The Government of Canada says the RCMP can now participate in Clare’s Law in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Clare’s Law legislation allows police to disclose a person’s prior intimate partner violence information to a current or former intimate partner – or third party such as a parent – through a provincially-established process. It is to help Canadians make informed decisions about their safety, and the safety of their intimate partner relationships.

Ottawa says the decision comes following extensive work by Public Safety Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The focus was ensuring full participation in Clare’s Law legislation, while respecting the RCMP’s obligations under the federal Privacy Act.

C/Supt. Alfredo Bangloy is the Acting Commanding Officer for the Saskatchewan RCMP. He says, “The Saskatchewan RCMP has always played an active role in the planning provincially around Clare’s Law. We have been working persistently towards this day for over 10 months, to ensure the people in the communities we police in Saskatchewan are able to exercise their right to ask and participate in Clare’s Law.” Clare’s Law legislation originated in the United Kingdom in response to the murder of Clare Wood by her intimate partner in 2009.

While this work was ongoing, stop-gap measures were put in place in Saskatchewan, which was the first province in Canada to enact Clare’s Law legislation. These measures ensured that anyone in Saskatchewan, who came forward with concerns and was identified by the RCMP as being at risk, was provided access to victim services, relevant information, and other resources to enhance their safety.

The RCMP say that, In Saskatchewan, police partners began following the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police (SACP) Interpersonal Violence Disclosure Protocol on June 29, 2020, which, under the Act, authorizes a police service to provide disclosure information to a potential victim of interpersonal violence. At that time, the Saskatchewan RCMP was actively part of the provincial Clare’s Law committee, but could not participate fully due to our authority around disclosing information that could be considered personal information, as per Section 8 of the Privacy Act.

In the interim, while efforts were being made to make change, the Saskatchewan RCMP implemented a new, enhanced process to ensure that anyone who came forward with concerns, and was identified by the RCMP as being at risk, was provided access to victim services, relevant information and other resources to enhance their safety.

After months of work, amendments to the RCMP Regulations, 2014, were proposed, which would allow the RCMP, as the provincial police service, to fully participate in Clare’s Law legislation. This included consultations with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and Federal and Provincial governments.

Working with Public Safety Canada, this week the RCMP added new sections to the RCMP Regulations, 2014, that allow for the Saskatchewan RCMP’s participation in Clare’s Law.

Now that the necessary regulatory changes are in force, the RCMP is finalizing Privacy Impact Assessments to ensure its full participation in Clare’s Law in Saskatchewan and Alberta – the two provinces that have passed Clare’s Law legislation. Privacy Impact Assessments are necessary when a new program or process is created that includes the disclosure of personal information.

With the completion of this work, the RCMP will be able to fully support these important intimate partner violence initiatives where the legislation is enacted and the RCMP is the police of jurisdiction.

The Saskatchewan RCMP is actively taking Clare’s Law applications. Applications can be made by:

• a person who feels they are at risk of harm by a current or former intimate partner,
• some third-party individuals with a close personal relationship with the person at risk, who may apply on behalf of that person.

Individuals can attend an RCMP Detachment in the province to make an application for disclosure under the “Right to Ask” protocol to request if there is any risk-related information regarding a current or former intimate partner.

This information can assist them in making informed decisions about their safety, the safety of a loved one, and the relationship.

Each request for information made under Clare’s Law is considered on a case-by-case basis and information relating to a request is reviewed by an established committee consisting of police services, Victims Services and The Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan.