Bill 20 — Third Session, 20Th Legislature, 34 Elizabeth Ii the Legislative Assembly of Alberta Bill 20 Fatality Inquiries Amendment Act, 1985 Dr. Elliott (Legislature 20, Session 3)

L20 S3 3358

Alberta — Bills

1985 BILL 20 Third Session, 20th Legislature, 34 Elizabeth II THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ALBERTA BILL 20 FATALITY INQUIRIES AMENDMENT ACT, 1985 DR. ELLIOTT First Reading Second Reading Committee of the Whole Third Reading Royal Assent

Bill 20 Dr. Elliott BILL 20 1985 FATALITY INQUIRIES AMENDMENT ACT, 1985 (Assented to , 1985) HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, enacts as follows: 1 The Fatality Inquiries Act is amended by this Act. 2

Section 8(l)(

c) is amended by adding "or" at the end of it.

Section 22 is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):

(3) Notwithstanding

section 37(4) of the Mental Health Act or

section 40(3) of the Hospitals Act or any other Act, regulation or other law, a medical examiner is entitled to inspect and make copies of any diagnosis, record or information relating to a person receivmg diagnostic and treatment services in a centre as pro vided in

section 37(7) of the Mental Health Act and to inspect and make copies of any diagnosis, record or information relating to a patient as provided in

section 40(7) of the Hospitals Act.

Explanatory Notes 1 This Act will amend

chapter F-6 of the Revised Statutes of Alberta 1980. 2

Section 8(1) presently reads: 8(1) A medical examiner ceases to hold office (

a) on ceasing to be a member of the College of Physicians arui Sur geons of the Province of Alberta, (

b) on submitting his resignation to the Attorney General in writing, (

c) on ceasing to be ordinarily resident in Alberta, (

d) on termination of his appointment by order of the Attorney Gen eral. 3

Section 22 presently reads: 22(1) A medical examiner or an investigator acting under his authoriza tion may, in exercising his duties uruier this Act, (

a) without a warrant, enter any place where he believes a body that is the subject of an investigation is located or has been located; (

b) without a warrant, take possession of anything which may be di rectly related to the death and may place anything seized into the custody of a peace officer; (

c) cordon off or secure the scene or area in which the death under investigation occurred for a period not exceeding 48 hours or any extended period that the Chief Medical Examiner may authorize; (

d) with the approval of the Chief Medical Examiner, obtain services or retain expert assistance for any part of his investigation.

(2) When a medical examiner or an investigator seizes anything uruier subsection (l)(b), he or the peace officer who has custody thereof shall retain it until the conclusion of any investigation or public inquiry into the death or until the thing seized is no longer required and then shall return it to the person from whom it was seized or, if that person is deceased, to the personal representative of that person. Explanatory Notes

Section 40 is amended (

a) in subsection (1) by adding "but shall refuse to admit in evi- dence all or part of any oral testimony or any document or other thing if he is satisfied that the oral testimony, document or other thing or part of it is vexatious, unimportant or unnecessary for the purposes of the pubUc inquiry" after "of the public inquiry" (

b) by adding the following after subsection (1):

(1.1) Notwithstanding

section 37(4) of the Mental Health Act or

section 40(3) of the Hospitals Act or any other Act, regu lation or other law, a judge may admit in evidence all or any relevant part of a diagnosis, record or information referred to in

section 22(3) to enable him to make findings and recom mendations and to report in respect of any or all of the mat ters set out in

section 47. 5 The following is added after

section 40: 40.1 Subject to

section 40.2 all hearings at a pubhc inquiry under this Act shall be open to the pubUc except where the judge is of the opinion that (

a) matters involving public security may be disclosed, or (

b) intimate or personal matters or other matters may be disclosed at the hearing that are of such a nature, having regard to the circumstances, that the desirabihty of avoiding disclosure of the matters in the interest of any person aflfected or in the pubhc interest outweighs the desirability of adhering to the principle that hearings be open to the pubUc, in which case the judge may hold the hearing or any part of it concerning any such matters in camera. 40.2 Without restricting the generaUty of

section 40.1(b), the judge shall weigh and consider the following matters, as applica ble, before holding the hearing or any part of it in camera: (

a) the private interests of a patient or person or, where the patient or person is deceased, of the patient's or person's next of kin; (

b) the private interests of third parties; (

c) the private interests of the attending physician or any other person providing diagnostic or treatment services to a patient or a person; (

d) whether disclosure of all or part of the diagnosis, medical records or information of a patient or person is Ukely to result in harm to the patient or person or to the treatment or recov ery of the patient or person or is hkely to result in injury or harm to the mental or physical condition of a third person; (

e) whether disclosure of all or part of the diagnosis, mecjcal records or information of a deceased patient or person is lAelJ to resuh in injury or harm to the mental or physical conditioi of a third person;

Section 40(1) presently reads: 40(1) Subject to subsection (2), a judge may admit in evidence at a public inquiry, whether or not it is admissible as evidence in a judicial proceeding, (

a) any oral testimony, or (

b) any document or other thing, that is relevant to the purposes of the public inquiry. 5 In camera hearings. Explanatory Notes

