access.
Prohibition regarding blood sample
57.191 No person shall use or analyze a blood sample taken from an inmate pursuant to a warrant issued under section 57.14 for any purpose other than that specified in the warrant.
Disclosure of identity
57.192 Except as expressly authorized by this Act, no person shall provide another person with any information that could disclose the identity of a staff member who has made an application under section 57.11 or an inmate in respect of whom a warrant has been issued under section 57.14.
Offences
57.193 Every person who contravenes subsection 57.19(3) or section 57.191 or 57.192 is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
Evidence
57.194 The results of the analysis of a blood sample obtained pursuant to a warrant issued under section 57.14 and a certificate, report or notice provided for in sections 57.18 and 57.19 may not be received in evidence in a civil proceeding or in a criminal prosecution, except in a prosecution under section 57.193.
Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons
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Available from:
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