Bill 1605 — An Act To Amend the Interprovincial Subpoena Act (48th General Assembly, 1st Session)

Bill 1605

Newfoundland and Labrador — Bills

First Session, 48th

General Assembly

65 Elizabeth II,

BILL 5

AN ACT TO AMEND THE

INTERPROVINCIAL SUBPOENA ACT

Received

and Read the First Time ................................................................

Second

Reading ............................................................................................

Committee .....................................................................................................

Third

Reading ...............................................................................................

Royal

Assent .................................................................................................

HONOURABLE ANDREW

PARSONS

Minister of Justice

and Public Safety and Attorney General

Ordered to be printed by

the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

The Bill would amend the Interprovincial Subpoena Act to

allow a party before a board,

commission, tribunal or other body or person outside this province to apply for

certification of a subpoena in a court in his, her or its province for service

on a person in this province; and

allow a party before a board,

commission, tribunal and other body or person in this province to apply for court

certification of a subpoena in order for it to be received and adopted as a

court order in the province in which it will be served.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE INTERPROVINCIAL

SUBPOENA ACT

Analysis

S.2 R&S

Definitions

S.3 R&S

Adoption of interprovincial subpoena

S.5 R&S

Failure to comply

S.6 Amdt.

Proceedings in this province

S.7 R&S

No submission to jurisdiction

S.9 R&S

Additional witness fees and expenses

S.10 Rep.

Designation as court

Sch. A Amdt.

Sch. B R&S

NLR 30/11 Rep.

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSNL1990 cI-20

as amended

Section 2 of the Interprovincial Subpoena Act

is repealed and the following substituted:

Definitions

2. In

this Act

(a) "court" means a court in a province of Canada ;

(b) "other body" means a board,

commission, tribunal, body or person that has the power to issue a subpoena;

of Canada " includes Yukon , the Northwest Territories

and Nunavut ;

and

(d) "subpoena" means a subpoena or other

document issued by a court or other body requiring a person within a province of Canada other than that of the issuing

court or other body to attend as a witness before the issuing court or other

body.

Section 3 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Adoption of interprovincial

subpoena

3. A

court in this province shall receive and adopt as an order of the court a

subpoena from a court or other body outside this province where

(

a) the subpoena is accompanied by a certificate

signed by a judge of a superior, county or district court of the issuing

province and impressed with the seal of that court, signifying that, upon

hearing and examining the applicant, the judge is satisfied that the attendance

in the issuing province of the person subpoenaed

(

i) is necessary for the adjudication of the proceeding

in which the subpoena is issued, and

(ii) in relation to the nature and importance of

the cause or proceeding is reasonable and essential to the administration of

justice in that province;

(

b) no facts have been presented to the court from

which it can reasonably infer that the attendance in the issuing province of

the person subpoenaed can, or is likely to, adversely affect the health and

well-being of that person or his or her dependents, or is likely to cause

irreversible economic loss to that person; and

(

c) the subpoena is accompanied by the witness

fees and travelling expenses in accordance with

Schedule A.

Section 5 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Failure to comply

5. Where

a person who has been served with a subpoena adopted under

section 3 and given

the witness fee and travelling expenses in accordance with

Schedule A not less

than 10 days, or a shorter period that the judge of the court in the issuing

province may indicate in his or her certificate, before the date the person is

required to attend before the court or other body, fails without lawful excuse

to comply with the order, that person is in contempt of court and subject to a

penalty that the court may impose.

4. Subsection 6(1) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Proceedings in

this province

(1) Where

a party to a proceeding before a court or other body in this province causes a

subpoena to be issued for service in another province of Canada, the party may

appear before a judge of the Trial Division who shall hear and examine the

party or the party's counsel and, upon being satisfied that the attendance in

this province of the person required in this province as a witness

(

a) is necessary for the adjudication of the proceeding

in which the subpoena or other document has been issued; and

(

b) in relation to the nature and importance of

the proceedings, is reasonable and essential to the administration of justice

in this province,

shall sign a certificate, which may be in

the form set out in

Schedule B, and shall impress the certificate with the seal

of the court.

Section 7 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

No submission to

jurisdiction

7. A

person required to attend before a court or other body in this province by a

subpoena adopted by a court outside this province is considered, while within

this province not to have submitted to the jurisdiction of the courts or other

bodies of this province other than as a witness in the proceedings in which

that person is subpoenaed and is absolutely immune from seizure of goods,

service of process, execution of judgment, garnishment, imprisonment or

molestation of any kind relating to a legal or judicial right, cause, action,

proceeding or process within the jurisdiction of the Legislature except only

those proceedings grounded on events occurring during or after the required

attendance of the person in this province.

Section 9 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Additional

witness fees and expenses

9. Where

a person is required to attend before a court or other body in this province by

a subpoena adopted by a court outside this province, that person may request

the court or other body to order additional fees and expenses to be paid in

respect of his or her attendance as a witness and the court or other body,

where it is satisfied that the amount of fees and expenses previously paid to

the person in respect of his or her attendance is insufficient, may order the

party who obtained the subpoena to pay the person immediately those additional

fees and expenses as it considers sufficient, and amounts paid under an order

made under this

section are disbursements in the cause.

Section 10 of the Act is repealed.

Schedule A to the Act is amended by deleting

the words "in court" wherever they occur and substituting the words

"before a court or other body".

Schedule B to the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Schedule B

Interprovincial

Subpoena Act Certificate

I, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(Name

of judge) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a

judge . . . . . . . . . (Name of court) . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . certify that I have heard and examined. . . . . .

(Name

of applicant party or his or her counsel) . . . who

seeks to compel the attendance of. . . . (Name of witness) . . . . . to produce

documents or other articles or to testify, or both, in a proceeding in the

province in the . . . . . . .. (Name of court or other body in which witness is to

appear) . . . .

styled . . . . . (Style of proceeding) . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . I further certify

I am persuaded that the appearance of . . . . . (Name of witness) . . . . . . . . . . . . . as a witness in the proceeding is

necessary for the adjudication of the proceeding, and, in relation to the

nature and importance of cause or proceeding, is reasonable and essential to

the administration of justice in the province.

The

Interprovincial Subpoena Act of the province makes

the following provision for the immunity of . . . . . . . . . (Name of witness) . . . . . . . .. . . . . .

" 7. A