Human Pathogens and Toxins Act

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Human Pathogens and Toxins Act
Act of Parliament

The Human Pathogens and Toxins Act (French: Loi sur les agents pathogènes humains et les toxines, HPTA) is an Act of the Parliament of Canada,[1] agreed in 2009 under the Harper government.[2] The responsible Minister is the Minister of Health, and the text defines punishment under the Criminal Code of Canada.[2] The control of security clearances is the exclusive domain of the Minister of Health; neither the RCMP nor the CSIS are mentioned anywhere in the Act.[2] Section 7 of the Act does mention the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act and the Export and Import Permits Act as falling outside the scope of the HPTA.[2]

History

It came to light in June 2021 during the disgrace of Xiangguo Qiu that the Public Health Agency of Canada requires "anyone working with human pathogens and toxins" at the National Microbiology Laboratory (or elsewhere) to "have clearance under the HPTA."[3] The CBC reporter was under the impression that another "secret level clearance" is required to work at the NML but does not disclose the name nor the controller of this additional clearance.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Biosafety". University of Toronto Scarborough. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Human Pathogens and Toxins Act". Statues of Canada. S.C. 2009 (Chapter 24). 21 June 2019.
  3. ^ a b Pauls, Karen (10 June 2021). "'Wake-up call for Canada': Security experts say case of 2 fired scientists could point to espionage". CBC.


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