Department of Health Act (S.C. 1996, c. 8)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Department of Health Act.

Establishment of the Department

Marginal note:Department established

• 2 (1) There is hereby established a department of the Government of Canada, called the Department of Health, over which the Minister of Health, appointed by commission under the Great Seal, shall preside.

• Marginal note:Minister

  (2) The Minister holds office during pleasure and has the management and direction of the Department.

Deputy Head

Marginal note:Deputy head

3 The Governor in Council may appoint an officer, called the Deputy Minister of Health, to hold office during pleasure and to be the deputy head of the Department.

Powers, Duties and Functions of the Minister

Marginal note:Powers, duties and functions

• 4 (1) The powers, duties and functions of the Minister extend to and include all matters over which Parliament has jurisdiction relating to the promotion and preservation of the health of the people of Canada not by law assigned to any other department, board or agency of the Government of Canada.

• Marginal note:Particulars

  (2) Without restricting the generality of subsection (1), the Minister’s powers, duties and functions relating to health include the following matters:

  • (a) the administration of such Acts of Parliament and of orders or regulations of the Government of Canada as are not by law assigned to any other department of the Government of Canada or any minister of that Government relating in any way to the health of the people of Canada;

  • (a.1) the promotion and preservation of the physical, mental and social well-being of the people of Canada;

  • (b) the protection of the people of Canada against risks to health and the spreading of diseases;

  • (c) investigation and research into public health, including the monitoring of diseases;

  • (d) the establishment and control of safety standards and safety information requirements for consumer products and of safety information requirements for products intended for use in the workplace;

  • (e) the protection of public health on railways, ships, aircraft and all other methods of transportation, and their ancillary services;

  • (f) the promotion and preservation of the health of the public servants and other employees of the Government of Canada;

  • (g) the enforcement of any rules or regulations made by the International Joint Commission, promulgated pursuant to the treaty between the United States of America and His Majesty, King Edward VII, relating to boundary waters and questions arising between the United States and Canada, in so far as they relate to public health;

  • (h) subject to the Statistics Act, the collection, analysis, interpretation, publication and distribution of information relating to public health; and

  • (i) cooperation with provincial authorities with a view to the coordination of efforts made or proposed for preserving and improving public health.

Marginal note:Portfolio of the Minister — coordination and strategic priorities

4.1 The Minister shall coordinate the activities of, and establish strategic priorities for, any board or agency for which the Minister is responsible and may, subject to any terms and conditions that the Minister considers appropriate, delegate those powers, duties and functions to the Deputy Minister of Health.

Marginal note:Services between the Department and boards or agencies

• 4.2 (1) The Department may provide services to, and receive services from, any board or agency for which the Minister is responsible and any of those boards or agencies may also provide services to each other.

• Marginal note:Fees for services

  (2) The Minister may fix the fees to be paid for services provided by the Minister or the Department to any board or agency for which the Minister is responsible and any of those boards or agencies may fix the fees to be paid for services provided to the Minister, the Department or to each other, despite subsection 6(1).

• Marginal note:Amounts charged

  (3) The amounts to be recovered for services provided under subsection (1) and the manner of calculating the amounts are subject to the approval of the Treasury Board and the amount charged for a service may not exceed the cost of providing the service.

• Marginal note:Amounts received may be spent

  (4) Subject to any conditions imposed by the Treasury Board, any amounts received by the Department or a board or agency for services provided under subsection (1) may be expended, in the case of the Department, for any purpose of the Department, or, in the case of a board or agency, for any purpose of the board or agency.

Marginal note:Inspectors and analysts

5 The Minister may designate any person to be an inspector or an analyst for the purposes of any Act for which the Minister has responsibility and sections 22 to 29 and 35 of the Food and Drugs Act apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to the persons designated pursuant to this section.

General Provisions

Marginal note:Fees for services or use of facilities

• 6 (1) The Minister may, subject to any regulations that the Treasury Board may make for the purposes of this section, fix the fees to be paid for a service or the use of a facility provided by the Minister, the Department or any board or agency of the Government of Canada for which the Minister has responsibility.

• Marginal note:Amount not to exceed cost

  (2) Fees for a service or the use of a facility that are fixed under subsection (1) may not exceed the cost to Her Majesty in right of Canada of providing the service or the use of the facility.

Marginal note:Fees for products, rights and privileges

7 The Minister may, subject to any regulations that the Treasury Board may make for the purposes of this section, fix fees in respect of products, rights and privileges provided by the Minister, the Department or any board or agency of the Government of Canada for which the Minister has responsibility.

Marginal note:Fees in respect of regulatory processes, etc.

