1 Interpretation
2 Apprehension
order
3 Notice of
apprehension
4 Director’s
responsibilities
5 Deemed apprehension
6 Regulations
7 Offence
8 Consequential amendment
9 Coming into
force
Preamble
WHEREAS the safety,
security and well‑being of children is a paramount concern of the
Government of Alberta;
WHEREAS children
exposed to illegal manufacturing of drugs, indoor cannabis grow operations,
trafficking and other forms of illegal drug activity are victims of abuse; and
WHEREAS the Government
of Alberta is committed to protecting children from the dangers of exposure to
illegal drug manufacturing, indoor cannabis grow operations, trafficking and
other forms of illegal drug activity;
THEREFORE HER MAJESTY,
by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta,
enacts as follows:
Interpretation
1(1) In
this Act,
(a) “child”
means a person under the age of 18 years;
(b) “Court”
means the Provincial Court;
(c) “director”
means a director under the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act;
(d) “drug”
means a controlled substance and an analogue as defined in the Controlled
Drugs and Substances Act (Canada);
(e) “emotionally
injured” means emotionally injured within the meaning of the Child, Youth
and Family Enhancement Act;
(f) “guardian”
means a guardian as defined in the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act;
(g) “indoor
cannabis grow operation” means a place or premises where cannabis is grown
either in soil or hydroponically;
(h) “Minister”
means the Minister designated with the responsibility for the Child, Youth
and Family Enhancement Act;
(i) “physically
injured” means physically injured within the meaning of the Child, Youth and
Family Enhancement Act;
(j) “police
officer” means a police officer as defined in the Police Act;
(k) “sexually
abused” means sexually abused within the meaning of the Child, Youth and
Family Enhancement Act;
(l) “traffic”
means traffic as defined in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
(Canada).
(2) For
the purposes of this Act, a child is a drug‑endangered child if
(a) the
guardian exposes the child or allows the child to be exposed to, or to ingest,
inhale or have any contact with, a chemical or other substance that the guardian
uses to illegally manufacture a drug;
(b) the
guardian illegally manufactures a drug in the presence of the child, or causes
or allows the child to enter or remain in any place or premises where a drug is
illegally manufactured or stored;
(c) the
guardian possesses a chemical or other substance with which the guardian
intends to illegally manufacture a drug in a place or premises where a child
resides;
(d) the
guardian exposes the child or allows the child to be exposed to an indoor
cannabis grow operation, or to the process of extracting oil or resins from
cannabis plants;
(e) the
guardian involves the child in or exposes the child to trafficking;
(f) the
child has been or is being, or there is a substantial risk that the child will
be, physically injured, emotionally injured or sexually abused because the
guardian is exposing the child to other forms of illegal drug activity.
Apprehension order
2(1) If a director or police officer has reasonable
and probable grounds to believe that a child is a drug‑endangered child,
the director or police officer may make an ex parte application to a judge of
the Court or to a justice of the peace for an order
(a) authorizing
the director or police officer to apprehend the child, and
(b) if
the judge or justice is satisfied that the child may be found in a place or
premises, authorizing the director, police officer or any person named in the
order to enter, by force if necessary, that place or those premises to search
for and apprehend the child.
(2) If,
in the opinion of a director or police officer, it would be impracticable to
appear personally before a judge or justice of the peace to apply for an order
in accordance with subsection (1), the director or police officer may make the
application by telephone or other means of telecommunication to a judge of the
Court or a justice of the peace.
(3) The
information on which an application for an order by telephone or other means of
telecommunication is based must be given on oath and must be recorded verbatim
by the judge or justice of the peace who, as soon as practicable, must cause
the record or a transcription of the record, certified by the judge or justice
of the peace as to time, date and contents, to be filed with the clerk of the
Court.
(4) For
the purposes of subsection (3), an oath may be administered by telephone or
other means of telecommunication.
(5) The
information submitted by telephone or other means of telecommunication must
include the following:
(a) a
statement of the circumstances that make it impracticable for the director or
police officer to appear personally before a judge of the Court or a justice of
the peace;
(b) the
identity of the child, if known;
(c) a
statement setting out the director’s or police officer’s grounds for believing that
the child is a drug‑endangered child;
(d) a
statement of the director’s or police officer’s grounds for believing that the
child will be found in the place or premises to be searched;
(e) a
statement as to any prior application for an order under this section in
respect of the same child of which the director or police officer has
knowledge.
(6) A
judge of the Court or a justice of the peace referred to in subsection (2) who
is satisfied that an application made by telephone or other means of telecommunication
(a) conforms
to the requirements of subsection (5), and
(b) discloses
reasonable grounds for dispensing with personal appearance for the purpose of
making an application under subsection (1)
may make an order
conferring the same authority respecting search and apprehension as may be
conferred under subsection (1).
(7) If
a judge of the Court or a justice of the peace makes an order under subsection
(6),
(a) the
judge or justice of the peace must complete and sign an order in the prescribed
form, noting on its face the time, date and place at which it was made,
(b) the
director or police officer, on the direction of the judge or justice of the
peace, must complete, in duplicate, a facsimile of the order in the prescribed
form, noting on its face the name of the judge or justice of the peace making
the order and the time, date and place at which it was made, and
(c) the
judge or justice of the peace must, as soon as practicable after the order has
been made, cause the order to be filed with the clerk of the Court.
(8) An
order made by telephone or other means of telecommunication is not subject to
challenge by reason only that the circumstances were not such as to make it
reasonable to dispense with personal appearance for the purpose of making an
application under subsection (1).
(9) Notwithstanding
subsection (1), a director or police officer may apprehend a child without an
order if the director or police officer has reasonable and probable grounds to
believe that the child’s life, health or safety is seriously and imminently
endangered because the child is a drug‑endangered child.
(10) A
person who is authorized to apprehend a child under subsection (9) and who has
reasonable and probable grounds to believe that the child may be found in a
place or premises may, without an order and by force if necessary, enter that
place or those premises and search for the child.
Notice of apprehension
3(1) If a child has been apprehended, a director
must notify the guardian of the child forthwith that the child has been
apprehended.
(2) Notice
under subsection (1) may be by any method and may be oral or in writing.
(3) Notice
under subsection (1) must include a statement of the reasons for the
apprehension and the telephone number of the nearest office of the Legal Aid
Society of Alberta.
(4) The validity of proceedings under this Act is
not affected by reason only that a director is unable, after reasonable effort,
to give notice in accordance with this section.
Director’s responsibilities
4 If a child has been
apprehended under this Act, a director has exclusive custody of the child and
is responsible for the care, maintenance and well‑being of the child
while the child is apprehended under this Act.
Deemed apprehension
5 If a director does not return the child to the
child’s guardian within 2 days from the date of the apprehension, the child is
deemed to have been apprehended under section 19 of the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act.
Regulations
6 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make
regulations
(a) respecting
the rules to be followed in a proceeding before the Court under this Act;
(b) respecting
the forms, including notices, to be used under this Act.
Offence
7 Any person who
(a) wilfully
causes a child to be a drug‑endangered child, or
(b) obstructs
or interferes with, or attempts to obstruct or interfere with, a director, a
police officer or any other duly authorized person exercising any power or
performing any duty under this Act
is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of not more
than $25 000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than 24 months or
to both a fine and imprisonment.
8 (This section amends the
Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act; the amendment has been incorporated
into that Act.)
Coming into force
9 This Act comes into force on
Proclamation.
(NOTE: Proclaimed in force November 1,
2006.)