(

f) whether the disclosure would be prejudicial to the inter- ests of persons not concerned in the inquiry; (

g) whether the holding of the hearings in camera is essential in the interests of justice or would be injurious to the public interest; (

h) whether the holding of the hearings in camera is necessary in the interest of morals or public order; (

i) whether a patient or person or, if the patient or person is deceased, his legal representative has given his consent to having the diagnosis, record or information disclosed in a hearing open to the public. 40.3 An appUcation that the pubhc inquiry or any part of it be held in camera may be made by any person referred to in

section 43, and the appUcation shall be heard in camera. 40.4 No decision of the presiding judge that a hearing or any part of it be held in camera or in pubhc shall be questioned or reviewed in any court, and no order shaU be made or process entered or proceedings taken in any court, whether by way of certiorari, mandamus, injunction, declaratory judgment, prohi bition, quo warranto or otherwise, to question, review, prohibit or restrain that decision. 40.5 No person who is required to furnish information or to produce any document, paper or thing or is summoned to give evidence at a pubhc inquiry under this Act shall refuse to disclose the information, produce the document, paper or thing or give the evidence on the ground that

an Act or regulation requires him to maintain secrecy or not to disclose any matter. 40.6(1) No person shall knowingly and wilfully release, pubhsh or disclose or cause to be released, published or disclosed to anyone any oral testimony or documentary evidence introduced or heard in camera at a pubUc inquiry. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to (

a) oral testimony, or (

b) documentary evidence contained in the findings of the judge or jury or in the written report of the judge or jury under

section 47. 6

Section 47 is amended by adding the following after subsection (i)'

(4) The report and findings of the judge or jury under subsection (1) and any recommendations under subsection (2) shall not dis close any matters heard or disclosed in camera, unless the judge or jury is satisfied that the disclosure is essential in the pubhc interest.

Section 47 presently reads: 47(1) At the conclusion of the public inquiry, the judge or jury, if any, shall make a written report to the Attorney General which shall contain ftndings as to the following: (

a) the identity of the deceased; (

b) the date, time arui place of death; (

c) the circumstances uruier which the death occurred; (

d) the cause of death; (

e) the manner of death. Explanatory Notes

Section 40 of the Hospitals Act is amended (

a) in subsections (1) and (3) by adding "or any other person providing diagnostic or treatment services to a patient" after "physician"; (

b) by repealing subsection (8). 8

Section 37 of the Mental Health Act is amended (

a) in subsection (4) by adding "or any other person providiiig diagnostic or treatment services to that person" after "physi cian"; (

b) by repealing subsection (8). In accordance with

section 4(1) of the

Interpretation Act, this Bill comes into force on the date it receives Royal Assent.

(2) A report under subsection (1) may contain recommendations as to the prevention of similar deaths.

(3) The ftndings of the judge or jury shall not contain any ftndings of legal responsibility or any conclusion of law. 7 Consequential amendment to

chapter H-ll of the Revised Statutes of Alberta

Section 40 of that Act presently reads in part: 40(1) The board of each approved hospital shall cause to be kept by the attending physician a record of the diagnostic arui treatment services pro vided in respect of each patient in order to assist in providing a high standard of medical care.

(3) Information obtained from hospital records or from persons having access thereto shall be treated as private and confidential information in respect of any individual patient and shall be used solely for the purposes described in subsection (2) and the information shall not be published, released or disclosed in any manner that would be detrimental to the personal interests, reputation or privacy of a patient or the patient's at tending physician.

(7) Notwithstanding subsection (3) or any other law, a medical examiner appointed under the Fatality Inquiries Act is entitled to inspect arui make copies of any diagnosis, record or information relating to a patient.

(8) When a medical examiner obtains a copy of a diagnosis, record or information pursuant to subsection (7), the provincial judge who presides at a public inquiry uruier the Fatality Inquiries Act may admit the copy of the diagnosis, record or information in evidence at the public inquiry but all proceedings related to the diagnosis, record or information shall be held in private. 8 Consequential amendment to

chapter M-13 of the Revised Statutes of Alberta

Section 37 of that Act presently reads in part: 37(4) Information obtained from records maintained in a diagnostic arui treatment centre or from persons having access thereto shall be treated as private and confidential information in respect of the person receiving di agnostic arui treatment services in the centre and shall be used solely for the purposes described in subsection (3), and the information shall not be published, released or disclosed in any manner that would be detrimental to the personal interest, reputation or privacy of that person or that per son's attending physician.

(7) Notwithstaruiing subsection (4) or any other law, a medical examiner appointed under the Fatality Inquiries Act is entitled to inspect and make copies of any diagnosis, record or information relating to a person receiv ing diagnostic and treatment services in a centre.

(8) Where a medical examiner obtains a copy of any diagnosis, record or information pursuant to subsection (7), the provincial judge who presides at a public inquiry under the Fatality Inquiries Act may admit the copy of the diagnosis, record or information in evidence at the public inquiry but all proceedings related to the diagnosis, record or information shall be in private. Explanatory Notes Title: 1985 (20th, 3rd) Bill 20, Fatality Inquiries Amendment Act, 1985

Document details

Collection	Alberta — Bills
Citation	L20 S3 3358
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	L20 S3 3358
Language	en
Format	json
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	9766bade13c7990537a8dbe4c6a64548321c30fa

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