Justice Statutes Amendment Act, SA 2022 c12
Amended
- Corrections Act, RSA 2000 cC-29
- Justice of the Peace Act, RSA 2000 cJ-4
- Missing Persons Act, SA 2011 cM-18.5
- Victims of Crime and Public Safety Act, RSA 2000 cV-3
- Youth Justice Act, RSA 2000 cY-1
Summary
The Justice Statutes Amendment Act makes housekeeping amendments to the Corrections Act, the Justice of the Peace Act, the Missing Persons Act, the Victims of Crime and Public Safety Act, and the Youth Justice Act.
The Act provides that under the Corrections Act, compensation rates of Alberta Parole Board members are to be set by order in council rather than in the regulations.
In the Justice of the Peace Act, the Act authorizes the Chief Judge to appoint full- or part-time justices of the peace.
For the purposes of investigating the whereabouts of a missing person, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that immediate access to records is necessary to prevent imminent bodily harm to or the death of a missing person, or the destruction of records, the Act authorizes a police service to apply without notice to a justice of the peace for an order of access to “telephone, internet and other electronic communication records” which include
- Records related to signals from a wireless device that may indicate the location of the wireless device;
- Cellular telephone records, including information about incoming and outgoing calls and usage;
- Inbound and outbound text records; and
- Browsing history records.
The Act amends the Missing Persons Act by adding a definition of medical information and related terms. The Act also provides that a justice of the peace may seal court records if public access would interfere with an investigation into the whereabouts of a missing person or if it endangers other people.
A special committee of the Legislative Assembly must begin a comprehensive review of the Missing Persons Act and the regulations made under it not later than 2027 and within five years after the date on which the previous special committee submits its final report. The special committee must submit to the Legislative Assembly, within one year after beginning a review under this section, a report that includes any amendments recommended by the special committee.
The Act adds regulation-making powers to further define words or expressions defined in the Act. Further, the Act amends the Victims of Crime and Public Safety Act by reclassifying “death benefit” as “funeral expense reimbursement”.
The Act also unequivocally disestablished the Criminal Injuries Review Board.
The act amends the Youth Justice Act so that parents of young person who is arrested can be notified by any peace officer and not solely the officer in charge. An application for the forfeiture of an amount set out in an undertaking, release order or recognizance of a young person is to be made to the youth justice court.
In Force: On Proclamation, except sections 3 and 5, which came into force on May 31, 2022