What the NWT’s new Missing Persons Act would allow RCMP to do

NWT officials are explaining how new missing persons legislation will work in the territory once it comes into force.

Representatives from the justice department held a public briefing on the territory’s proposed Missing Persons Act on Monday.

They set out how the legislation would allow RCMP to seek access to records, search premises and make emergency demands during missing persons investigations where there is no evidence of criminal activity.

“The Northwest Territories does not currently have missing persons legislation in place and this can slow and sometimes completely halt an investigation for a missing person,” said Premier RJ Simpson, who is also the minister of justice.

The act, he said, “would allow police to move quickly in their investigations while at the same time providing for oversight and accountability.”

Brad Patzer, a justice department assistant deputy minister, said the act aims to strike a balance between preventing unreasonable access to personal information while aiding police investigations.

He highlighted the definition of a missing person in the bill – a person whose whereabouts are unknown despite reasonable attempts to locate them.

That person must have either not been in contact with people who would likely be in contact with them, or fear for their safety must be reasonable given the circumstances surrounding their disappearance.

As an example of someone who would not fit that definition, Patzer offered “someone whose specific whereabouts are unknown but who is known to be on the land with no easy form of contact available – but they have a set date and time of return that has not yet been reached.”

“It would not be reasonable to access someone’s private records simply because they cannot be immediately contacted,” he said. “This definition prevents this type of overreach.”

The act would allow RCMP to request a court order to access records that may have information related to the whereabouts of a missing person. Those records could include contact information, global positioning system records, employment, school attendance and security camera footage, Patzer said.

Police could also request a court order to enter a specific location to look for a missing person.

In both cases, Patzer said, police must show there are reasonable grounds to believe the order will help locate the missing person, and the public interest in locating the person must outweigh the potential negative impacts.

Courts can also impose terms to the orders that judges deem appropriate.

The act would also allow police to make emergency demands in writing for people to disclose information, in cases where a record access order would take too long or someone might destroy records, Patzer said.

“Emergency demands are useful in time-sensitive cases. Missing persons cases are, oftentimes, especially in cases involving vulnerable people in the cold northern climate,” he said.

The act would allow police to share information with other jurisdictions, such as cases where an NWT resident goes missing in Alberta.

Privacy protections

The bill limits the kinds of records RCMP can access through an emergency demand.

For example, Paltzer said, police cannot access health records unless a missing person was recently admitted to hospital, in which case police can access the date the person was hospitalized, the name of the hospital and the reason for admission.

For more detailed medical records, Paltzer said, police must apply for a court order.

“Even records requested with the best intentions might lead to a privacy concern for an individual,” he said.

Patzer said RCMP will be required to notify people whose information has been produced under an emergency demand.

The act also requires police to consider whether there is any indication the missing person does not want to be found, such as if they are fleeing violence.

“We wanted to ensure the legislation is not used as a tool for abusers to locate individuals,” he said.

The NWT government pledged to implement missing persons legislation in response to a related call for justice in the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Patzer said multiple rounds of discussion delayed the bill to create that legislation, which the territorial government introduced last month.

Those discussions have included Indigenous governments, community leaders, the RCMP, the Department of Health and Social Services, Child and Family Services, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and members of the public.

The proposed legislation is now being reviewed by a committee of regular MLAs, which plans to hold public meetings about the bill in Aklavik and Inuvik next month.

RCMP Supt Dyson Smith is set to give a public briefing on the bill on April 4.

You can provide input on the draft bill by emailing the committee.