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Bill C-36

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    (c) state that the person named in the notice is a person permanently bound to secrecy for the purposes of sections 13 and 14.

Exceptions

(3) The following persons may not be designated as persons permanently bound to secrecy, but they continue as such if they were persons permanently bound to secrecy before becoming persons referred to in this subsection:

    (a) the Governor General;

    (b) the lieutenant governor of a province;

    (c) a judge receiving a salary under the Judges Act; and

    (d) a military judge within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the National Defence Act.

Service

11. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person in respect of whom a notice is issued under subsection 10(1) is a person permanently bound to secrecy as of the moment the person is personally served with the notice or informed of the notice in accordance with the regulations.

Regulations

(2) The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the personal service of notices issued under subsection 10(1) and regulations respecting personal notification of the issuance of a notice under that subsection when personal service is not practical.

Certificate

12. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a certificate purporting to have been issued by or under the authority of a Minister of the Crown in right of Canada stating that a person is a person permanently bound to secrecy shall be received and is admissible in evidence in any proceedings for an offence under section 13 or 14, without proof of the signature or authority of the Minister appearing to have signed it, and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, is proof of the fact so stated.

Disclosure of certificate

(2) The certificate may be received in evidence only if the party intending to produce it has, before the trial, served on the party against whom it is intended to be produced reasonable notice of that intention, together with a duplicate of the certificate.

Purported communicatio n

13. (1) Every person permanently bound to secrecy commits an offence who, intentionally and without authority, communicates or confirms information that, if it were true, would be special operational information.

Truthfulness of information

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), it is not relevant whether the information to which the offence relates is true.

Punishment

(3) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years less a day.

Unauthorized communicatio n of special operational information

14. (1) Every person permanently bound to secrecy commits an offence who, intentionally and without authority, communicates or confirms special operational information.

Punishment

(2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years.

Public interest defence

15. (1) No person is guilty of an offence under section 13 or 14 if the person establishes that he or she acted in the public interest.

Acting in the public interest

(2) Subject to subsection (4), a person acts in the public interest if

    (a) the person acts for the purpose of disclosing an offence under an Act of Parliament that he or she reasonably believes has been, is being or is about to be committed by another person in the purported performance of that person's duties and functions for, or on behalf of, the Government of Canada; and

    (b) the public interest in the disclosure outweighs the public interest in non-disclosure.

Paragraph (2)(a) to be considered first

(3) In determining whether a person acts in the public interest, a judge or court shall determine whether the condition in paragraph (2)(a) is satisfied before considering paragraph (2)(b).

Factors to be considered

(4) In deciding whether the public interest in the disclosure outweighs the public interest in non-disclosure, a judge or court must consider

    (a) whether the extent of the disclosure is no more than is reasonably necessary to disclose the alleged offence or prevent the commission or continuation of the alleged offence, as the case may be;

    (b) the seriousness of the alleged offence;

    (c) whether the person resorted to other reasonably accessible alternatives before making the disclosure and, in doing so, whether the person complied with any relevant guidelines, policies or laws that applied to the person;

    (d) whether the person had reasonable grounds to believe that the disclosure would be in the public interest;

    (e) the public interest intended to be served by the disclosure;

    (f) the extent of the harm or risk of harm created by the disclosure; and

    (g) the existence of exigent circumstances justifying the disclosure.

Prior disclosure to authorities necessary

(5) A judge or court may decide whether the public interest in the disclosure outweighs the public interest in non-disclosure only if the person has complied with the following :

    (a) the person has, before communicating or confirming the information, brought his or her concern to, and provided all relevant information in his or her possession to, his or her deputy head or, if not reasonably practical in the circumstances, the Deputy Attorney General of Canada; and

    (b) the person has, if he or she has not received a response from the deputy head or the Deputy Attorney General of Canada, as the case may be, within a reasonable time, brought his or her concern to, and provided all relevant information in the person's possession to,

      (i) the Security Intelligence Review Committee, if the person's concern relates to an alleged offence that has been, is being or is about to be committed by another person in the purported performance of that person's duties and functions of service for, or on behalf of, the Government of Canada, other than a person who is a member of the Communications Security Establishment, and he or she has not received a response from the Security Intelligence Review Committee within a reasonable time, or

      (ii) the Communications Security Establishment Commissioner, if the person's concern relates to an alleged offence that has been, is being or is about to be committed by a member of the Communications Security Establishment, in the purported performance of that person's duties and functions of service for, or on behalf of, the Communications Security Establishment, and he or she has not received a response from the Communications Security Establishment Commissioner within a reasonable time.

