NEW LEGISLATION WILL PROTECT POLICE AND EMERGENCY PERSONNEL

New legislation will help protect emergency service workers – police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics – good Samaritans and victims of crime from the fear and uncertainty experienced following exposure to bodily fluids.

"This legislation will help protect the men and women who protect us, by addressing the stress and uncertainty of not knowing whether they have contracted a fatal or debilitating disease," Justice Minister Frank Quennell said. "We want to provide peace of mind to good Samaritans and victims of crime as well."

The Mandatory Testing and Disclosure (Bodily Substances) Act sets out the procedure for obtaining and testing samples of bodily fluids in a case where a victim of crime or emergency service worker may be at risk of infection. The Bill also sets out the procedure for limited disclosure of personal health information resulting from the testing, to facilitate treatment of the exposed individual.

Under the legislation, a court order for testing would only be available in the case where a donor refused to provide a sample voluntarily, a physician is of the view there is a significant risk of transmission of a communicable disease and the test meets the medical needs of the applicant.

"The legislation, based on recommendations of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada, balances the rights of the source individual with the rights of the applicant in a process based on medical need and governed by the courts," Quennell said.

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For More Information, Contact:

Andrew Dinsmore Justice Regina Phone: (306) 787-8606