Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention Implementation Act.

Definition of Minister

2 In this Act, Minister means the member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada that the Governor in Council designates as the Minister for the purposes of this Act.

Marginal note:Purpose of Act

3 The purpose of this Act is to fulfil Canada's obligations under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction, which entered into force on March 26, 1975, as amended from time to time pursuant to Article XI of that Convention.

Marginal note:Publication of amendments

4 The Minister shall, as soon as practicable after any amendment to the Convention is made pursuant to Article XI of the Convention, cause a copy of the amendment to be published in the Canada Gazette.

Marginal note:Act binding on Her Majesty

5 This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

Marginal note:Prohibition

• 6 (1) No person shall develop, produce, retain, stockpile, otherwise acquire or possess, use or transfer

  • (a) any microbial or other biological agent, or any toxin, for any purpose other than prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes; or

  • (b) any weapon, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such an agent or toxin for hostile purposes or in armed conflict.

• Marginal note:Biological defence

  (2) For greater certainty, subsection (1) does not prohibit any program or activity carried out or authorized by Canada and specifically designed to protect or defend humans, animals or plants against the use of any microbial or other biological agent or toxin for hostile purposes or in armed conflict, or to detect or assess the impact of such use.

Marginal note:Authorization under regulations

• 7 (1) Except as authorized under the regulations or any Act of Parliament, no person shall develop, produce, retain, stockpile, otherwise acquire or possess, use or transfer any microbial or other biological agent or toxin identified in the regulations.

• Marginal note:Exportation or importation

  (2) Except as authorized under the Export and Import Permits Act or any other Act of Parliament, no person shall export or import a microbial or other biological agent or toxin identified in the regulations made under this Act.

Marginal note:Responsible authority

• 8 (1) The Minister may designate any person or class of persons to be the responsible authority for the purposes of this Act.

• Marginal note:Representatives of responsible authority

  (2) The Minister may designate persons or classes of persons to act as representatives of the responsible authority.

Marginal note:Designation of inspectors

9 The Minister may designate persons or classes of persons as inspectors for the purpose of the enforcement of this Act, and set conditions applicable to the person's inspection activities, after consulting any other Minister who has powers in relation to inspections for biological agents or toxins.

Marginal note:Certificates of designation

• 10 (1) An inspector or a representative of the responsible authority shall be given a certificate of designation, which must state the privileges and immunities applicable to the person and, in the case of an inspector, any conditions applicable under section 9.

• Marginal note:Production on entry

  (2) An inspector or a representative of the responsible authority shall, on entering any place under this Act, produce the certificate of designation at the request of any individual in charge of that place.

• Marginal note:Statutory Instruments Act

  (3) A certificate of designation is not a statutory instrument for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act.

Marginal note:Entry and inspection

• 11 (1) Subject to subsection (5), for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act, an inspector may enter and inspect, at any reasonable time, any place in which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds there is

  • (a) any microbial or other biological agent, or any toxin;

  • (b) any weapon, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such an agent or toxin; or

  • (c) any information relevant to the administration of this Act.

• Marginal note:Powers of inspectors

  (2) An inspector carrying out an inspection may

  • (a) require the attendance of and question any person who the inspector considers will be able to assist in the inspection;

  • (b) examine, take samples of, detain or remove any thing referred to in subsection (1);

  • (c) require any person to produce for inspection, or to copy, any document that the inspector believes contains any information relevant to the administration of this Act; and

  • (d) require that any individual in charge of the place take any measures that the inspector considers appropriate.

• Marginal note:Operation of computer and copying equipment

  (3) An inspector carrying out an inspection may

  • (a) use or cause to be used any computer or data processing system to examine any data contained in or available to the computer or system;

  • (b) reproduce or cause to be reproduced any record from the data, in the form of a printout or other intelligible output, and remove the printout or other output for examination or copying; and

  • (c) use or cause to be used any equipment at the place to make copies of any data or any record, book of account or other document.

• Marginal note:Inspector may be accompanied

  (4) An inspector carrying out an inspection may be accompanied by any other person chosen by the inspector.

• Marginal note:Warrant to enter dwelling-house

  (5) An inspector may not enter a dwelling-house except with the consent of the occupant or under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (6).

• Marginal note:Authority to issue warrant

  (6) If on ex parte application a justice of the peace is satisfied by information on oath that

  • (a) the conditions for entry described in subsection (1) exist in relation to a dwelling-house,

  • (b) entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose relating to the administration of this Act or the regulations, and

  • (c) entry into the dwelling-house has been refused or there are reasonable grounds to believe that entry will be refused,

  the justice may issue a warrant authorizing the inspector named in the warrant to enter the dwelling-house, subject to any conditions that may be specified in the warrant.

• Marginal note:Use of force

  (7) The inspector may not use force to execute the warrant unless its use is specifically authorized in the warrant.

