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1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46-47 Elizabeth II, 1997-98
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The House of Commons of Canada
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BILL C-32 |
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An Act respecting pollution prevention and
the protection of the environment and
human health in order to contribute to
sustainable development
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Declaration
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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
development through pollution prevention.
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Preamble
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Whereas the Government of Canada seeks
to achieve sustainable development that is
based on an ecologically efficient use of
natural, social and economic resources and
acknowledges the need to integrate
environmental, economic and social factors in
the making of all decisions by government and
private entities;
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Whereas the Government of Canada is
committed to implementing pollution
prevention as a national goal and as the
priority approach to environmental
protection;
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Whereas the Government of Canada
acknowledges the need to control and manage
pollutants and wastes if their release into the
environment cannot be prevented;
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Whereas the Government of Canada
recognizes the importance of an ecosystem
approach;
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Whereas the Government of Canada will
continue to demonstrate national leadership in
establishing ecosystem objectives and
environmental quality guidelines and codes of
practice;
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Whereas the Government of Canada is
committed to implementing the precautionary
principle that, where there are threats of
serious or irreversible damage, lack of full
scientific certainty shall not be used as a
reason for postponing cost-effective measures
to prevent environmental degradation;
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Whereas the Government of Canada
recognizes that all governments in Canada
have authority that enables them to protect the
environment and recognizes that all
governments face environmental problems
that can benefit from cooperative resolution;
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Whereas the Government of Canada
recognizes the importance of endeavouring, in
cooperation with provinces, territories and
aboriginal peoples, to achieve the highest
level of environmental quality for all
Canadians and ultimately contribute to
sustainable development;
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Whereas the Government of Canada
recognizes that the risk of toxic substances in
the environment is a matter of national
concern and that toxic substances, once
introduced into the environment, cannot
always be contained within geographic
boundaries;
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Whereas the Government of Canada
recognizes the integral role of science in the
process of making decisions relating to the
protection of the environment and human
health and that environmental or health risks
and social, economic and technical matters
are to be considered in that process;
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Whereas the Government of Canada
recognizes the responsibility of users and
producers in relation to toxic substances and
pollutants and wastes, and has adopted the
``polluter pays'' principle;
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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;
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Whereas the Government of Canada will
endeavour to remove threats to biological
diversity through pollution prevention and the
control and management of toxic substances;
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And whereas the Government of Canada
must be able to fulfil its international
obligations in respect of the environment;
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Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate and House of
Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
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SHORT TITLE |
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Short title
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1. This Act may be cited as the Canadian
Environmental Protection Act, 1998.
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ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES |
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Duties of the
Government
of Canada
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2. (1) In the administration of this Act, the
Government of Canada shall, having regard to
the Constitution and laws of Canada,
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Other Acts of
Parliament
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(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
appropriate and sufficient to address the
matter.
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INTERPRETATION |
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Definitions
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3. (1) The definitions in this subsection
apply in this Act.
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``aboriginal
government'' « gouverne- ment autochtone »
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``aboriginal government'' means a governing
body that is established by or under or
operating under an agreement between Her
Majesty in right of Canada and aboriginal
people and that is empowered to enact laws
respecting
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``aboriginal
land'' « terres autoch- tones »
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``aboriginal land'' means
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``air
pollution'' « pollution atmosphéri- que »
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``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
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``analyst'' « analyste »
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``analyst'' means a person or a member of a
class of persons designated as an analyst
under subsection 217(1).
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``biological
diversity'' « diversité biologique »
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``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
includes the diversity within and between
species and of ecosystems.
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``biotechno- logy'' « biotechno- logie »
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``biotechnology'' means the application of
science and engineering in the direct or
indirect use of living organisms or parts or
products of living organisms in their natural
or modified forms.
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``class of
substances'' « catégorie de substances »
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``class of substances'' means any two or more
substances that
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``Committee'' « comité »
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``Committee'' means the National Advisory
Committee established under section 6.
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``ecosys- tem'' « écosys- tème »
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``ecosystem'' means a dynamic complex of
plant, animal and micro-organism
communities and their non-living
environment interacting as a functional
unit.
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``environment
'' « environne- ment »
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``environment'' means the components of the
Earth and includes
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``environ- mental emergency'' « urgence environne- mentale »
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``environmental emergency'' has the meaning
given that expression in Part 8.
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``environ- mental quality'' « qualité de l'environne- ment »
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``environmental quality'' includes the health
of ecosystems.
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``Environ- mental Registry'' « Registre »
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``Environmental Registry'' means the registry
established under section 12.
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``federal
land'' « territoire domanial »
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``federal land'' means
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``federal
source'' « source d'origine fédérale »
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``federal source'' means
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``federal work
or
undertaking'' « entreprises fédérales »
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``federal work or undertaking'' means any
work or undertaking that is within the
legislative authority of Parliament,
including, but not limited to,
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``fuel'' « combusti- ble »
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``fuel'' means any form of matter that is
combusted or oxidized for the generation of
energy.
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