Vol. 149, No. 13 — July 1, 2015

Registration

SOR/2015-166 June 19, 2015

CRIMINAL CODE

Regulations Amending the Regulations Prescribing Public Officers

P.C. 2015-850 June 18, 2015

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, pursuant to paragraph 117.07(2)(g) (see footnote a) of the Criminal Code (see footnote b), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Regulations Prescribing Public Officers.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE REGULATIONS PRESCRIBING PUBLIC OFFICERS

AMENDMENT

1. Paragraph 1(1)(g) of the Regulations Prescribing Public Officers (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following:

REPEAL

2. If Bill C-59, introduced in the 2nd session of the 41st Parliament and entitled the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1, does not receive royal assent before October 21, 2015, then these Regulations are repealed on that day.

COMING INTO FORCE

3. (1) Subject to subsection (2), if Bill C-59, introduced in the 2nd session of the 41st Parliament and entitled the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1, receives royal assent, then these Regulations come into force on the day on which Division 10 of Part 3 of that Act comes into force.

(2) Section 2 comes into force on the day on which these Regulations are made.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Parliamentary security personnel provide security to parliamentarians, visiting dignitaries, staff, witnesses, and visitors in the parliamentary buildings. The Regulations Amending the Regulations Prescribing Public Officers ensure that the members of the new Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS) continue to have the necessary legal authority to possess, carry and transport firearms in the course of their duties once the new PPS is created upon the coming into force of Bill C-59, the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1.

Background

Section 117.07 of the Criminal Code provides an exemption from the Firearms Act and related offences in the Criminal Code for “public officers” who possess, carry and transport firearms and other weapons in the course of their duties or employment. Subsection 117.07(2) defines these “public officers” and includes, in paragraph 117.07(2)(g), persons or members of a class of persons employed in the federal public administration who are specifically prescribed by regulation. Paragraph 1(1)(g) of the Regulations Prescribing Public Officers (the Regulations) prescribed “security personnel employed by the House of Commons or the Senate” as public officers.

In 2015, the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1 (formerly referred to as Bill C-59), amended the Parliament of Canada Act to create the new PPS that integrated the Senate Protective Service, the House of Commons Protective Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in a single new security force.

The PPS is a new legal entity, separate and apart from the Senate and House of Commons. Security personnel previously employed by the Senate and the House of Commons are transferred to the PPS, which is their new employer. Once transferred, the employees of the PPS are no longer captured by the description “security personnel employed by the House of Commons or the Senate.” RCMP officers remain employees of the RCMP and, as “peace officers,” they continue to be exempted under paragraph 117.07(2)(a) of the Criminal Code.

Objectives

This amendment is intended to maintain the legal exemption that allows parliamentary security personnel to possess, carry and transport firearms in the course of their employment duties, in view of the change of employer.

Description

This amendment to paragraph 1(1)(g) of the Regulations Prescribing Public Officers adds a reference to the new employer, the “Parliamentary Protective Service.”

The addition of employees of the PPS to paragraph 1(1)(g) of the Regulations Prescribing Public Officers does not add new personnel to the exemption from the requirements of the Firearms Act and the associated penalties in the Criminal Code. Instead, the creation of the PPS, and the transfer of the security personnel from the employment of the Senate and the House of Commons to the PPS, requires that the PPS be added to the Regulations so that this personnel may continue to lawfully possess, carry and transport firearms for the purposes of their duties or employment.

The current exemption for “security personnel employed by the House of Commons or the Senate” remains to ensure a seamless transition. It will ensure that individuals who would have been captured by this exemption on the day before Bill C-59 receives royal assent, but who have not been transferred to the PPS, continue to benefit from this exemption.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to these Regulations, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to these Regulations, as there are no costs (or insignificant costs) to small business.

Consultation

Given that the amendments are consequential to the coming into force of the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1, there were no public consultations.

Rationale

The amendments to the Regulations Prescribing Public Officers ensure that the parliamentary security personnel of the PPS will continue to be authorized to possess, carry and transport firearms when their positions are transferred to the Parliamentary Protective Service.

Up until now, the Regulations exempted parliamentary security personnel, but outlined that these individuals were “employed by the House of Commons or the Senate.” To maintain this exemption, the Regulations needed to be amended to add the name of the entity that now employs this security personnel: the Parliamentary Protective Service.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The exemption from the licensing and registration of the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code requirements for members of the PPS came into force when Bill C-59, the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1, received royal assent.

Contact

Paula Clarke
Criminal Law Policy Section
284 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8
Telephone: 613-957-4728
Fax: 613-941-9310
Email: paula.clarke@justice.gc.ca