Quarantine Act (S.C. 2005, c. 20)
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Assented to 2005-05-13
Quarantine Act
S.C. 2005, c. 20
Assented to 2005-05-13
An Act to prevent the introduction and spread of communicable diseases
SUMMARY
This enactment repeals and replaces the existing Quarantine Act.
Its purpose is to prevent the introduction and spread of communicable diseases in Canada. It is applicable to persons and conveyances arriving in or in the process of departing from Canada.
It provides measures for the screening, health assessment and medical examination of travellers to determine if they have a communicable disease and measures for preventing the spread of communicable diseases, including referral to public health authorities, detention, treatment and disinfestation. Provisions for the administrative oversight of the detention of travellers are also included.
It provides for additional measures such as the inspection and cleansing of conveyances and cargo to ensure that they are not the source of communicable diseases.
It imposes controls on the import and export of cadavers, body parts and other human remains.
It contains provisions for the collection and disclosure of personal information if it is necessary to prevent the spread of a communicable disease or, under certain circumstances, for law enforcement purposes.
It also provides the Minister of Health with interim order powers in the case of public health emergencies and enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with the Act.
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
SHORT TITLE
Marginal note:Short title
1. This Act may be cited as the Quarantine Act.
INTERPRETATION
Marginal note:Definitions
2. The following definitions apply in this Act.
“communicable disease”
« maladie transmissible »
“communicable disease” means a human disease that is caused by an infectious agent or a biological toxin and poses a risk of significant harm to public health, or a disease listed in the schedule, and includes an infectious agent that causes a communicable disease.
“conveyance”
« véhicule »
“conveyance” means a watercraft, aircraft, train, motor vehicle, trailer or other means of transportation, including a cargo container, that arrives in Canada or is in the process of departing from Canada.
“departure point”
« point de sortie »
“departure point” means any point designated by the Minister under section 10.
“entry point”
« point d’entrée »
“entry point” means a point designated by the Minister under section 9 or a point where a customs office, within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Customs Act, is located.
“health assessment”
« contrôle médical »
“health assessment” means an evaluation of the relevant medical history and the travel history of a traveller and a physical examination, including an examination of the traveller’s head, neck and extremities and the measurement of vital signs such as the traveller’s temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate.
“medical examination”
« examen médical »
“medical examination” includes ascertaining the relevant medical history and the travel history of the person being examined, the conduct of a physical examination and any laboratory tests or radiographic or diagnostic tests that are required to make a determination of whether the person might have a communicable disease.
“medical practitioner”
« médecin »
“medical practitioner” means a person who is entitled to practise medicine by the laws of a province.
“Minister”
« ministre »
“Minister” means the Minister of Health.
“operator”
« conducteur »
“operator” means any person in charge of a conveyance, and includes the conveyance crew.
“owner”
« propriétaire »
“owner”, other than in section 43, includes a lessee.
“peace officer”
« agent de la paix »
“peace officer” means a person referred to in paragraphs (c) and (g) of the definition “peace officer” in section 2 of the Criminal Code.
“prescribed”
Version anglaise seulement“prescribed” means prescribed by regulation.
“quarantine facility”
« installation de quarantaine »
“quarantine facility” means any place that is used for the detention of a traveller.
“quarantine station”
« poste de quarantaine »
“quarantine station” means any place that is used for the administration and enforcement of this Act.
“screening officer”
« agent de contrôle »
“screening officer” means a person designated as a screening officer under subsection 5(1) or an officer within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Customs Act.
“traveller”
« voyageur »
“traveller” means a person, including the operator of a conveyance, who arrives in Canada or is in the process of departing from Canada.
“vector”
« vecteur »
“vector” means an insect or animal capable of transmitting a communicable disease.
BINDING ON HER MAJESTY
Marginal note:Binding on Her Majesty
3. This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or of a province.
PURPOSE
Marginal note:Purpose
4. The purpose of this Act is to protect public health by taking comprehensive measures to prevent the introduction and spread of communicable diseases.
POWERS OF MINISTER
Marginal note:Designating analysts and certain officers
5. (1) The Minister may designate qualified persons, or classes of qualified persons, as analysts, screening officers or environmental health officers.
Marginal note:Designating quarantine officers
(2) The Minister may designate medical practitioners or other qualified health care practitioners, or classes of such persons, as quarantine officers.
Marginal note:Designating review officers
(3) The Minister may designate medical practitioners as review officers.
Marginal note:Certificate to be produced
(4) The Minister shall give a certificate of designation to every screening officer who is not also a customs officer, to every quarantine officer and to every environmental health officer. An officer to whom a certificate has been given shall produce it, on request, to the person in charge of a place or conveyance that the officer inspects and to any person that the officer questions.
Marginal note:Quarantine station
6. (1) The Minister may establish a quarantine station at any place in Canada.
Marginal note:Provision and maintenance of area or facility
(2) The operator of a facility in which a customs office, within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Customs Act, is located shall, when required in writing by the Minister, provide and maintain free of charge any area or facility, along with its fixtures, that the Minister considers necessary for establishing a quarantine station.
Marginal note:Quarantine facilities
7. The Minister may by order designate any place in Canada as a quarantine facility and amend, cancel or reinstate the designation.
Marginal note:Duty to provide
8. (1) Any person in charge of a place shall, at the request of the Minister, provide that place to the Minister if, in the opinion of the Minister, the temporary use of the place as a quarantine facility is necessary to protect public health.
Marginal note:Deeming
(2) The place is deemed to be designated as a quarantine facility.
Marginal note:Compensation
(3) The Minister may compensate any person for the Minister’s use of the place.
Marginal note:Consultation
(4) The Minister shall consult with the provincial public health authority of the province in which the place is situated before taking possession of it.
Marginal note:Designation of entry point
9. The Minister may by order designate any point in Canada as an entry point.
Marginal note:Designation of departure point
10. The Minister may by order designate any point in Canada as a departure point if, in the opinion of the Minister, the order is necessary to prevent the spread of a communicable disease.
Marginal note:Ministerial agreements
11. The Minister may enter into an agreement with a department or an agency of the Government of Canada or of a province, or with a public health authority, respecting the administration and enforcement of this Act or of an Act of a province.
TRAVELLERS
Marginal note:Obligation on arriving travellers
12. Every person who is subject to subsection 11(1) of the Customs Act and enters Canada shall, immediately after entering, present themselves to a screening officer at the nearest entry point.
Marginal note:Obligation on departing travellers
13. Every person who leaves Canada through a departure point shall, immediately before leaving, present themselves to a screening officer or quarantine officer at the departure point.
Marginal note:Screening technology
14. (1) Any qualified person authorized by the Minister may, to determine whether a traveller has a communicable disease or symptoms of one, use any screening technology authorized by the Minister that does not involve the entry into the traveller’s body of any instrument or other foreign body.
Marginal note:Refusal to be screened
(2) If a traveller refuses to be screened with the screening technology and the person using it is not a screening officer or quarantine officer, the person shall immediately inform a screening officer or quarantine officer of the refusal.
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