Excise Act, 2001
Marginal note:Definitions applicable to confidentiality provisions
211 (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this section.
- aboriginal government
aboriginal government means an aboriginal government as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act. (gouvernement autochtone)
- authorized person
authorized person means a person who is engaged or employed, or who was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of Her Majesty to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act. (personne autorisée)
- business number
business number means the number (other than a Social Insurance Number) used by the Minister to identify
(a) a licensee or a registrant for the purposes of this Act; or
(b) an applicant for a refund under this Act. (numéro d’entreprise)
- confidential information
confidential information means information of any kind and in any form that relates to one or more persons and that is
(a) obtained by or on behalf of the Minister for the purposes of this Act;
(a.1) obtained by or on behalf of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness for the purposes of section 68; or
(b) prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a) or (a.1).
It excludes information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom it relates and, for the purposes of applying subsections (3), (8) and (9) to a representative of a government entity that is not an official, it includes only the information referred to in paragraph (6)(j). (renseignement confidentiel)
- contact information
contact information, in respect of a holder of a business number, means the name, address, telephone number, facsimile number and preferred language of communication of the holder, or similar information as specified by the Minister in respect of the holder, and includes such information in respect of one or more
(a) trustees of the holder, if the holder is a trust;
(b) members of the holder, if the holder is a partnership;
(c) officers of the holder, if the holder is a corporation; or
(d) officers or members of the holder, in any other case. (coordonnées)
- corporate information
corporate information, in respect of a holder of a business number that is a corporation, means the name (including the number assigned by the incorporating authority), date of incorporation, jurisdiction of incorporation and any information on the dissolution, reorganization, amalgamation, winding-up or revival of the corporation. (renseignements d’entreprise)
- court of appeal
court of appeal has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Criminal Code. (cour d’appel)
- government entity
government entity means
(a) a department or agency of the government of Canada or of a province;
(b) a municipality;
(c) an aboriginal government;
(d) a corporation all of the shares (except directors’ qualifying shares) of the capital stock of which are owned by one or more persons each of which is
(i) Her Majesty,
(ii) Her Majesty in right of a province,
(iii) a municipality, or
(iv) a corporation described in this paragraph; or
(e) a board or commission, established by Her Majesty or Her Majesty in right of a province, that performs an administrative or regulatory function of government, or by a municipality, that performs an administrative or regulatory function of a municipality. (entité gouvernementale)
- municipality
municipality means an incorporated city, town, village, metropolitan authority, township, district, county or rural municipality or other incorporated municipal body however designated. (municipalité)
- official
official means a person who is employed in the service of, who occupies a position of responsibility in the service of, or who is engaged by or on behalf of, Her Majesty or Her Majesty in right of a province, or a person who was formerly so employed, who formerly occupied such a position or who formerly was so engaged. (fonctionnaire)
- registration information
registration information, in respect of a holder of a business number, means
(a) any information pertaining to the legal form of the holder;
(b) the type of activities carried on or proposed to be carried on by the holder;
(c) each date on which
(i) the business number was issued to the holder,
(ii) the holder began activities,
(iii) the holder ceased or resumed activities, or
(iv) the business number assigned to the holder was changed; and
(d) the reasons for the cessation, resumption or change referred to in subparagraph (c)(iii) or (iv). (renseignements relatifs à l’inscription)
- representative
representative of a government entity means a person who is employed in the service of, who occupies a position of responsibility in the service of, or who is engaged by or on behalf of, a government entity, and includes, for the purposes of subsections (2), (3), (8) and (9), a person who was formerly so employed, who formerly occupied such a position or who formerly was so engaged. (représentant)
Marginal note:Provision of information
(2) Except as authorized under this section, no official or other representative of a government entity shall knowingly
(a) provide, or allow to be provided, to any person any confidential information;
(b) allow any person to have access to any confidential information; or
(c) use any confidential information other than in the course of the administration or enforcement of this Act.
Marginal note:Confidential information evidence not compellable
(3) Despite any other Act of Parliament or other law, no official or other representative of a government entity shall be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information.
Marginal note:Communications if proceedings have been commenced
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to
(a) criminal proceedings, either by indictment or on summary conviction, that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, under an Act of Parliament; or
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act, the Canada Pension Plan, the Employment Insurance Act, the Unemployment Insurance Act or any other Act of Parliament or law of a province that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
Marginal note:Authorized provision of information
(5) The Minister may provide appropriate persons with any confidential information that may reasonably be regarded as necessary solely for a purpose relating to the life, health or safety of an individual or to the environment in Canada or any other country.
