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Bill C-22

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DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

Prohibition

17. (1) Except as authorized by this section, no person in possession of information or a document obtained in confidence under this Act or the Convention shall knowingly, without the written consent of the person from whom it was obtained, communicate it or allow it to be communicated to any person or allow any person to have access to it.

Exceptions

(2) A person in possession of information or a document obtained in confidence under this Act or the Convention may communicate it or allow it to be communicated to any person, or allow any person to have access to it, if

    (a) the communication or access would be in the public interest, as it relates to public health, public safety or protection of the environment, and that interest clearly outweighs in importance any material financial loss or prejudice that could be caused to the competitive position of any person and any damage that could be caused to the privacy, reputation or human dignity of any individual; or

    (b) the communication or access is necessary for the purpose of the administration or enforcement of this Act or any other Act of Parliament or of giving effect to the Convention.

Evidence in legal proceedings

(3) Notwithstanding any other Act or law, no person may be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to produce any statement or other record containing information or a document obtained in confidence under this Act or the Convention, or to give evidence relating to it, unless the proceedings relate to the enforcement of this Act or another Act of Parliament.

DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITY

Ministerial designation

18. The Minister may designate one or more persons to exercise the powers, and perform the duties and functions, of the Minister under this Act or the Convention that are specified in the designation. That person or those persons may exercise those powers and shall perform those functions subject to such terms and conditions, if any, as are specified in the designation.

REGULATIONS

Regulations

19. (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out and giving effect to the provisions of the Convention and may make regulations prescribing anything that by this Act is to be prescribed by regulation.

Contraven-
tion of regulation

(2) A regulation made under subsection (1) may make it an offence to contravene the regulation.

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONVENTION

Amendment to schedule

20. The Minister shall, by order, amend the schedule to incorporate any amendment to the Convention as soon as is practicable after the amendment takes effect, and shall cause the amendment to be laid before Parliament on any of the first fifteen days that either House of Parliament is sitting after the order is made.

ENFORCEMENT

Punishment

21. (1) Every person who contravenes section 6 or 8 or subsection 11(2), 13(3) or 17(1) is guilty of an offence and liable

    (a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding eighteen months, or to both; and

    (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding $500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to both.

Offence under the regulations

(2) Every person who contravenes a regulation made under section 19, the contravention of which has been made an offence by that regulation, is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Forfeiture

22. (1) If a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the convicting court may, in addition to any punishment imposed, order that any thing seized by means of which or in respect of which the offence was committed be forfeited. On the making of that order, the thing is forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be disposed of as the Minister directs.

Exception

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to real property other than real property built or significantly modified for the purpose of facilitating the commission of an offence under this Act.

Limitation period for summary conviction offences

23. Proceedings by way of summary conviction may be instituted at any time within, but not later than, two years after the day on which the subject-matter of the proceedings arose.

Continuing offence

24. If an offence under this Act is committed or continued on more than one day, the person who committed the offence is liable to be convicted for a separate offence for each day on which the offence is committed or continued.

COMING INTO FORCE

Order in Council

25. This Act or any provision of this Act comes into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

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