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1st Session, 35th Parliament,
42-43-44 Elizabeth II, 1994-95
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The House of Commons of Canada
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BILL C-78
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An Act to provide for the establishment and
operation of a program to enable certain
persons to receive protection in relation
to certain inquiries, investigations or
prosecutions
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Her Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate and House of Commons
of Canada, enacts as follows:
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| Short title
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1. This Act may be cited as the Witness
Protection Program Act.
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| Definitions
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2. In this Act,
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``Commission
er''
« commissaire
ts»
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``Commissioner'' means the Commissioner of
the Force;
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``Force''
« Gendarmeri
e »
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``Force'' means the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police;
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``Minister''
« ministre »
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``Minister'' means the Solicitor General of
Canada;
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``Program''
« programme
»
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``Program'' means the Witness Protection
Program established by section 4;
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``protectee''
« bénéficiaire
»
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``protectee'' means a person who is receiving
protection under the Program;
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``protection''
« protection »
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``protection'', in respect of a protectee, may
include relocation, accommodation and
change of identity as well as counselling
and financial support for those or any other
purposes in order to ensure the security of
the protectee or to facilitate the protectee's
re-establishment or becoming
self-sufficient;
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``protection
agreement''
« accord de
protection »
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``protection agreement'' means an agreement
referred to in paragraph 6(1)(c) that applies
in respect of a protectee;
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``witness''
« témoin »
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``witness'' means
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(a) a person who has given or has agreed
to give information or evidence, or
participates or has agreed to participate
in a matter, relating to an inquiry or the
investigation or prosecution of an
offence and who may require protection
because of risk to the security of the
person arising in relation to the inquiry,
investigation or prosecution, or
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(b) a person who, because of their
relationship to or association with a
person referred to in paragraph (a), may
also require protection for the reasons
referred to in that paragraph.
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| Protection of
persons
involved in
law
enforcement
matters
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3. The purpose of this Act is to promote law
enforcement by facilitating the protection of
persons who are involved directly or
indirectly in providing assistance in law
enforcement matters in relation to
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(a) activities conducted by the Force, other
than activities arising pursuant to an
arrangement entered into under section 20
of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act;
or
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(b) activities conducted by any law
enforcement agency in respect of which an
agreement or arrangement has been entered
into under section 14.
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| Establishment
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4. A program to facilitate the protection of
witnesses is hereby established called the
Witness Protection Program to be
administered by the Commissioner.
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| Admission to
Program
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5. Subject to this Act, the Commissioner
may determine whether a witness should be
admitted to the Program and the type of
protection to be provided to any protectee in
the Program.
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| Admission to
Program
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6. (1) A witness shall not be admitted to the
Program unless
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(a) a recommendation for the admission has
been made by a law enforcement agency;
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(b) the Commissioner has been provided by
the witness with such information, in
accordance with any regulations made for
the purpose, concerning the personal
history of the witness as will enable the
Commissioner to consider the factors
referred to in section 7 in respect of the
witness; and
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(c) an agreement has been entered into by or
on behalf of the witness with the
Commissioner setting out the obligations of
both parties.
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| Emergency
situations
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(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the
Commissioner may, in a case of emergency,
and for not more than ninety days, provide
protection to a person who has not entered into
a protection agreement.
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| Consideration
of factors
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7. The following factors shall be considered
in determining whether a witness should be
admitted to the Program:
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(a) the nature of the risk to the security of
the witness;
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(b) the danger to the community if the
witness is admitted to the Program;
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(c) the nature of the inquiry, investigation or
prosecution involving the witness and the
importance of the witness in the matter;
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(d) the value of the information or evidence
given or agreed to be given or of the
participation by the witness;
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(e) the likelihood of the witness being able
to adjust to the Program, having regard to
the witness's maturity, judgment and other
personal characteristics and the family
relationships of the witness;
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(f) the cost of maintaining the witness in the
Program;
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(g) alternate methods of protecting the
witness without admitting the witness to the
Program; and
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(h) such other factors as the Commissioner
deems relevant.
