Protection of Passenger Information Regulations (SOR/2005-346)

Interpretation

1 The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

Act

Act means the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. (Loi)

advance passenger information

advance passenger information[Repealed, SOR/2016-38, s. 1]

Agency

Agency means the Canada Border Services Agency. (Agence)

commercial vehicle

commercial vehicle has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. (véhicule commercial)

day of departure

day of departure means

• (a) in the case of a commercial vehicle that carries persons or goods by air, the day of take-off from the last point of embarkation of persons before the vehicle arrives in Canada; and

• (b) in the case of a commercial vehicle that carries persons or goods by water or land, the day of departure from the last point of embarkation of persons before the vehicle arrives in Canada. (jour du départ)

enforcement database

enforcement database[Repealed, SOR/2016-38, s. 1]

intelligence official

intelligence official[Repealed, SOR/2016-38, s. 1]

passenger name record information

passenger name record information means the information that is referred to in paragraph 269(1)(e) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and is provided to the Agency. (renseignements sur le dossier passager)

PAXIS system

PAXIS system[Repealed, SOR/2016-38, s. 1]

serious transnational crime

serious transnational crime means an act or omission that constitutes an offence punishable in Canada by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least four years and that is committed

• (a) in more than one country;

• (b) in only one country but a substantial part of its preparation, planning, direction or control takes place in another country;

• (c) in only one country but an organized criminal group that engages in criminal activities in more than one country is implicated in the act or omission;

• (d) in only one country but has substantial effects in another country; or

• (e) in a country other than Canada but the offender intends to travel to or transit through Canada. (crime transnational grave)

terrorism offence

terrorism offence means

• (a) an act or omission that is committed for a political, religious or ideological purpose, objective or cause with the intention of intimidating the public with regard to its security, including its economic security, or with the intention of compelling a person, government or domestic or international organization to do or refrain from doing any act, and that is committed with the intention to

  • (i) cause death or serious bodily harm,

  • (ii) endanger a person’s life,

  • (iii) cause a serious risk to the health or safety of the public,

  • (iv) cause substantial property damage that is likely to result in the harm referred to in any of subparagraphs (i) to (iii), or

  • (v) cause serious interference with or serious disruption of an essential service, facility or system other than as a result of lawful or unlawful advocacy, protest, dissent or stoppage of work, such as a strike, that is not intended to result in the harm referred to in any of subparagraphs (i) to (iii);

• (b) an act or omission referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition terrorist activity in subsection 83.01(1) of the Criminal Code;

• (c) knowingly participating in or contributing to an activity for the purpose of enhancing a terrorist group’s ability to facilitate or commit an act or omission referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) or instructing a person, group or organization to carry out an activity for that purpose;

• (d) an indictable offence if the act or omission that constitutes the offence is committed for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group;

• (e) any of the following, if they are carried out for the purpose of committing an act or omission referred to in paragraph (a) or (b):

  • (i) collecting, using or possessing property,

  • (ii) providing or making available property or a financial or related service, or

  • (iii) inviting a person, group or organization to provide property or a financial or related service;

• (f) attempting or threatening to commit an act or omission referred to in paragraph (a) or (b);

• (g) conspiring to commit, or facilitating, instructing or counselling the commission of, an act or omission referred to in paragraph (a) or (b);

• (h) being an accessory after the fact to an act or omission referred to in paragraph (a) or (b); or

• (i) harbouring or concealing for the purpose of enabling a terrorist group to facilitate or commit an act or omission referred to in paragraph (a) or (b). (infraction de terrorisme)

terrorist group

terrorist group has the same meaning as in subsection 83.01(1) of the Criminal Code. (groupe terroriste)

time of departure

time of departure means

• (a) in the case of a commercial vehicle that carries persons or goods by air, the time of take-off from the last point of embarkation of persons before the vehicle arrives in Canada; and

• (b) in the case of a commercial vehicle that carries persons or goods by water or land, the time of departure from the last point of embarkation of persons before the vehicle arrives in Canada. (moment du départ)

Passenger Name Record Information

• 2 (1) The Agency may use passenger name record information only in accordance with these Regulations for the purposes of the Act.

• (2) The Agency may retain passenger name record information only in accordance with these Regulations for the purposes of the Act or for the purposes of program legislation as defined in section 2 of the Canada Border Services Agency Act.

