Warrant Compliance Act, SS 2023, c 44

1 WARRANT COMPLIANCE c 44 The Warrant Compliance Act being Chapter 44 of the Statutes of Saskatchewan, 2023 (effective November 1, 2023). NOTE: This consolidation is not official. Amendments have been incorporated for convenience of reference and the original statutes and regulations should be consulted for all purposes of interpretation and application of the law. In order to preserve the integrity of the original statutes and regulations, errors that may have appeared are reproduced in this consolidation. 2 c 44 WARRANT COMPLIANCE Table of Contents 1 Short title 5 Disclosure of location information to a police service 2 Def initions 6 Immunity 3 Investigation unit may issue stop payment notice 7 Confidentiality 4 Access to location information of individuals with outstanding warrants 8 Regulations 9 Coming into force 3 WARRANT COMPLIANCE c 44 CHAPTER 44 An Act respecting Warrant Enforcement Short title 1 This Act may be cited as The Warrant Compliance Act. Definitions 2 In this Act: “government benefit” means a government benefit determined in accordance with the regulations; “government institution” means a government institution within the meaning of The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act; “investigation unit” means a unit of the ministry designated by the minister; “location information” means: (a) addresses associated with a prolific violent offender; (b) phone numbers associated with a prolific violent offender; (c) information about places frequented by a prolific violent offender; and (d) any other prescribed information; “minister” means the member of the Executive Council to whom for the time being the administration of this Act is assigned; “ministry” means the ministry over which the minister presides; “police service” means: (a) a police service within the meaning of The Police Act, 1990; (b) the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; or (c) a prescribed agency or organization; “prescribed” means prescribed in the regulations; “prolific violent offender” means an offender who has an outstanding warrant for arrest and meets the prescribed requirements; “recipient” means a recipient of a government benefit. 2023, c 44, s 2. Investigation unit may issue stop payment notice 3(1) In this section and section 8: “benefit administrator” means a prescribed benefit administrator; “stop payment notice” means a stop payment notice with respect to government benefits that meets the prescribed requirements. (2) The investigation unit may, in accordance with the regulations, issue a stop payment notice with respect to a prolific violent offender. 4 c 44 WARRANT COMPLIANCE (3) Subject to subsection (4), a benefit administrator must deny, discontinue, suspend or reduce a government benefit payable to a recipient if a stop payment notice has been issued with respect to the recipient. (4) If a benefit administrator who has received a stop payment notice pursuant to subsection (3) believes that it would cause significant hardship or if the prescribed circumstances exist, the benefit administrator may permit the government benefit to continue on any terms and conditions that the benefit administrator considers appropriate. (5) The investigation unit must, in accordance with the regulations, as soon as is practicable cancel a stop payment notice with respect to a prolific violent offender on the execution or cancellation of a warrant for arrest. 2023, c 44, s 3. Access to location information of individuals with outstanding warrants 4(1) For the purposes of this Act, the investigation unit is authorized to collect information with respect to outstanding warrants for arrest. (2) Subject to the regulations, the investigation unit may request location information with respect to a prolific violent offender from a government institution for the purposes of locating individuals with outstanding warrants for arrest. (3) Notwithstanding The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, on receipt of a request pursuant to subsection (2), a government institution shall provide location information to the investigation unit with respect to a prolific violent offender for the purposes of locating that individual. 2023, c 44, s 4. Disclosure of location information to a police service 5 Location information gathered pursuant to section 4 may be provided to a police service for the purpose of executing warrants for the arrest of prolific violent offenders. 2023, c 44, s 5. Immunity 6 No action or other proceeding lies or shall be commenced against the Crown, the minister, a member of the investigation unit, an agent or employee of the Crown or a member of a police service for anything in good faith done, caused or permitted or authorized to be done, attempted to be done or omitted to be done by that person or by any of those persons pursuant to or in the exercise or supposed exercise of any power conferred by this Act or the regulations or in the carrying out or supposed carrying out of any duty imposed by this Act or the regulations. 2023, c 44, s 6. 5 WARRANT COMPLIANCE c 44 Conf identiality 7 Subject to this Act and the regulations, no person shall disclose any information that comes to the knowledge of that person pursuant to this Act, except if authorized to do so in the exercise of the powers, performance of the responsibilities or carrying out of the functions of the person in accordance with this Act. 2023, c 44, s 7. Regulations 8 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations: (a) defining, enlarging or restricting the meaning of any word or expression used in this Act but not defined in this Act; (b) prescribing information for the purposes of the definition of “location information” in section 2; (c) prescribing requirements for the purposes of the definition of “prolific violent offender” in section 2; (d) prescribing an agency or organization for the purposes of the definition of “police service” in section 2; (e) for the purposes of subsection 3(1): (i) prescribing benefit administrators; and (ii) prescribing requirements with respect to stop payment notices; (f) prescribing circumstances for the purposes of subsection 3(4); (g) respecting the cancellation of a stop payment notice for the purposes of subsection 3(5); (h) respecting requests for location information made by the investigation unit for the purposes of subsection 4(2); (i) respecting the disclosure of information for the purposes of section 7; (j) prescribing any matter or thing that is required or authorized by this Act to be prescribed in the regulations; (k) respecting any other matter or thing that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary to carry out the intent of this Act. 2023, c 44, s 8. Coming into force 9 This Act comes into force by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council. 2023, c 44, s 9. 6 c 44 WARRANT COMPLIANCE REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN Printed by the authority of THE KING’S PRINTER Copyright©2023