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| Deemed terms
of protection
agreement
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8. A protection agreement is deemed to
include an obligation
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(a) on the part of the Commissioner, to take
such reasonable steps as are necessary to
provide the protection referred to in the
agreement to the protectee; and
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(b) on the part of the protectee,
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(i) to give the information or evidence or
participate as required in relation to the
inquiry, investigation or prosecution to
which the protection provided under the
agreement relates,
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(ii) to meet all financial obligations
incurred by the protectee at law that are
not by the terms of the agreement payable
by the Commissioner,
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(iii) to meet all legal obligations incurred
by the protectee, including any
obligations regarding the custody and
maintenance of children,
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(iv) to refrain from activities that
constitute an offence against an Act of
Parliament or that might compromise the
security of the protectee, another
protectee or the Program, and
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(v) to accept and give effect to reasonable
requests and directions made by the
Commissioner in relation to the
protection provided to the protectee and
the obligations of the protectee.
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| Termination
of protection
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9. (1) The Commissioner may terminate the
protection provided to a protectee if, in the
opinion of the Commissioner, there has been
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(a) a material misrepresentation or a failure
to disclose information relevant to the
admission of the protectee to the Program;
or
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(b) a deliberate and material contravention
of the obligations of the protectee under the
protection agreement.
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| Notification
of proposed
termination
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(2) The Commissioner shall, before
terminating the protection provided to a
protectee, take reasonable steps to notify the
protectee and allow the protectee to make
representations concerning the matter.
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| Reasons for
certain
decisions
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10. Where a decision is taken
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(a) to refuse to admit a witness to the
Program, the Commissioner shall provide
the law enforcement agency that
recommended the admission or, in the case
of a witness recommended by the Force, the
witness, with written reasons to enable the
agency or witness to understand the basis
for the decision; or
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(b) to terminate protection without the
consent of a protectee, the Commissioner
shall provide the protectee with written
reasons to enable the protectee to
understand the basis for the decision.
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| Disclosures
prohibited
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11. (1) Subject to this section, no person
shall knowingly disclose, directly or
indirectly, information about the location or a
change of identity of a protectee or former
protectee.
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| Application
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(2) Subsection (1) does not apply
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(a) to a protectee or former protectee who
discloses information about the protectee or
former protectee if the disclosure does not
endanger the safety of another protectee or
former protectee and does not compromise
the integrity of the Program; or
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(b) to a person who discloses information
that was disclosed to the person by a
protectee or former protectee if the
disclosure does not endanger the safety of
the protectee or former protectee or another
protectee or former protectee and does not
compromise the integrity of the Program.
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| Exception
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(3) Information about the location or a
change of identity of a protectee or former
protectee may be disclosed by the
Commissioner
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(a) with the consent of the protectee or
former protectee;
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(b) if the protectee or former protectee has
previously disclosed the information or
acted in a manner that results in the
disclosure;
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(c) if the disclosure is essential in the public
interest for purposes such as
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(i) the investigation of a serious offence
where there is reason to believe that the
protectee or former protectee can provide
material information or evidence in
relation to, or has been involved in the
commission of, the offence,
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(ii) the prevention of the commission of
a serious offence, or
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(iii) national security or national defence;
or
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(d) in criminal proceedings where the
disclosure is essential to establish the
innocence of a person.
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| Further
disclosures
prohibited
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(4) A disclosure of information made to a
person under this section does not authorize
the person to disclose the information to
anyone else.
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| Notification
of proposed
disclosure
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(5) The Commissioner shall, before
disclosing information about a person in the
circumstances referred to in paragraph (3)(b),
(c) or (d), take reasonable steps to notify the
person and allow the person to make
representations concerning the matter.
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| Exception
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(6) Subsection (5) does not apply if, in the
opinion of the Commissioner, the result of
notifying the person would impede the
investigation of an offence.
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| Factors to be
considered
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12. The following factors shall be
considered in determining whether
information about a person should be
disclosed under section 11:
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(a) the reasons for the disclosure;
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(b) the danger or adverse consequences of
the disclosure in relation to the person and
the integrity of the Program;
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(c) the likelihood that the information will
be used solely for the purpose for which the
disclosure is made;
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(d) whether the need for the disclosure can
be effectively met by another means; and
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(e) whether there are effective means
available to prevent further disclosure of
the information.
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| Use of new
identity
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13. A person whose identity has been
changed as a consequence of the protection
provided under the Program shall not be liable
or otherwise punished for making a claim that
the new identity is and has been the person's
only identity.
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