• (3) The Agency may disclose passenger name record information only in accordance with these Regulations for the purposes of the Act, national security, the defence of Canada or the conduct of international affairs.

Retention, Use and Disclosure

• 3 (1) The Agency may retain the passenger name record information provided about a person until the day that is three years and six months after the day of departure of the commercial vehicle that carried or was expected to carry the person to Canada.

• (2) After the period referred to in subsection (1), the Agency may retain the passenger name record information provided about a person who was or was expected to be carried to Canada, if the information is required to identify persons who are reasonably suspected of having committed a terrorism offence or serious transnational crime, but only for as long as the information is required for that purpose and in no case longer than six years after the day of departure of the commercial vehicle that carried or was expected to carry the person to Canada.

• 4 (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (5), an official of the Agency may, for the following purposes, have access to any passenger name record information that is retained:

  • (a) to identify persons who have or may have committed a terrorism offence or a serious transnational crime; or

  • (b) to conduct a trend analysis or develop risk indicators for the purpose referred to in paragraph (a).

• (2) During the period that begins 72 hours after the time of departure of a commercial vehicle and ends two years after its day of departure, an official of the Agency may have access to the name of any person who was or was expected to be on board only for the purpose referred to in paragraph (1)(a) and only if that official confirms that the information is necessary for that purpose.

• (3) During the period that begins the day after the last day of the period referred to in subsection (2) and ends three years and six months after the day of departure, an official of the Agency may have access to the passenger name record information provided about a person who was or was expected to be on board a commercial vehicle and could serve to identify any such person only if access is authorized by the President of the Agency for the purpose of identifying a person who is reasonably suspected of having committed a terrorism offence or serious transnational crime.

• (4) During the period that the passenger name record information provided about a person who was or was expected to be on board a commercial vehicle is retained under subsection 3(2), an official of the Agency may have access to that information only for the purpose referred to in paragraph (1)(a).

• (5) For the purposes of this section, an official of the Agency may have access to passenger name record information only if their functions require it.

• (6) If access referred to in subsection (3) to the passenger name record information is authorized by the President of the Agency, the following information must be recorded in a register kept by the Agency for that purpose and that information must be retained for a period of at least two years:

  • (a) the name of the official who has requested access;

  • (b) the reasons for the request;

  • (c) the name of the person who is the subject of the request; and

  • (d) the date on which the request was made, the date on which authorization was granted by the President and the date on which the information is accessed.

5 If passenger name record information must be retained under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act for a period longer than the period referred to in subsection 3(1) or (2), as the case may be, during that longer period the information may be accessed only for a purpose for which it is required to be retained.

6 The Agency may, on a case-by-case basis, when necessary for the purposes of the Act, national security, the defence of Canada or the conduct of international affairs, disclose passenger name record information to a federal or provincial government department or another federal or provincial government authority if

• (a) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the information would be relevant to the prevention, investigation or prosecution of a terrorism offence or serious transnational crime;

• (b) the department or authority exercises functions directly related to the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of terrorism offences or serious transnational crimes;

• (c) the department or authority has undertaken to apply standards to protect the information that are at least equivalent to those set out in these Regulations;

• (d) the department or authority has undertaken not to further disclose the information without the permission of the Agency, unless required by law to do so; and

• (e) the Agency discloses only the information that is necessary for the purposes for which it is disclosed.

7 For greater certainty, nothing in these Regulations prevents the Agency from disclosing passenger name record information to comply with a subpoena, warrant or order issued by a court, person or body with jurisdiction in Canada to compel the disclosure of the information.

8 The Agency may, on a case-by-case basis, when necessary for the purposes of the Act, national security, the defence of Canada or the conduct of international affairs, disclose passenger name record information to a foreign government authority under an international agreement or arrangement if

• (a) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the information would be relevant to the prevention, investigation or prosecution of a terrorism offence or serious transnational crime;

• (b) the authority exercises functions directly related to the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of a terrorism offence or serious transnational crime;

• (c) the authority has undertaken to apply standards to protect the information that are at least equivalent to those set out in these Regulations or the standards designed to protect passenger name record information that were negotiated by that authority with the European Union; and

• (d) the Agency discloses only the information that is necessary for the purposes for which it is disclosed.