• 8 (1) The Minister may, subject to any regulations that the Treasury Board may make for the purposes of this section, fix fees in respect of regulatory processes or approvals provided by the Minister, the Department or any board or agency of the Government of Canada for which the Minister has responsibility.

• Marginal note:Amount

  (2) Fees that are fixed under subsection (1) shall in the aggregate not exceed an amount sufficient to compensate Her Majesty in right of Canada for any reasonable outlays incurred by Her Majesty for the purpose of providing the regulatory processes or approvals.

Marginal note:Consultation

• 9 (1) Before fixing a fee under section 6, 7 or 8, the Minister shall consult with such persons or organizations as the Minister considers to be interested in the matter.

• Marginal note:Publication

  (2) A fee that is fixed under section 6, 7 or 8 shall be published, within thirty days after it is fixed, in the Canada Gazette and by such appropriate electronic or other means that the Treasury Board may authorize by regulation.

• Marginal note:Reference to Scrutiny Committee

  (3) Any fee fixed under section 6, 7 or 8 shall stand referred to the Committee referred to in section 19 of the Statutory Instruments Act to be reviewed and scrutinized as if it were a statutory instrument.

Marginal note:Power to make regulations

10 The Treasury Board may make regulations for the purposes of sections 6 to 9.

Regulations and Punishment

Marginal note:Regulations

• 11 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations to give effect to and carry out the objects of this Act.

• Marginal note:Punishment

  (2) Every person who contravenes a regulation is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Interim Orders

Marginal note:Interim orders

• 11.1 (1) The Minister may make an interim order that contains any provision that may be contained in a regulation made under section 11 if the Minister believes that immediate action is required to deal with a significant risk, direct or indirect, to health or safety.

• Marginal note:Cessation of effect

  (2) An interim order has effect from the time that it is made but ceases to have effect on the earliest of

  • (a) 14 days after it is made, unless it is approved by the Governor in Council,

  • (b) the day on which it is repealed,

  • (c) the day on which a regulation made under section 11, that has the same effect as the interim order, comes into force, and

  • (d) one year after the interim order is made or any shorter period that may be specified in the interim order.

• Marginal note:Contravention of unpublished order

  (3) No person shall be convicted of an offence consisting of a contravention of an interim order that, at the time of the alleged contravention, had not been published in the Canada Gazette unless it is proved that, at the time of the alleged contravention, the person had been notified of the interim order or reasonable steps had been taken to bring the purport of the interim order to the notice of those persons likely to be affected by it.

• Marginal note:Exemption from Statutory Instruments Act

  (4) An interim order

  • (a) is exempt from the application of sections 3, 5 and 11 of the Statutory Instruments Act; and

  • (b) shall be published in the Canada Gazette within 23 days after it is made.

• Marginal note:Deeming

  (5) For the purpose of any provision of this Act other than this section, any reference to regulations made under this Act is deemed to include interim orders, and any reference to a regulation made under a specified provision of this Act is deemed to include a reference to the portion of an interim order containing any provision that may be contained in a regulation made under the specified provision.

• Marginal note:Tabling of order

  (6) A copy of each interim order must be tabled in each House of Parliament within 15 days after it is made.

• Marginal note:House not sitting

  (7) In order to comply with subsection (6), the interim order may be sent to the Clerk of the House if the House is not sitting.

Provincial Jurisdiction

Marginal note:Provincial or municipal boards not affected

12 Nothing in this Act or the regulations authorizes the Minister or any officer or employee of the Department to exercise any jurisdiction or control over any health authority operating under the laws of any province.

Transitional Provisions

Marginal note:Positions

• 13 (1) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the status of an employee who, immediately before the coming into force of this subsection, occupied

  • (a) a position in the public service of Canada in the Department of National Health and Welfare, other than in a portion referred to in clause (a)(i)(B) of Order in Council P.C. 1993-1488 of June 25, 1993, registered as SI/93-142, or in clause (a)(i)(B) of Order in Council P.C. 1993-1489 of June 25, 1993, registered as SI/93-143,

  • (b) a position in that portion of the public service of Canada in the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs referred to in Order in Council P.C. 1993-1491 of June 25, 1993, registered as SI/93-145, and known as the Product Safety Branch, or

  • (c) a position in those portions of the public service of Canada known as the Family Violence Prevention Division, the Children’s Bureau and attendant Brighter Futures programs, the Community Action Program for Children, HIV/AIDS Research and Development and the Seniors Independence Research Program, and referred to in Order in Council P.C. 1993-1667 of August 11, 1993, registered as SI/93-167,

  except that the employee shall, on the coming into force of this subsection, occupy that position in the Department of Health.

• Definition of employee

  (2) In this section, employee has the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Public Service Employment Act.