Marginal note:Disclosure of personal information
(6) An official may
(a) provide any confidential information to any person that may reasonably be regarded as necessary for the purpose of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for that purpose;
(b) provide a person with confidential information that can reasonably be regarded as necessary for the purposes of determining any liability or obligation of the person or any refund or other payment to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act;
(c) provide, allow to be provided, or allow inspection of or access to any confidential information to or by any person, or any person within a class of persons, that the Minister may authorize, subject to any conditions that the Minister may specify;
(d) provide any person who is legally entitled under an Act of Parliament to confidential information with, or access to, that information, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information;
(d.1) provide confidential information, or allow the inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purpose of,
(i) paragraph 33.1(a) of the Old Age Security Act,
(ii) an order made under subsection 462.48(3) of the Criminal Code, or
(iii) an order made under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act to gather or send information, for the purposes of an investigation or prosecution relating to an act or omission that, if it had occurred in Canada, would constitute an offence for which an order could be obtained under subsection 462.48(3) of the Criminal Code, in response to a request made pursuant to
(A) an administrative arrangement entered into under section 6 of the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, or
(B) a bilateral agreement for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters to which Canada is a party;
(e) provide confidential information
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance solely for the purpose of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy,
(ii) to an official solely for the purpose of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy or for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Canada Pension Plan, the Employment Insurance Act, the Unemployment Insurance Act or an Act of Parliament that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty,
(iii) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of a law of a province that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty,
(iv) to an official of the government of a province solely for the purpose of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy,
(iv.1) to an official solely for the purpose of the administration or enforcement of the Canada Education Savings Act or a designated provincial program, as defined in subsection 146.1(1) of the Income Tax Act,
(iv.2) to an official solely for the purpose of the administration or enforcement of the Canada Disability Savings Act or a designated provincial program, as defined in subsection 146.4(1) of the Income Tax Act,
(v) to an official of a department or agency of the Government of Canada or of a province as to the name, address, telephone number, occupation, size or type of business of a person, solely for the purpose of enabling the department or agency to obtain statistical data for research and analysis,
(v.1) to an official of the Department of Employment and Social Development solely for the purpose of the administration or enforcement of a program established under the authority of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act in respect of children who are deceased or missing as a result of an offence, or a probable offence, under the Criminal Code,
(vi) to an official solely for the purpose of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by Her Majesty, a debt due to
(A) Her Majesty, or
(B) Her Majesty in right of a province on account of taxes payable to the province, if an agreement exists between Canada and the province under which Canada is authorized to collect taxes on behalf of the province,
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of section 7.1 of the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act,
(viii) to an official of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada solely for the purpose of enabling the Centre to evaluate the usefulness of information provided by the Centre to the Canada Revenue Agency under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act,
(ix) to an official of the Agency solely for the purpose of the collection of amounts owing to Her Majesty in right of Canada or of a province under the Government Employees Compensation Act, the Canada Labour Code, the Merchant Seamen Compensation Act, the Canada Student Loans Act, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, the Postal Services Continuation Act, 1997, the Wage Earner Protection Program Act, the Apprentice Loans Act or a law of a province governing the granting of financial assistance to students at the post-secondary school level,
(x) to an official solely for the administration or enforcement of the Cannabis Act,
(xi) to an official of the Agency solely for the purpose of the collection of amounts owing to Her Majesty in right of Canada under the Canada Emergency Business Account program established by Export Development Canada in accordance with an authorization made under subsection 23(1) of the Export Development Act,
(xii) to an official of
(A) the Agency solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Dental Benefit Act, or
(B) the Department of Health solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of policy for that Act,
(xiii) to an official of the Agency solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Rental Housing Benefit Act,
(xiv) to a person who is employed in the service of, who occupies a position of responsibility in the service of, or who is engaged by or on behalf of, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of policy for the Rental Housing Benefit Act, or
(xv) to an official solely for the purposes of a security review under subsection 83.032(10) or section 83.034 of the Criminal Code, if the information can reasonably be considered to be relevant to the security review;
(f) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of sections 23 to 25 of the Financial Administration Act;
(g) use confidential information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
(h) use, or provide any person with, confidential information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by Her Majesty in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by or engaged by or on behalf of Her Majesty to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for that purpose;
(i) use confidential information relating to a person to provide that person with information;
(j) subject to subsection (6.1), provide to a representative of a government entity the business number of, the name of (including any trade name or other name used by), and any contact information, corporate information and registration information in respect of, the holder of a business number, if the information is provided solely for the purpose of the administration or enforcement of
(i) an Act of Parliament or of a legislature of a province, or
(ii) a by-law of a municipality or a law of an aboriginal government;
(k) provide confidential information to a police officer (within the meaning assigned by subsection 462.48(17) of the Criminal Code) solely for the purpose of investigating whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the information can reasonably be regarded as being relevant for the purpose of ascertaining the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or the identity of the person or persons who may have committed an offence, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to that official,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to that administration or enforcement;
(l) provide confidential information, or allow the inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, solely for the purposes of a provision contained in a tax treaty (as defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act) or in a listed international agreement;
(m) provide confidential information to any person solely for the purpose of enabling the Chief Statistician, within the meaning assigned by section 2 of the Statistics Act, to provide to a statistical agency of a province data concerning business activities carried on in the province, if the information is used by the statistical agency solely for research and analysis and the statistical agency is authorized under the law of the province to collect the same or similar information on its own behalf in respect of such activities; or
(n) provide confidential information to a person who has — under a program administered by the Canada Revenue Agency to obtain information relating to tax non-compliance — entered into a contract to provide information to the Canada Revenue Agency, to the extent necessary to inform the person of any amount they may be entitled to under the contract and of the status of their claim under the contract.
