Police Act Regulations: Include Discoverability - Question Period

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Justice. Issues with the police complaints process were raised by the Wortley Report on police street checks and in the ongoing judicial review brought forward by Carrie Low.

When the government agreed to change the Police Act Regulations to align the HRP time limit for complaints with that of the RCMP, they missed the opportunity to add the important principle of discoverability. There are many reasons why an individual may not be immediately aware of failures or negligence in the handling of the police investigation. If we want a fully accountable police complaints process, the time limit must start from the time when an individual became aware of the issue that is the subject of their complaint.

Mr. Speaker, will the minister agree to further amend the Police Act Regulations to include the principle of discoverability?

HON. MARK FUREY « » : I thank my colleague for the question. In these circumstances, Mr. Speaker, my colleague would know that we have changed the Police Act to ensure that the time frame associated with municipal police officers is aligned with that of the RCMP, a period of 12 months, Mr. Speaker.

We've also addressed in those amendments to the bill the issue of discoverability that my colleague references, by allowing the Police Complaints Commissioner to use his or her discretion in extending that time frame, which speaks to the point my colleague references. We've had multiple legal eyes on this particular subject, with the objective of achieving what my colleague has identified, and we believe that the amendments we've made address discoverability.

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : I thank the member for that answer. I would say that discretion addresses the issue, but it doesn't solve it.

Mr. Speaker, the Limitations of Actions Act was introduced in 2014 in order to acknowledge a nearly universally accepted principle that time limits in legislation ought to start from the time the alleged wrongdoing was discovered. That Act amended the Land Registration Act, the Marketable Titles Act, the Personal Property Security Act, the Sydney Steel Corporation Sale Act but not the Police Act. This troubling omission is well illustrated by Carrie Low's situation.

Mr. Speaker, when will the government take action to close this important legislative gap?

MARK FUREY « » : Mr. Speaker, as I indicated earlier, in the assessment of our amendments to the Police Act, we had significant legal expertise review the Act, review the proposed amendments. We believe, based on the flexibility that the Police Complaints Commissioner has, that the issue of discoverability is addressed in the most recent amendments.