Exigent circumstances

(6) Subsection (5) does not apply if the communication or confirmation of the information was necessary to avoid grievous bodily harm or death.

Communications with Foreign Entities or Terrorist Groups

Communicati ng safeguarded information

16. (1) Every person commits an offence who, without lawful authority, communicates to a foreign entity or to a terrorist group information that the Government of Canada or of a province is taking measures to safeguard if

    (a) the person believes, or is reckless as to whether, the information is information that the Government of Canada or of a province is taking measures to safeguard; and

    (b) the person intends, by communicating the information, to increase the capacity of a foreign entity or a terrorist group to harm Canadian interests or is reckless as to whether the communication of the information is likely to increase the capacity of a foreign entity or a terrorist group to harm Canadian interests.

Communicati ng safeguarded information

(2) Every person commits an offence who, intentionally and without lawful authority, communicates to a foreign entity or to a terrorist group information that the Government of Canada or of a province is taking measures to safeguard if

    (a) the person believes, or is reckless as to whether, the information is information that the Government of Canada or of a province is taking measures to safeguard; and

    (b) harm to Canadian interests results.

Punishment

(3) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for life.

Communicati ng special operational information

17. (1) Every person commits an offence who, intentionally and without lawful authority, communicates special operational information to a foreign entity or to a terrorist group if the person believes, or is reckless as to whether, the information is special operational information.

Punishment

(2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for life.

Breach of trust in respect of safeguarded information

18. (1) Every person with a security clearance given by the Government of Canada commits an offence who, intentionally and without lawful authority, communicates, or agrees to communicate, to a foreign entity or to a terrorist group any information that is of a type that the Government of Canada is taking measures to safeguard.

Punishment

(2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years.

Economic Espionage

Use of trade secret for the benefit of foreign economic entity

19. (1) Every person commits an offence who, at the direction of, for the benefit of or in association with a foreign economic entity, fraudulently and without colour of right and to the detriment of Canada's economic interests, international relations or national defence or national security

    (a) communicates a trade secret to another person, group or organization; or

    (b) obtains, retains, alters or destroys a trade secret.

Punishment

(2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years.

Defence

(3) A person is not guilty of an offence under subsection (1) if the trade secret was

    (a) obtained by independent development or by reason only of reverse engineering; or

    (b) acquired in the course of the person's work and is of such a character that its acquisition amounts to no more than an enhancement of that person's personal knowledge, skill or expertise.

Meaning of ``trade secret''

(4) For the purpose of this section, ``trade secret'' means any information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, method, technique, process, negotiation position or strategy or any information contained or embodied in a product, device or mechanism that

    (a) is or may be used in a trade or business;

    (b) is not generally known in that trade or business;

    (c) has economic value from not being generally known; and

    (d) is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.

Foreign-influenced or Terrorist-influenced Threats or Violence

Threats or violence

20. (1) Every person commits an offence who, at the direction of, for the benefit of or in association with a foreign entity or a terrorist group, induces or attempts to induce, by threat, accusation, menace or violence, any person to do anything or to cause anything to be done

    (a) that is for the purpose of increasing the capacity of a foreign entity or a terrorist group to harm Canadian interests; or

    (b) that is reasonably likely to harm Canadian interests.

Application

(2) A person commits an offence under subsection (1) whether or not the threat, accusation, menace or violence occurred in Canada.

Punishment

(3) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for life.

Harbouring or Concealing

Harbouring or concealing

21. (1) Every person commits an offence who, for the purpose of enabling or facilitating an offence under this Act, knowingly harbours or conceals a person whom he or she knows to be a person who has committed or is likely to commit an offence under this Act.

Punishment

(2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years.

Preparatory Acts

Preparatory acts

22. (1) Every person commits an offence who, for the purpose of committing an offence under subsection 16(1) or (2), 17(1), 19(1) or 20(1), does anything that is specifically directed towards or specifically done in preparation of the commission of the offence, including

    (a) entering Canada at the direction of or for the benefit of a foreign entity, a terrorist group or a foreign economic entity;

    (b) obtaining, retaining or gaining access to any information;

    (c) knowingly communicating to a foreign entity, a terrorist group or a foreign economic entity the person's willingness to commit the offence;

    (d) at the direction of, for the benefit of or in association with a foreign entity, a terrorist group or a foreign economic entity, asking a person to commit the offence; and

    (e) possessing any device, apparatus or software useful for concealing the content of information or for surreptitiously communicating, obtaining or retaining information.

Punishment

(2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years.