Marginal note:Restrictions on information sharing
(6.1) No information may be provided to a representative of a government entity under paragraph (6)(j) in connection with a program, activity or service provided or undertaken by the government entity unless the government entity uses the business number as an identifier in connection with the program, activity or service.
Marginal note:Public disclosure
(6.2) The Minister may, in connection with a program, activity or service provided or undertaken by the Minister, make available to the public the business number of, and the name of (including any trade name or other name used by), the holder of a business number.
Marginal note:Public disclosure by representative of government entity
(6.3) A representative of a government entity may, in connection with a program, activity or service provided or undertaken by the government entity, make available to the public the business number of, and the name of (including any trade name or other name used by), the holder of a business number, if
(a) a representative of the government entity was provided with that information pursuant to paragraph (6)(j); and
(b) the government entity uses the business number as an identifier in connection with the program, activity or service.
Marginal note:Serious offences
(6.4) An official may provide to a law enforcement officer of an appropriate police organization
(a) confidential information, if the official has reasonable grounds to believe that the information will afford evidence of an act or omission in or outside of Canada that, if committed in Canada, would be
(i) an offence under any of
(A) section 3 of the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act,
(B) sections 119 to 121, 123 to 125 and 426 of the Criminal Code,
(C) section 465 of the Criminal Code as it relates to an offence described in clause (B), and
(D) sections 144, 264, 271, 279, 279.02, 281 and 333.1, paragraphs 334(a) and 348(1)(e) and sections 349, 435 and 462.31 of the Criminal Code,
(ii) a terrorism offence or a criminal organization offence, as those terms are defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code, for which the maximum term of imprisonment is 10 years or more, or
(iii) an offence
(A) that is punishable by minimum term of imprisonment,
(B) for which the maximum term of imprisonment is 14 years or life, or
(C) for which the maximum term of imprisonment is 10 years and that
(I) resulted in bodily harm,
(II) involved the import, export, trafficking or production of drugs, or
(III) involved the use of a weapon; and
(b) information setting out the reasonable grounds referred to in paragraph (a), to the extent that any such grounds rely on information referred to in that paragraph.
Marginal note:Threats to security
(6.5) An official may provide to the head of a recipient Government of Canada institution listed in Schedule 3 to the Security of Canada Information Disclosure Act, or to an official designated for the purposes of that Act by the head of that recipient institution,
(a) confidential information, if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the information would be relevant to
(i) an investigation of whether the activity of any person may constitute threats to the security of Canada, as defined in section 2 of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, or
(ii) an investigation of whether any of the following offences may have been committed:
(A) a terrorism offence as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code, and
(B) an offence under section 462.31 of the Criminal Code, if that investigation is related to a terrorism offence as defined in section 2 of that Act; and
(b) information setting out the reasonable grounds referred to in paragraph (a), to the extent that any such grounds rely on information referred to in that paragraph.
Marginal note:Measures to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure
(7) The person presiding at a legal proceeding relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may order any measures that are necessary to ensure that confidential information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose not relating to that proceeding, including
(a) holding a hearing in camera;
(b) banning the publication of the information;
(c) concealing the identity of the person to whom the information relates; and
(d) sealing the records of the proceeding.
Marginal note:Disclosure to person or on consent
(8) An official or other representative of a government entity may provide confidential information relating to a person
(a) to that person; and
(b) with the consent of that person, to any other person.
Marginal note:Appeal from order or direction
(9) An order or direction that is made in the course of or in connection with any legal proceedings and that requires an official or other representative of a government entity to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information may, by notice served on all interested parties, be appealed immediately by the Minister or by the person against whom it is made to
(a) the court of appeal of the province in which it is made, in the case of an order or direction made by a court or other tribunal established under the laws of the province, whether that court or tribunal is exercising a jurisdiction conferred by the laws of Canada; or
(b) the Federal Court of Appeal, in the case of an order or direction made by a court or other tribunal established under the laws of Canada.
Marginal note:Disposition of appeal
(10) The court to which an appeal is taken may allow the appeal and quash the order or direction appealed from or may dismiss the appeal, and the rules of practice and procedure from time to time governing appeals to the courts shall apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, in respect of the appeal.
Marginal note:Stay
(11) An appeal shall stay the operation of the order or direction appealed from until judgment is pronounced.
- 2002, c. 22, s. 211
- 2005, c. 38, ss. 97, 145
- 2007, c. 18, s. 117
- 2009, c. 2, s. 120
- 2014, c. 20, s. 75
- 2015, c. 20, s. 8
- 2016, c. 7, s. 75
- 2018, c. 12, s. 78, c. 27, s. 66
- 2019, c. 13, s. 126
- 2022, c. 10, s. 33
- 2022, c. 14, s. 7
- 2023, c. 14, s. 6
- Date modified: