141. (1) Disclosure to offender - At least fifteen days before the day set for the review of the case of an offender, the Board shall provide or cause to be provided to the offender, in writing, in whichever of the two official languages of Canada is requested by the offender, the information that is to be considered in the review of the case or a summary of that information.

         (2) Idem - Where information referred to in subsection (1) comes into the possession of the Board after the time prescribed in that subsection, that information or a summary of it shall be provided to the offender as soon as is practicable thereafter.

         (3) Waiver - An offender may waive the right to be provided with the information or summary referred to in subsection (1) or to have it provided within the period referred to, but where an offender has waived that period and any information is received by the offender, or by the Board, so late that the offender or the Board is unable to sufficiently prepare for the review, the offender is entitled to, or the Board may order, a postponement of the review for such reasonable period as the Board determines.

         (4) Exceptions - Where the Board has reasonable grounds to believe

that any information should not be disclosed on the grounds of public interest, or

that its disclosure would jeopardize

the safety of any person,

the security of a correctional institution, or

the conduct of any lawful investigation,

the Board may withhold from the offender as much information as is strictly necessary in order to protect the interest identified in paragraph (a) or (b).

[1992, c. 20, s. 141; 1995, c. 42, s. 56(F). ]

Budreo v. Canada (National Parole Board) - (1993), 76 F.T.R. 36, 167 N

- Communication must be in writing; verbal communication is not sufficient.

Giroux v. Canada (National Parole Board) - (1994), 89 F.T.R. 307 (T.D.)

- Where a psychiatric assessment was not provided 15 days before a detention review, as required by subsection 141(1), but was provided as soon as practicable due to the urgency of the circumstances, disclosure was adequate according to subsection 141(2).

Herman v. Canada (National Parole Board) - (1996), 112 F.T.R. 1 (T.D.)
Storry v. William Head Institution - (1997), 139 F.T.R. 122 (T.D.), (1997), 139 F.T.R. 122

- Although the Board had failed to comply with this provision, there was no prejudice or violation of the principle of fairness.

Mackie v. Canada (Attorney General) - (1998), 157 F.T.R. 97 (T.D.)

- Where police opinions, highly prejudicial to the prisoner, were received by the board but not disclosed in accordance with subsection 141(1), there was a failure to uphold a principle of fundamental justice. The prisoner was entitled to a new hearing before different decision-makers; it was not sufficient to refer the matter back to the appeal board.

142. (1) Disclosure of information to victims - At the request of a victim of an offence committed by an offender, the Chairperson

shall disclose to the victim the following information about the offender:

the offender's name,

the offence of which the offender was convicted and the court that convicted the offender,

the date of commencement and length of the sentence that the offender is serving, and

eligibility dates and review dates applicable to the offender under this Part in respect of unescorted temporary absences or parole; and

may disclose to the victim any of the following information about the offender, where in the Chairperson's opinion the interest of the victim in the disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of the offender's privacy that could result from the disclosure, namely,

the offender's age,

the location of the penitentiary in which the sentence is being served,

the date, if any, on which the offender is to be released on unescorted temporary absence, escorted temporary absence where the Board has approved the absence as required by subsection 746.1(2) of the Criminal Code, parole or statutory release,

the date of any hearing for the purposes of a review under section 130,

any of the conditions attached to the offender's unescorted temporary absence, parole or statutory release,

the destination of the offender when released on unescorted temporary absence, parole or statutory release, and whether the offender will be in the vicinity of the victim while travelling to that destination,

whether the offender is in custody and, if not, the reason that the offender is not in custody, and

whether or not the offender has appealed a decision of the Board under section 147, and the outcome of that appeal.

         (2) Idem - Where an offender has been transferred from a penitentiary to a provincial correctional facility, the Chairperson of the Board may, at the request of a victim of an offence committed by the offender, disclose to the victim the name of the province in which the provincial facility is located if in the Chairperson's opinion the interest of the victim in such disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of the offender's privacy that could result from the disclosure.

         (3) Disclosure of information to other persons - Subsections (1) and (2) also apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to a person who satisfies the Chairperson

that harm was done to the person, or the person suffered physical or emotional damage, as a result of an act of an offender, whether or not the offender was prosecuted or convicted for that act; and

that a complaint was made to the police or the Crown attorney, or an information was laid under the Criminal Code, in respect of that act.

         (4) Regulations - The manner and form of making requests to the Chairperson under subsection (1) or (2), and how those requests are to be dealt with, may be provided for by the regulations.

         (5) Designation by Chairperson - In this section, "Chairperson" includes a person or class of persons designated, by name or by position, by the Chairperson.

[1992, c. 20, s. 142; 1995, c. 22, s. 13, c. 42, ss. 57, 71(F), 72(F); 1997, c. 17, s. 35. ]

Zarzour v. Canada - (2000), 153 C.C.C. (3d) 284, (1999), 91 A.C.W.S. (3d) 960, 44 W.C.B. (2d) 43 (F.C.T.D.)

- The CSC and NPB provided information to the ex-wife of the prisoner, who was not a "victim" and did not meet the terms of s142(3). The Federal Court found that this error was a breach of Charter principles and awarded damages. This decision has been overturned on appeal.