Excise Act, 2001 — E-14.1 211
 of a business number, means (a) any information pertaining to the legal form of the holder; (b) the type of activities carried on or proposed to be carried on by the holder; (c) each date on which (i) the business number was issued to the holder, (ii) the holder began activities, (iii) the holder ceased or resumed activities, or (iv) the business number assigned to the holder was changed; and (d) the reasons for the cessation, resumption or change referred to in subparagraph (c)(iii) or (iv). ( renseignements relatifs à l’inscription ) representative of a government entity means a person who is employed in the service of, who occupies a position of responsibility in the service of, or who is engaged by or on behalf of, a government entity, and includes, for the purposes of subsections (2), (3), (8) and (9), a person who was formerly so employed, who formerly occupied such a position or who formerly was so engaged. ( représentant ) Provision of information (2) Except as authorized under this section, no official or other representative of a government entity shall knowingly (a) provide, or allow to be provided, to any person any confidential information; (b) allow any person to have access to any confidential information; or (c) use any confidential information other than in the course of the administration or enforcement of this Act. Confidential information evidence not compellable (3) Despite any other Act of Parliament or other law, no official or other representative of a government entity shall be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information. Communications if proceedings have been commenced (4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to (a) criminal proceedings, either by indictment or on summary conviction, that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, under an Act of Parliament; or (b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act, the Canada Pension Plan , the Employment Insurance Act , the Unemployment Insurance Act or any other Act of Parliament or law of a province that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty. Authorized provision of information (5) The Minister may provide appropriate persons with any confidential information that may reasonably be regarded as necessary solely for a purpose relating to the life, health or safety of an individual or to the environment in Canada or any other country. Disclosure of personal information (6) An official may (a) provide any confidential information to any person that may reasonably be regarded as necessary for the purpose of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for that purpose; (b) provide a person with confidential information that can reasonably be regarded as necessary for the purposes of determining any liability or obligation of the person or any refund or other payment to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act; (c) provide, allow to be provided, or allow inspection of or access to any confidential information to or by any person, or any person within a class of persons, that the Minister may authorize, subject to any conditions that the Minister may specify; (d) provide any person who is legally entitled under an Act of Parliament to confidential information with, or access to, that information, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information; (d.1) provide confidential information, or allow the inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purpose of, (i) paragraph 33.1(a) of the Old Age Security Act , (ii) an order made under subsection 462.48(3) of the Criminal Code , or (iii) an order made under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act to gather or send information, for the purposes of an investigation or prosecution relating to an act or omission that, if it had