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Encyclopedia entry: Official Secrets Act
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- Canadian Encyclopedia
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STANLEY A. COHEN
Canadian Encyclopedia
01-01-2002
Official Secrets Act
Author: STANLEY A. COHEN
Official Secrets Act , the most important statute relating to national security, is designed to prohibit and control access to and the disclosure of sensitive government information; offences cover espionage and leakage of government information. The term"official secrets" is not defined comprehensively in the legislation, but broadly, official secrets may be considered any information of an official character and can be restricted from public access for up to 30 years. It is clear that prohibited places, code words, passwords, plans, models, and articles, notes or other ...