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An Act to amend the Statistics Act (S.C. 2017, c. 31)

Assented to 2017-12-12

 Section 13 of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

Marginal note:Accès aux archives

13 La personne ayant la garde ou la charge de documents ou d’archives qui sont conservés dans un ministère ou un bureau municipal ou auprès d’une personne morale, d’une entreprise ou d’une organisation et dont on pourrait tirer des renseignements recherchés pour les objets de la présente loi ou qui aideraient à compléter ou à corriger ces renseignements est tenue d’en permettre l’accès, à ces fins, à une personne autorisée par le statisticien en chef à obtenir ces renseignements ou cette aide pour compléter ou corriger ces renseignements.

 Sections 14 and 15 of the Act are replaced by the following:

Marginal note:Evidence of appointment

14 Any letter purporting to be signed by the Chief Statistician or any person who may be authorized to do so by the Chief Statistician that gives notice of an appointment or removal of, or that sets out any instructions to, a person employed in the execution of any duty under this Act is evidence of the appointment, removal or instructions and that the letter was signed and addressed as it purports to be.

Marginal note:Presumption

15 Any request for information purporting to be authorized for the taking of a census or the collection of statistics or other information and presented as such by a person employed in the execution of any duty under this Act is presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have been made by the proper authority.

  •  (1) Paragraphs 17(1)(a) and (b) of the Act are replaced by the following:

    • (a) no person, other than a person employed or deemed to be employed under this Act, and sworn under section 6, shall be permitted to examine any return or identifying information obtained for the purposes of this Act; and

    • (b) no person who has been sworn under section 6 shall disclose or knowingly cause to be disclosed, by any means, any information obtained under this Act in a manner that it is possible from the disclosure to relate the information obtained to any identifiable individual person, business or organization.

  • Marginal note:1992, c. 1, s. 131

    (2) The portion of subsection 17(2) of the French version of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

    • Marginal note:Exception à l’interdiction

      (2) Le statisticien en chef peut, par ordre, autoriser la révélation des renseignements suivants :

 Subsections 18(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:

Marginal note:Privileged information — inadmissibility as evidence
  • 18 (1) Except for the purposes of a prosecution under this Act, any return and any identifying information provided to Statistics Canada under this Act and any copy of a return in the possession of a respondent is privileged and shall not be used as evidence in any proceedings.

  • Marginal note:Privileged information — person sworn

    (2) A person sworn under section 6 shall not, by an order of any court, tribunal or other body, be required in any proceedings to give oral testimony with respect to information obtained in the course of administering this Act or to produce any return or identifying information obtained.

Marginal note:2005, c. 31, s. 1

 Subsections 18.1(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:

Marginal note:Census — disclosure after 92 years
  • 18.1 (1) The information contained in the returns of each census of population taken between 1910 and 2005, as well as the information contained in the returns and the identifying information obtained in each census of population taken in or after 2021, is no longer subject to sections 17 and 18 ninety-two years after the census is taken.

  • Marginal note:Census and survey — disclosure with consent

    (2) The information contained in the returns of each census of population taken in 2006, 2011 and 2016 and the 2011 National Household Survey is no longer subject to sections 17 and 18 ninety-two years after the census or survey is taken, but only if the person to whom the information relates consents, at the time of the census or survey, to the release of the information ninety-two years later.

 The portion of section 22 of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Marginal note:General statistics

22 Without limiting the duties of Statistics Canada under section 3 or affecting any of its powers or duties in respect of any specific statistics that may otherwise be authorized or required under this Act, the Chief Statistician shall collect, compile, analyse, abstract and publish statistics in relation to all or any of the following matters in Canada:

Marginal note:1988, c. 65, s. 146

 Subsection 22.1(1) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

Marginal note:Système de codification des marchandises
  • 22.1 (1) Le statisticien en chef établit un système de codification des marchandises importées ou exportées qui lui permet de recueillir, de compiler, d’analyser, de dépouiller et de publier les statistiques concernant ces marchandises.

 Section 23 of the Act is replaced by the following:

Marginal note:Request for information by any method
  • 23 (1) The requests for information prescribed under section 7 may be made by any method authorized by the Chief Statistician.

  • Marginal note:Duty to provide information

    (2) A person to whom a mandatory request for information is made shall provide the information to Statistics Canada, properly certified as accurate, not later than the time prescribed by the Chief Statistician and indicated to the person or not later than the extended time that may be allowed in the discretion of the Chief Statistician.

Marginal note:2005, c. 10, par. 34(1)(w)

 Sections 26 to 29 of the Act are replaced by the following:

Marginal note:Courts to furnish criminal statistics

26 The clerk of every court or tribunal administering criminal justice or, if there is no clerk, the judge or other functionary presiding over the court or tribunal shall, at the times, in the manner and for the periods that the Chief Statistician may establish, transmit the information requested by the Minister relating to the criminal business transacted in the court or tribunal.

Marginal note:Wardens and sheriffs

27 The warden of every penitentiary and reformatory and the sheriff of every county, district or other territorial division shall, at the times, in the manner and for the periods that the Chief Statistician may establish, transmit the information requested by the Minister relating to the prisoners committed to any penitentiary, reformatory or jail under their charge or within their jurisdiction.

Marginal note:Records

28 Every person who is required to transmit any information mentioned in section 26 or 27 shall from day to day make and keep entries and records of the particulars used to respond to requests for information made to them.

Marginal note:Pardons

29 The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness shall cause to be transmitted to the Chief Statistician, at the times and for the periods that the Chief Statistician may establish, the information requested by the Minister relating to the cases in which the prerogative of mercy has been exercised.

 Section 31 of the Act is replaced by the following:

Marginal note:False or unlawful information

31 Every person is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $500 who, without lawful excuse,

  • (a) refuses or neglects, following a request for information under this Act,

    • (i) to provide any requested information to the best of their knowledge and belief, or

    • (ii) to provide any requested information when and as required under this Act; or

  • (b) knowingly gives false or misleading information or practises any other deception under this Act.

  •  (1) The portion of section 32 of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

    Marginal note:Refusal to grant access to records

    32 Every person is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $1,000

  • (2) Paragraph 32(a) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

    • a) ayant la garde ou la charge de documents ou d’archives qui sont conservés dans un ministère ou un bureau municipal ou auprès d’une personne morale, d’une entreprise ou d’une organisation et dont on pourrait tirer des renseignements recherchés pour les objets de la présente loi ou qui aideraient à compléter ou à corriger ces renseignements, refuse ou néglige d’en permettre l’accès à une personne autorisée à cet effet par le statisticien en chef;

  • (3) The portion of section 32 of the English version of the Act after paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

    • (b) who otherwise in any way wilfully obstructs or seeks to obstruct any person employed in the execution of any duty under this Act.

 

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