Legislation to Combat Nuclear Terrorism Receives Royal Assent
OTTAWA, June 19, 2013 - The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced that the Nuclear Terrorism Act has received Royal Assent. The legislation amends the Criminal Code to provide greater protection from nuclear terrorism.
“The threat of nuclear terrorism is a serious global concern,” said Minister Nicholson. “This legislation will enhance our ability to combat nuclear terrorism by punishing those who aspire to commit such acts.”
The Nuclear Terrorism Act creates four new Criminal Code offences related to nuclear terrorism:
- making a device, or possessing, using, transferring, exporting, importing, altering or disposing of nuclear or radioactive material or a device, or committing an act against a nuclear facility or its operations, with the intent to cause death, serious bodily harm or substantial damage to property or the environment;
- using or altering nuclear or radioactive material or a device, or committing an act against a nuclear facility or its operation, with the intent to compel a person, a government or a domestic or international organization to do, or refrain from doing, any act;
- committing an indictable offence for the purpose of obtaining nuclear or radioactive material or a device, or to obtain access to a nuclear facility; and
- threatening to commit any of these offences.
These amendments will permit Canada to ratify the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of NuclearTerrorism.
The new legislation will come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
Backgrounder: Nuclear Terrorism Legislation
An online version of the legislation can be found at www.parl.gc.ca
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