2nd Session, 35th Parliament,
45 Elizabeth II, 1996-97

The House of Commons of Canada

BILL C-74

An Act respecting pollution prevention and the protection of the environment and human health in order to contribute to sustainable development

Declaration

It is hereby declared that the protection of the environment is essential to the well-being of Canadians and that the primary purpose of this Act is to contribute to sustainable devel opment through pollution prevention.

Preamble

Whereas the Government of Canada seeks to achieve sustainable development that is based on an ecologically efficient use of natu ral, social and economic resources and ac knowledges the need to integrate environmen tal, economic and social factors in the making of all decisions by government and private en tities;

Whereas the Government of Canada is committed to implementing pollution preven tion as a national goal and as the priority ap proach to environmental protection;

Whereas the Government of Canada ac knowledges the need to control and manage pollutants and wastes if their release into the environment cannot be prevented;

Whereas the Government of Canada recog nizes the importance of an ecosystem ap proach;

Whereas the Government of Canada will continue to demonstrate national leadership in establishing ecosystem objectives and envi ronmental quality guidelines and codes of practice;

Whereas the Government of Canada is committed to implementing the precautionary principle such that, where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of scien tific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation;

Whereas the Government of Canada recog nizes the importance of endeavouring, in cooperation with provinces, territories and ab original peoples, to achieve the highest level of environmental quality for all Canadians and ultimately contribute to sustainable devel opment;

Whereas the Government of Canada recog nizes that the risk of toxic substances in the en vironment is a matter of national concern and that toxic substances, once introduced into the environment, cannot always be contained within geographic boundaries;

Whereas the Government of Canada recog nizes the integral role of science in the process of making decisions relating to the protection of the environment and human health;

Whereas the Government of Canada recog nizes the responsibility of users and producers in relation to toxic substances and pollutants and wastes, and has adopted the ``polluter pays'' principle;

Whereas the Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that its operations and activities on federal and aboriginal lands are carried out in a manner that is consistent with the principles of pollution prevention and the protection of the environment and human health;

Whereas the Government of Canada will endeavour to remove threats to biological di versity through pollution prevention and the control and management of toxic substances;

And whereas the Government of Canada must be able to fulfil its international obliga tions in respect of the environment;

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1997.

ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES

Duties of the Government of Canada

2. (1) In the administration of this Act, the Government of Canada shall, having regard to the Constitution and laws of Canada,

    (a) take cost-effective preventive and reme dial measures to protect, enhance and restore the environment;

    (b) take the necessity of protecting the environment into account in making social and economic decisions;

    (c) implement an ecosystem approach that considers the unique and fundamental char acteristics of ecosystems;

    (d) endeavour to act in cooperation with governments to protect the environment;

    (e) encourage the participation of the people of Canada in the making of decisions that affect the environment;

    (f) facilitate the protection of the environ ment by the people of Canada;

    (g) endeavour to establish nationally con sistent standards of environmental quality;

    (h) provide information to the people of Canada on the state of the Canadian envi ronment;

    (i) apply knowledge, science and technolo gy to identify and resolve environmental problems;

    (j) endeavour to protect the environment, including its biological diversity, from the release of toxic substances;

    (k) endeavour to act expeditiously to assess whether existing substances or those new to Canada are toxic or capable of becoming toxic and assess the risk that such sub stances pose to the environment and human life and health;

    (l) act in a manner that is consistent with the intent of intergovernmental agreements and arrangements entered into for the purpose of achieving the highest standards of envi ronmental quality throughout Canada;

    (m) ensure, to the extent that is reasonably possible, that all areas of federal regulation for the protection of the environment and human health are addressed in a comple mentary manner in order to avoid duplica tion and to provide effective and compre hensive protection; and

    (n) endeavour to apply and enforce this Act in a fair, predictable and consistent manner.

Other Acts of Parliament

(2) For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(m) and (n), if this Act does not provide for the avoidance of duplication where measures can be taken under this Act and under another Act of Parliament to address a matter affecting the environment or human health, the Minister, the Minister of Health where appropriate, and the Minister responsible for the other Act will jointly determine whether the measures that can be taken under the other Act are appropri ate and sufficient to address the matter.

INTERPRETATION

Definitions

3. (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this Act.

``aboriginal government''
« gouverne-
ment autochtone »

``aboriginal government'' means a governing body that is established by or pursuant to or operating under an agreement between Her Majesty in right of Canada and aboriginal people and that is empowered to enact laws respecting

      (a) the protection of the environment; or

      (b) for the purposes of Division V of Part VII, the registration of vehicles or en gines.

