Fourth

Session, 48th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2019

BILL 2

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CORRECTIONAL

SERVICES ACT

Received

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

Second

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

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

Third

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

Royal

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

HONOURABLE ANDREW

PARSONS, Q.C.

Minister of Justice

and Public Safety and Attorney General

Ordered to be printed by

the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Correctional Services Act to

clarify the reference to

cannabis in the definition of illicit drug;

include an additional principle

and amend 2 existing principles;

clarify the authority for adult

probation officers to procure and report information for the court in respect

of a person charged with an offence;

clarify the requirement that

the dates that an offender is eligible for release be disclosed to the victim

or Victim Services on request;

provide that the director

consult with a qualified health care professional or other qualified person

when encouraging and coordinating specific programming and services to provide

for the specific needs of offenders;

provide authority for the Lieutenant-Governor

in Council to make regulations respecting investigations conducted under the

Act; and

replace the word aboriginal with

the word indigenous, correct the name of the Department of Justice and Public

Safety and correct references to the title adult probation officer.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CORRECTIONAL SERVICES

ACT

Analysis

1. S.2 Amdt.

Definitions

2. S.4 R&S

Principles

3. S.9 R&S

Powers and duties of adult

probation officer

4. S.14 Amdt.

Disclosure of information

5. S.32 Amdt.

Illicit drug test

6. S.45 Amdt.

Continuity of programs and

services

7. S.48 Amdt.

Regulations

8. S.50 Amdt

Consequential amendments

9. Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

SNL2011 cC-37.00001

as amended

(1) Paragraph 2(

g) of the Correctional Services Act is amended by deleting the words

"Department of Justice" and substituting the words "Department

of Justice and Public Safety".

(2) Paragraph 2(

h) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

(h) "illicit drug" means

(

i) alcohol,

(ii) cannabis, other than cannabis where that

cannabis is possessed or consumed with prior authorization,

(iii) a controlled substance and an analogue, as

defined in the Controlled Drugs and Substances

Act (Canada), and

(iv) any other substance designated by the

regulations;

(3) Paragraph 2(

o) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "probation officers" and substituting the words

"adult probation officers".

Section 4 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Principles

4. This Act and the regulations made under it shall be interpreted

and administered in a manner consistent with the following principles:

(

a) the protection of society shall be given paramount consideration

in making decisions or taking action under this Act;

(

b) the safety of the community and the furtherance of a

just and peaceful society will be enhanced, as far as possible, through

maximizing individual opportunities for rehabilitation and reintegration that

recognize the needs and circumstances of offenders both in correctional

facilities and in the community;

(

c) staff members will be given

(

i) wherever possible, appropriate career development and

training opportunities, and

(ii) a workplace environment that encourages

integrity and personal accountability and that is consistent with the relevant

Code of Professional Conduct established under

section 11 ;

(

d) offenders shall obey community supervision conditions

and correctional facility rules and will be subject to the least restrictive

measures consistent and necessary for the protection of the public, staff

members and offenders;

(

e) inmates are entitled to fair treatment with access to an

effective grievance and disciplinary procedure;

(

f) inmates are entitled

to equitable access to health services consistent with the goals of

public health; and

(

g) policies, programs and practices will respect

age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic

differences and will be responsive to the particular needs of women and indigenous

peoples, the needs of offenders with particular mental health and addictions

requirements, the needs of offenders with respect to the social determinants of

health, and the needs of other groups of offenders with special requirements.

Section 9 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Powers and duties

of adult probation officer

(1) An adult probation officer

(

a) is an adult probation officer for all of the

province;

(

b) is an officer of every court in the province;

(

c) shall prepare reports for the court as the

court may order; and

(

d) has power to procure and report information

for the court in respect of a person charged with or convicted of an offence.