Marginal note:Search and seizure

• 12 (1) An inspector is a public officer for the purposes of the application of section 487 of the Criminal Code in respect of an offence under subsection 6(1) unless otherwise provided by the conditions set under section 9.

• Marginal note:Where warrant not necessary

  (2) An inspector may exercise without a warrant any of the powers conferred by virtue of subsection (1) if the conditions for obtaining a warrant exist but, by reason of exigent circumstances, it would not be practical to obtain a warrant.

• Marginal note:Notice of reason for seizure

  (3) An inspector who seizes and detains anything shall, as soon as practicable, advise its owner or the person having the possession, care or control of it at the time of its seizure of the reason for the seizure.

Marginal note:Obstruction and false statements

• 13 (1) No person shall obstruct or hinder, or knowingly make any false or misleading statement either orally or in writing to, an inspector or a representative of the responsible authority engaged in carrying out duties under this Act.

• Marginal note:Assistance to inspectors

  (2) The owner or person in charge of a place entered under section 11 and every person present in that place shall give an inspector all reasonable assistance to enable the inspector to perform his or her duties, and shall furnish the inspector with any information related to the administration of this Act that the inspector reasonably requests.

• Marginal note:Interference

  (3) Except with the authority of an inspector, no person shall remove, alter or interfere in any way with any thing seized under this Act.

Marginal note:Punishment

• 14 (1) Every person who contravenes section 6 or 7 is guilty of an indictable offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or to both.

• Marginal note:Punishment

  (2) Every person who contravenes section 13 or 17, subsection 18(2) or section 19 or any provision of the regulations is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.

Marginal note:Continuing offence

15 Where 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.

Marginal note:Jurisdiction

• 16 (1) Where a person is alleged to have committed an offence under this Act, proceedings in respect of that offence may be commenced at the instance of the Government of Canada and conducted by the Attorney General of Canada or counsel acting on his or her behalf in any territorial division in Canada, if the offence is alleged to have occurred outside the province in which the proceedings are commenced, whether or not proceedings have previously been commenced elsewhere in Canada.

• Marginal note:Trial and punishment

  (2) An accused may be tried and punished in respect of an offence referred to in subsection (1) in the same manner as if the offence had been committed in the territorial division where the proceeding is conducted.

Marginal note:Information and documents

17 Every person who develops, produces, retains, stockpiles, otherwise acquires or possesses, uses, transfers, exports or imports any microbial or other biological agent, any toxin or any related equipment identified in the regulations shall

• (a) provide such information, at such times and in such form, as may be specified by the regulations, to the responsible authority or to any other portion of the public service of Canada specified by the regulations; and

• (b) keep and maintain in Canada the documents specified by the regulations, at the person's place of business or at such other place as may be designated by the Minister, in the manner and for the period that is specified by the regulations and, on request by the Minister or the responsible authority, provide the documents to the responsible authority or to any other portion of the public service of Canada specified by the regulations.

Marginal note:Notice for disclosure of information

• 18 (1) The Minister may send a notice to any person who the Minister believes on reasonable grounds has information or documents relevant to the enforcement of this Act, requesting the person to provide the information or documents to the Minister.

• Marginal note:Compliance with notice

  (2) A person who receives a notice referred to in subsection (1) shall provide the requested information and documents that are under the person's care or control to the Minister in the form and within the time specified in the notice.

Marginal note:Confidential information

19 No person who obtains information or documents pursuant to this Act or the Convention from a person who consistently treated them in a confidential manner shall knowingly, without the written consent of that person, communicate them or allow them to be communicated to any person, or allow any person to have access to them, except

• (a) for the purpose of the enforcement or application of this Act or any other Act of Parliament;

• (b) pursuant to an obligation of the Government of Canada under the Convention; or

• (c) to the extent that they are required to be disclosed or communicated in the interest of public safety.

Marginal note:Powers of Governor in Council

20 The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister and any other Minister who has powers in relation to biological agents or toxins, make regulations

• (a) defining biological agent, microbial agent and toxin for the purposes of this Act;

• (b) respecting conditions under which activities referred to in subsection 7(1) may be carried on, providing for the issue, suspension and cancellation of authorizations governing the carrying on of any such activity and prescribing the fees or the manner of calculating the fees to be paid in respect of any such authorizations;

• (c) identifying microbial or other biological agents and toxins for the purposes of subsection 7(1) or (2);

• (d) respecting the powers, privileges, immunities and obligations of representatives of the responsible authority who are designated under subsection 8(2) and respecting the privileges and immunities of inspectors;

• (e) respecting the detention, storage, transfer, restoration, forfeiture and disposal — including destruction — of things removed by inspectors under this Act or seized by inspectors under section 487 of the Criminal Code;

• (f) for the purposes of section 17, identifying microbial or other biological agents and toxins and related equipment, and specifying anything that is to be specified by the regulations; and

• (g) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of the Convention.