Grand Juries Act, 2013 Hillier, Randy — Bill 120 (40th Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 120, 40-2

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Bill 120, Grand Juries Act, 2013

Hillier, Randy

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[40] Bill 120 Original (PDF)

Bill 120 2013

Act to provide for grand juries in Ontario

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Convening

of grand jury

(1) In

every county or district, a judge of the Superior Court of Justice shall, on

the first Monday in November in each year, or as soon thereafter as is

practicable, convene in open court a grand jury composed of seven persons

selected from the jury roll prepared under the Juries Act

for the county or district and for this purpose the sheriff shall provide the

jury.

One-year

term

(2) A grand jury shall serve for a period

of one year after it is convened.

Application

of Juries Act

(3) The Juries Act

applies to the selection, recording, summoning, attendance and service of the

persons for service on a grand jury in the same manner as to the selection,

recording, summoning, attendance and service of persons for service on a panel

of jurors selected for sittings of a court.

Service

counts as jury service

(4) Participation as a member of a grand

jury is deemed to be jury service for the purpose of subsection 3 (4) of the Juries Act .

Chair

(5) The grand jury shall appoint one of its

members to be the chair of the jury.

Duty

of judge

(6) The judge shall instruct the grand jury

in its duties and powers.

Excusing

from duty

(7) The judge may excuse any person

summoned to serve on a grand jury from attending on grounds of illness or

hardship.

Exclusion

for interest

(8) The judge may exclude any person

summoned to serve on the grand jury or excuse a jury member from participating

in any review where the judge believes that the duty of the person under this

Act is or may be in conflict with another interest of the person.

Reduced

jury

2. If,

after the grand jury is convened, any person on the jury dies or becomes

incapacitated from any cause or is excluded or excused from serving by the

judge under subsection 1 (7) or (8), a judge of the Superior Court of Justice

may authorize the remainder of the jury to proceed with its duties under this

Act.

Review

of institutions

(1) The

grand jury may review the activities in the county or district of any of the

following institutions:

1. An

institution as defined in subsection 2 (1) of the Freedom

of Information and Protection of Privacy Act .

2. An

institution as defined in subsection 2 (1) of the Municipal

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act .

Public

consultation

(2) A grand jury may consult the public

about which institutions the jury will review.

Process

of review

Grand

jury to determine its own procedures

(1) Subject

to any requirements or restrictions set out in this Act or the regulations, the

grand jury may determine its own procedures in respect of a review of an

institution.

Holding

hearings

(2) A grand jury may hold hearings for the

purpose of carrying out its duties.

Power

of entry

(3) Subject to any agreement between the

chair and the institution, the grand jury may, after a request for entry by the

chair, enter any premises of an institution in the county or district the jury

is entitled to inspect under subsection 3 (1) at any time during business hours

and may inspect all parts of the premises.

Inquiries

(4) The grand jury or any jury member may

make inquiries of any person who is an employee of the institution concerning

any matter respecting the institution's activities.

Responses

to inquiries

(5) A person who receives an inquiry under

subsection (4) shall respond to the grand jury or the jury member within a reasonable

time.

Expert

assistance

(6) A grand jury may appoint one or more

persons having technical or special knowledge of any kind to assist the jury

for a limited period of time or in respect of a particular matter.

Access

to records

(1) A

grand jury has a right of access to a record or a part of a record in the

custody or under the control of an institution unless,

(

a) subject

to subsection (2), the record or part of the record falls within an exemption

under sections 12 to 22 of the Freedom of Information and

Protection of Privacy Act ; or

(

b) subject

to subsection (3), the record or part of the record falls within an exemption

under sections 6 to 15 of the Municipal Freedom of

Information and Protection of Privacy Act .

Exemption

not to apply

(2) An exemption from disclosure of a

record under sections 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21 and 21.1 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act does not apply where

a compelling public interest in the disclosure of the record clearly outweighs

the purpose of the exemption.

Same

(3) An exemption from disclosure of a

record under sections 7, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14 of the Municipal

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act does not apply where

a compelling public interest in the disclosure of the record clearly outweighs

the purpose of the exemption.

Severability

of record

(4) If an institution receives a request

for access to a record that contains information that falls within one of the

exemptions set out in subsection (2) or (3), the head of the institution shall

disclose as much of the record as can reasonably be severed without disclosing

the information that falls under one of the exemptions.

Copy

of record

(5) A

grand jury that is given access to a record or a part of a record shall be

given a copy of it, unless its reproduction would not be reasonably practicable

due to its length or nature, in which case the jury shall be given an

opportunity to examine the record or part of the record.

Definition

(6) In this section,

"record"

has the same meaning as in the Freedom of Information and

Protection of Privacy Act .

Reports

Grand

jury to prepare report

(1) Every

grand jury that reviews an institution's activities shall prepare a report in

respect of its review. The report may include any recommendations that the

jury considers appropriate.

Delivery

of report

(2) The grand jury shall submit its report

to a judge of the Superior Court of Justice sitting in open court.

Filing

of report

(3) The report submitted to the judge shall

be filed with the local registrar of the Superior Court of Justice as a public

document and shall be available for public inspection.

Tabling

report in Assembly

7. The

grand jury shall deliver the report to the Speaker of the Assembly, who shall

lay the report before the Assembly at the earliest reasonable opportunity.

Offence

8. Any

person who wilfully obstructs a review by a grand jury or any member of the

jury is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more

than $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to

both.

Regulations

9. The

Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,

(

a) governing

the procedures of grand juries;

(

b) prescribing

the fees and allowances payable to members of grand juries and providing for

reimbursement for expenses.

Commencement

10. This

Act comes into force one year after the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short

title

11. The

short title of this Act is the Grand Juries Act, 2013 .

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill enacts the Grand Juries Act, 2013 . Here are

some highlights of the Act.

Judges

of the Superior Court of Justice are required to convene grand juries in every

county and district. Grand juries serve one-year terms.

The

seven members of each grand jury are selected from the jury roll in accordance

with the Juries Act . Members may be excused from

jury duty on grounds of illness and hardship. Members may also be excluded

from jury duty if their service would or could present a conflict of interest.

Grand

juries may review the activities of public institutions specified in subsection

3 (1) of the Act. A review is limited to activities within a grand jury's

county or district. Grand juries may consult the public about which

institutions to review.

Grand

juries may enter the premises of institutions and may make inquiries of the

institution's employees. Grand juries may appoint experts for assistance.

Grand

juries have the right of access to records that are in an institution's custody

and care, unless the record falls within an exemption from disclosure under the

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

or the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection

of Privacy Act . Certain exemptions will not apply where a compelling

public interest in the disclosure clearly outweighs the purpose of the

exemption.

Grand

juries are required to prepare reports in respect of their reviews. Reports

must be filed as public documents and be made available for public inspection.

Reports must also be tabled in the Legislative Assembly.

is an offence to obstruct a review by a grand jury or any member of a grand

jury. Penalties are specified in

section 8 of the Act.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

October 22, 2013

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

October 22, 2013

Committee

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

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Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 120, 40-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p40 s2 bill 120 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	9d5da1ee3419cd8220c73261ae142df8f2f7ac7b

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