Bill C-51 (Historical)

Safer Witnesses Act

An Act to amend the Witness Protection Program Act and to make a consequential amendment to another Act

This bill was last introduced in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session, which ended in September 2013.

Sponsor

Vic Toews  Conservative

Status

This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

This enactment amends the Witness Protection Program Act to, among other things,
(a) provide for the designation of a provincial or municipal witness protection program so that certain provisions of that Act apply to such a program;
(b) authorize the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to coordinate, at the request of an official of a designated provincial or municipal program, the activities of federal departments, agencies and services in order to facilitate a change of identity for persons admitted to the designated program;
(c) add prohibitions on the disclosure of information relating to persons admitted to designated provincial and municipal programs, to the means and methods by which witnesses are protected and to persons who provide or assist in providing protection;
(d) specify the circumstances under which disclosure of protected information is nevertheless permitted;
(e) exempt a person from any liability or other punishment for stating that they do not provide or assist in providing protection to witnesses or that they do not know that a person is protected under a witness protection program;
(f) expand the categories of witnesses who may be admitted to the federal Witness Protection Program to include persons who assist federal departments, agencies or services that have a national security, national defence or public safety mandate and who may require protection as a result;
(g) allow witnesses in the federal Witness Protection Program to end their protection voluntarily;
(h) extend the period during which protection may, in an emergency, be provided to a person who has not been admitted to the federal Witness Protection Program; and
(i) make a consequential amendment to another Act.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Votes

June 3, 2013 Passed That the Bill be now read a third time and do pass.
May 30, 2013 Passed That, in relation to Bill C-51, An Act to amend the Witness Protection Program Act and to make a consequential amendment to another Act, not more than one further sitting day shall be allotted to the consideration of the third reading stage of the Bill; and that, 15 minutes before the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders on the day allotted to the consideration of the third reading stage of the said Bill, any proceedings before the House shall be interrupted, if required for the purpose of this Order, and, in turn, every question necessary for the disposal of the said stage of the Bill shall be put forthwith and successively, without further debate or amendment.
May 23, 2013 Passed That Bill C-51, An Act to amend the Witness Protection Program Act and to make a consequential amendment to another Act, be concurred in at report stage.
Feb. 12, 2013 Passed That the Bill be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.

Public Safety and National Security Committee, on Feb. 28, 2013

Public Safety and National Security Committee, on March 5, 2013

  • Trevor Bhupsingh, Director General, Law Enforcement and Border Strategies Directorate, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
  • Todd G. Shean, Assistant Commissioner, Federal and International Operations, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
  • Greg Bowen, Officer in Charge, Witness Protection Operations, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
  • Julie Mugford, Director, Research and National Coordination, Organized Crime Division, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Public Safety and National Security Committee, on March 7, 2013

  • Sergeant Abraham Townsend, National Executive, Staff Relations Representative Program, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
  • Tom Stamatakis, President, Canadian Police Association
  • Micki Ruth, Member, Policing and Justice Committee, Canadian Association of Police Boards

Public Safety and National Security Committee, on March 19, 2013

  • Yvon Dandurand, Criminologist, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of the Fraser Valley, As an Individual
  • Alok Mukherjee, President, Canadian Association of Police Boards
  • John Major, C.C., Q.C, Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, Retired, As an Individual
  • Clayton Pecknold, Assistant Deputy Minister and Director, Police Services, Policing and Security Programs Branch, British Columbia Ministry of Justice

Public Safety and National Security Committee, on March 26, 2013