(2) An adult probation officer is responsible for

the supervision of persons

(

a) placed on probation by a court;

(

b) subject to a conditional sentence imposed by a

court;

(

c) subject to the provisions of

section 810.1 or

810.2 of the Criminal Code ;

(

d) on temporary absence, where requested by a

superinten-dent;

(

e) found guilty of an offence in the family

violence court and awaiting the sentence of that court; and

(

f) in other circumstances prescribed in the

regulations.

(3) An adult probation officer may exercise the

powers of an authorized person set out in subsection 32(1) in respect of a

person under his or her supervision.

(4) If

an adult probation officer exercises the powers of an authorized person set out

in subsection 32(1) in respect of a person under his or her supervision, the

adult probation officer shall perform the duties set out in subsection 32(2) in

respect of the person under his or her supervision.

(5) An adult probation officer charged with the

supervision of a person who is subject to a probation order or a conditional

sentence or to the provisions of

section 810.1 and 810.2 of the Criminal Code , may report to the court

or a member of a provincial police force if the person fails to carry out the

terms of

(

a) the probation order;

(

b) the conditional sentence; or

(

c) an order under

section 810.1 or 810.2 of the Criminal Code .

(6) An adult probation officer charged with the

supervision of a person on a temporary absence may report to the superintendent

who requested the supervision if the person fails to carry out the terms of the

temporary absence.

4. (1) Paragraph 14(1)(

b) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "Department of Justice" and substituting the words

"Department of Justice and Public Safety".

(2) Subparagraph 14(2)(a)(

v) of the Act is

repealed and the following substituted:

(

v) the date on which the offender is to be

released from custody, including the date or dates of a temporary ab-sence and

the date or dates the offender may be eligible for release,

(3) Subsection 14(3) of the Act is amended by deleting

the words "a probation officer" wherever they appear and substituting

the words "an adult probation officer".

5. Paragraph 32(1)(

b) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(

b) an offender submit

to an illicit drug test if abstention from an illicit drug is a condition of a

temporary absence, work program, voluntary treatment program, probation,

conditional release, conditional sentence, an order under

section 810.1 or

810.2 of the Criminal Code or

if the offender is under the supervision of an adult probation officer in

another circumstance that may be prescribed and an illicit drug test is required

to monitor compliance with the condition

(

i) at regular

intervals, or

(ii) at any time, if the

authorized person believes on reasonable grounds that the offender has breached

the condition.

(1) Clause 45(b)(ii)(

A) of the Act is amended

by deleting the word "aboriginal" and substituting the word

"indigenous".

(2) Clause 45(b)(ii)(

C) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(

C) provide for the specific needs of

offenders with particular mental health and addictions requirements and other

classes of offenders, that are identified by the director through consultations

with a health care professional or other qualified person as having special

requirements.

(1) Paragraph 48(

b) of the Act is amended by

deleting the words "probation officers" and substituting the words

"adult probation officers".

(2) Paragraph

48(aa) of the Act is amended by deleting the words "probation

officer" and substituting the words "adult probation officer".

(3) Section 48 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after paragraph (dd) the following:

(dd.1) respecting investigations conducted under this

Act;

8. Subsections 50(10) to (13) of the Act are

repealed and the following substituted:

(10) Section 2 of the Uniformed Services Pensions Act, 2012 is amended by adding

immediately after paragraph (

d) the following:

(d.1) "correctional facility" means a

correctional facility as de-fined in the Correctional

Services Act ;

(11) Subparagraph 2(e)(ii) of the Uniformed Services Pensions Act, 2012 is

repealed and the following substituted:

(ii) the chief superintendent, the superintendent

of a correctional facility and every commissioned and correctional officer of a

correctional facility,

(12) Paragraph 2(

j) of the Uniformed Services Pensions Act, 2012 is repealed.

(13) Subsection 37(1) of the Uniformed Services Pensions Act, 2012 is amended by striking out

the reference to "the Prisons Act "

and substituting a reference to "the Correctional

Services Act ".

9. This Act comes into force on the day the Correctional Services Act comes into

force.

Queen's Printer