Marginal note:Agreements respecting mutual legal assistance
30.01 Before Canada enters into an agreement, the Minister of Justice must be satisfied that
(a) the laws of the foreign state that address conduct that is similar to conduct prohibited or reviewable under this Act are, in his or her opinion, substantially similar to the relevant provisions of this Act, regardless of whether the conduct is dealt with criminally or otherwise;
(b) any record or thing provided by Canada under the agreement will be protected by laws respecting confidentiality that are, in his or her opinion, substantially similar to Canadian laws;
(c) the agreement contains provisions in respect of
(i) the circumstances in which Canada may refuse, in whole or in part, to approve a request, and
(ii) the confidentiality protections that will be afforded to any record or thing provided by Canada;
(d) the agreement contains the following undertakings by the foreign state, namely,
(i) that it will provide assistance to Canada comparable in scope to that provided by Canada,
(ii) that any record or thing provided by Canada will be used only for the purpose for which it was requested,
(iii) that any record or thing provided by Canada will be used subject to any terms and conditions on which it was provided, including conditions respecting applicable rights or privileges under Canadian law,
(iv) that, at the conclusion of the investigation or proceedings in respect of which any record or thing was provided by Canada, the foreign state will return the record or thing and any copies to Canada or, with the consent of Canada, return the record or thing to Canada and destroy any copies,
(v) subject to subparagraph (ii), that it will, to the greatest extent possible consistent with its laws, keep confidential any record or thing obtained by it pursuant to its request, and oppose any application by a third party for disclosure of the record or thing, and
(vi) that it will promptly notify the Minister of Justice in the event that the confidentiality protections contained in the agreement have been breached; and
(e) the agreement contains a provision in respect of the manner in which it may be terminated.
- 2002, c. 16, s. 3
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