29. Emphasises that trialogues and the conciliation procedures (as explicitly listed in Article 294 TFEU) are a substantial phase of the legislative procedure, and not a separate ‘space to think’; believes especially that the current procedures as regards trilogues prior to a possible first reading agreement fail to ensure a satisfactory level of legislative transparency and access to documents both internally, to the Parliament, and externally in relation to citizens and public opinion; requests, therefore, that documents created i ...[+++]n their framework, such as agendas, summaries of outcomes and the ‘four column’ documents drawn up for facilitating negotiations, should not in principle be treated differently from other legislative documents, and that they should be made public as regards trialogues prior to a possible first reading agreement; consequently instructs its competent bodies to standardise this procedure, and calls on other institutions to do the same;

Once the subject has indicated their choice of the language of proceedings, all material submitted by CBSA, acting on behalf of the Minister of Public Safety or the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, must be filed in the language of proceedings; if the original documentation is in another language, it must be translated into the language of proceedings, in accordance with the applicable divisional rule.

(c) by defining the concept of 'regulatory documents'() as documents linked to procedures for adopting acts which complete or amend non-essential elements of legislative acts (as defined in point (a)) regardless of whether such regulatory documents are adopted by the Council or delegated to the Commission; such documents should be accessible 'mutatis mutandis' under the same conditions as those applicable to legislative documents (e.g., in comitology procedures, access should be granted as soon as a draft measure is formally submitted to a committee); s ...[+++]imilarly, access should also be granted to the relevant complementary documents (e.g. the agendas, minutes and result of votes of the committee).

(b) by defining the concept of 'non-legislative documents' as documents linked to procedures for implementing legislative acts (whichever institutions are involved) and documents linked to procedures for adopting non-binding acts; it should be possible to apply less stringent transparency rules to such documents, given their administrative nature;

(Return tabled) Question No. 240 Mr. Rahim Jaffer: With regard to ports of entry into Canada: (a) what are the standards used by all customs officers across Canada to determine a high-risk traveller or shipment, and what is the standard procedure as to what to do with such a traveller or shipment once it is determined to be high-risk; (b) under what standard procedure are customs officers expected to refer travellers to immigration officers, and is there any standard for immigration officers to notify customs officers as to the results of such referrals; ...[+++] if it is determined that a traveller should be referred to an Immigration officer and there is no immigration officer at that location, what is the standard procedure that a customs officer should follow; (c) why are there no joint Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) evaluations planned to determine the effectiveness of customs officers and immigration officers at the border; (d) is there a standard for the sharing of data and intelligence between customs officers and immigration officers; (e) is there a standard referral procedure by which customs officers can clearly determine by which points should a traveller be referred to immigration officers; (f) is there an agreement between the CCRA and CIC that would provide for periodic evaluations to be performed jointly by CCRA and CIC to determine the effectiveness of their joint operations; (g) what percentage of the time does the Primary Automated Lookout System-Highway equipment correctly read licence plates of vehicles stopped at border crossing booths; (h) what facilities exist for examining commercial shipments at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor and where are they located in relation to the bridge customs site: (i) what is the standard procedure for ensuring that truck operators told to report to the facility actually arrive there; and (ii) under what circumstances would procedures dictate that a truck b ...

Other sections concern the following matters: that the prosecutor is not required, except by way of rebuttal, to prove that a certificate, licence, permit or other qualification does not operate in favour of the accused (section 48); that a copy of any document filed with a department is admissible in evidence without proof of the signature of the authority (section 49); that a certificate issued to a police officer exempting him from the act or its regulations is admissible in evidence at trial and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, is proof that the certificate or other document was validly issued, without proof of the sign ...[+++]ature or official character of the person purporting to have certified it, although the defence may, with leave of the court, cross-examine the person who issued the certificate (section 50); that the giving of any document may be proved by oral evidence, affidavit or solemn declaration, even though the court may require the signatory to appear (section 52); that the continuity of possession of any exhibit tendered as evidence in a proceeding may be proved by the testimony, affidavit or solemn declaration of the person claiming to have had it in his possession (section 53); and that certified copies of records, books, electronic data or other documents seized may be presented as admissible evidence by the Minister's officer, the copied versions having the same probative force as the originals, unless the accused submits evidence to the contrary (section 54).