``aboriginal land''
« terres autochtones »

``aboriginal land'' means

      (a) reserves, surrendered lands and any other lands that are set apart for the use and benefit of a band and that are subject to the Indian Act;

      (b) land, including any water, that is subject to a comprehensive or specific claim agreement, or a self-government agreement, between the Government of Canada and aboriginal people where title remains with Her Majesty in right of Canada; and

      (c) air and all layers of the atmosphere above and the subsurface below land mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b).

``air pollution''
« pollution atmosphéri-
que »

``air pollution'' means a condition of the air, arising wholly or partly from the presence in the air of any substance, that directly or indirectly

      (a) endangers the health, safety or wel fare of humans;

      (b) interferes with the normal enjoyment of life or property;

      (c) endangers the health of animal life;

      (d) causes damage to plant life or to property; or

      (e) degrades or alters, or forms part of a process of degradation or alteration of, an ecosystem to an extent that is detrimental to its use by humans, animals or plants.

``analyst''
« analyste »

``analyst'' means a person or a member of a class of persons designated as an analyst un der subsection 217(1).

``biological diversity''
« diversité biologique »

``biological diversity'' means the variability among living organisms from all sources, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, terrestrial and marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they form a part and in cludes the diversity within and between species and of ecosystems.

``biotechno-
logy''
« biotechno-
logie »

``biotechnology'' means the application of science and engineering in the direct or in direct use of living organisms or parts or products of living organisms in their natural or modified forms.

``class of substances''
« catégorie de substances »

``class of substances'' means any two or more substances

      (a) that contain the same portion of chemical structure;

      (b) that have similar physico-chemical or toxicological properties; or

      (c) for the purposes of sections 68, 70 and 71, that have similar types of use.

``Committee''
« comité »

``Committee'' means the National Advisory Committee established pursuant to section 6.

``ecosystem''
« écosystème »

``ecosystem'' means a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism commu nities and their non-living environment in teracting as a functional unit.

``environment ''
« environne-
ment »

``environment'' means the components of the Earth and includes

      (a) air, land and water;

      (b) all layers of the atmosphere;

      (c) all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms; and

      (d) the interacting natural systems that include components referred to in para graphs (a) to (c).

``environ-
mental emergency''
« urgence environne-
mentale »

``environmental emergency'' has the meaning given that expression in Part VIII.

``environ-
mental quality''
« qualité de l'environne-
ment »

``environmental quality'' includes the health of ecosystems.

``Environ-
mental Registry''
« Registre »

``Environmental Registry'' means the registry established under section 12.

``federal land''
« territoire domanial »

``federal land'' means

      (a) land, including any water, that be longs to Her Majesty in right of Canada, or that Her Majesty in right of Canada has the right to dispose of, and the air and all layers of the atmosphere above and the subsurface below that land; and

      (b) the following land and areas, namely,

        (i) the internal waters of Canada within the meaning of the Territorial Sea and Fishing Zones Act, including the seabed and subsoil below and air and all layers of the atmosphere above those waters, and

        (ii) the territorial sea of Canada as determined in accordance with the Territorial Sea and Fishing Zones Act, including the seabed and subsoil below and air and all layers of the atmosphere above that sea.

``federal source''
« source d'origine fédérale »

``federal source'' means

      (a) a department of the Government of Canada;

      (b) an agency of the Government of Canada or other body established by or under an Act of Parliament that is ultimately accountable through a Minis ter of the Crown in right of Canada to Parliament for the conduct of its affairs;

      (c) a Crown corporation as defined in subsection 83(1) of the Financial Admin istration Act; or

      (d) a federal work or undertaking.

``federal work or undertaking''
« entreprises fédérales »

``federal work or undertaking'' means any work or undertaking that is within the legis lative authority of Parliament, including, but not limited to,

      (a) a work, undertaking or business operated for or in connection with navi gation and shipping, whether inland or maritime, including the operation of ships and transportation by ship;

      (b) a railway, canal, telegraph or other work or undertaking connecting one province with another, or extending be yond the limits of a province;

      (c) a line of ships connecting a province with any other province, or extending beyond the limits of a province;

      (d) a ferry between any province and any other province or between any province and any country other than Canada;

      (e) airports, aircraft and commercial air services;

      (f) a broadcast undertaking;

      (g) a bank;

      (h) a work or undertaking that, although wholly situated within a province, is before or after its completion declared by Parliament to be for the general advan tage of Canada or for the advantage of two or more provinces; and

      (i) a work or undertaking outside the exclusive legislative authority of the legislatures of the provinces.

``fuel''
« combustible »

``fuel'' means any form of matter that is com busted or oxidized for the generation of en ergy.

``government' '
« gouverne-
ment »

``government'' means the government of a province or of a territory or an aboriginal government.

``inspector''
« inspecteur »

``inspector'' means a person or a member of a class of persons designated as an inspector under subsection 217(1).