Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada

Search

Federal Accountability Act (S.C. 2006, c. 9)

Assented to 2006-12-12

 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 535:

Marginal note:Consultation

535.1 The Chief Electoral Officer may, before making a report under section 534 or 535, consult the Director of Public Prosecutions on any question relating to measures taken under section 511 or 512.

 Subsection 540(4) of the Act is replaced by the following:

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (4) Subsection (3) does not prohibit the Chief Electoral Officer, any authorized member of his or her staff or the Commissioner from inspecting the documents referred to in that subsection, and any of those documents may be produced by the Commissioner for the purpose of an inquiry made under section 510 or provided to the Director of Public Prosecutions who may produce them for the purpose of a prosecution — or possible prosecution — by the Director for an offence under this Act.

R.S., c. J-2Department of Justice Act

 Subsection 3(2) of the Department of Justice Act is replaced by the following:

  • Marginal note:Deputy Attorney General

    (2) The Deputy Minister is ex officio the Deputy Attorney General except in respect of the powers, duties and functions that the Director of Public Prosecutions is authorized to exercise or perform under subsection 3(3) of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act.

R.S., c. F-11Financial Administration Act

 Schedule I.1 to the Financial Administration Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order in column I:

  • Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions

    Bureau du directeur des poursuites pénales

and a corresponding reference in column II to the “Minister of Justice”.

 Schedule IV to the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

  • Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions

    Bureau du directeur des poursuites pénales

R.S., c. P-21Privacy Act

 The schedule to the Privacy Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order under the heading “Other Government Institutions”:

  • Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions

    Bureau du directeur des poursuites pénales

R.S., c. A-1Access to Information Act

Amendments to Act

  •  (1) The definitions “designated Minister”, “head” and “record” in section 3 of the Access to Information Act are replaced by the following:

    “designated Minister”

    « ministre désigné »

    “designated Minister” means a person who is designated as the Minister under subsection 3.2(1);

    “head”

    « responsable d’institution fédérale »

    “head”, in respect of a government institution, means

    • (a) in the case of a department or ministry of state, the member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada who presides over the department or ministry, or

    • (b) in any other case, either the person designated under subsection 3.2(2) to be the head of the institution for the purposes of this Act or, if no such person is designated, the chief executive officer of the institution, whatever their title;

    “record”

    « document »

    “record” means any documentary material, regardless of medium or form;

  • (2) The definition “government institution” in section 3 of the Act is replaced by the following:

    “government institution”

    « institution fédérale »

    “government institution” means

    • (a) any department or ministry of state of the Government of Canada, or any body or office, listed in Schedule I, and

    • (b) any parent Crown corporation, and any wholly-owned subsidiary of such a corporation, within the meaning of section 83 of the Financial Administration Act;

 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 3:

Marginal note:For greater certainty
  • 3.01 (1) For greater certainty, any provision of this Act that applies to a government institution that is a parent Crown corporation applies to any of its wholly-owned subsidiaries within the meaning of section 83 of the Financial Administration Act.

  • Marginal note:For greater certainty

    (2) For greater certainty, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board are parent Crown corporations for the purposes of this Act.

Marginal note:For greater certainty

3.1 For greater certainty, for the purposes of this Act, information that relates to the general administration of a government institution includes information that relates to expenses paid by the institution for travel, including lodging, and hospitality.

DESIGNATION

Marginal note:Power to designate Minister
  • 3.2 (1) The Governor in Council may designate a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada to be the Minister for the purposes of any provision of this Act.

  • Marginal note:Power to designate head

    (2) The Governor in Council may, by order, designate a person to be the head of a government institution, other than a department or ministry of state, for the purposes of this Act.

 Section 4 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):

  • Marginal note:Responsibility of government institutions

    (2.1) The head of a government institution shall, without regard to the identity of a person making a request for access to a record under the control of the institution, make every reasonable effort to assist the person in connection with the request, respond to the request accurately and completely and, subject to the regulations, provide timely access to the record in the format requested.

 The Act is amended by adding the following in numerical order:

Marginal note:Records relating to investigations, examinations and audits
  • 16.1 (1) The following heads of government institutions shall refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act that contains information that was obtained or created by them or on their behalf in the course of an investigation, examination or audit conducted by them or under their authority:

    • (a) the Auditor General of Canada;

    • (b) the Commissioner of Official Languages for Canada;

    • (c) the Information Commissioner; and

    • (d) the Privacy Commissioner.

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (2) However, the head of a government institution referred to in paragraph (1)(c) or (d) shall not refuse under subsection (1) to disclose any record that contains information that was created by or on behalf of the head of the government institution in the course of an investigation or audit conducted by or under the authority of the head of the government institution once the investigation or audit and all related proceedings, if any, are finally concluded.

 The Act is amended by adding the following in numerical order:

Marginal note:Investigations, examinations and reviews under the Canada Elections Act

16.3 Subject to section 541 of the Canada Elections Act, the Chief Electoral Officer may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act that contains information that was obtained or created by or on behalf of a person who conducts an investigation, examination or review in the performance of their functions under the Canada Elections Act.

Marginal note:
  •  (1) Paragraph 18(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:

    • (b) information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to prejudice the competitive position of a government institution or to interfere with contractual or other negotiations of a government institution;

  • (2) The portion of paragraph 18(d) of the Act before subparagraph (i) is replaced by the following:

    • (d) information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be materially injurious to the financial interests of a government institution or to the ability of the Government of Canada to manage the economy of Canada or could reasonably be expected to result in an undue benefit to any person, including such information that relates to

 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 18:

Marginal note:Economic interests of certain government institutions
  • 18.1 (1) The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose a record requested under this Act that contains trade secrets or financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that belongs to, and has consistently been treated as confidential by,

    • (a) the Canada Post Corporation;

    • (b) Export Development Canada;

    • (c) the Public Sector Pension Investment Board; or

    • (d) VIA Rail Canada Inc.

  • Marginal note:Exceptions

    (2) However, the head of a government institution shall not refuse under subsection (1) to disclose a part of a record that contains information that relates to

    • (a) the general administration of an institution referred to in any of paragraphs (1)(a) to (d); or

    • (b) any activity of the Canada Post Corporation that is fully funded out of moneys appropriated by Parliament.

 

Date modified: