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| Non-applicati
on of
regulations
|
10. (1) Except with respect to Her Majesty
in right of Canada, the provisions of a
regulation made under subsection 93(1),
200(1) or 209(1) or (2) do not apply within the
jurisdiction of a government for which there is
in force an order, made under subsection (3),
declaring that the provisions do not apply
within that jurisdiction.
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| Non-applicati
on of
regulations
|
(2) Except with respect to a federal source,
the provisions of a regulation made under
section 167 or 177 do not apply within the
jurisdiction of a government for which there is
in force an order, made under subsection (3),
declaring that the provisions do not apply
within that jurisdiction.
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| Declaration of
equivalent
provisions
|
(3) Subject to subsections (4), (5) and (6),
where the Minister and a government agree in
writing that there are in force by or under the
laws applicable to the jurisdiction of the
government
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(a) provisions that are equivalent to a
regulation made under a provision referred
to in subsection (1) or (2), and
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(b) provisions that are similar to sections 17
to 20 for the investigation of alleged
offences under environmental legislation of
that jurisdiction,
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the Governor in Council may, on the
recommendation of the Minister, make an
order declaring that the provisions of the
regulation do not apply in an area under the
jurisdiction of the government.
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| Publication of
agreements
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(4) The Minister shall publish any
agreement referred to in subsection (3) before
it is entered into, or give notice of its
availability, in the Canada Gazette and in any
other manner that the Minister considers
appropriate.
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| Comments or
objections
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(5) Within 60 days after the publication of
an agreement or notice of its availability under
subsection (4), any person may file with the
Minister comments or a notice of objection.
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| Publication by
Minister of
results
|
(6) After the end of the period of 60 days
referred to in subsection (5), the Minister shall
publish in the Canada Gazette and in any other
manner that the Minister considers
appropriate a report or a notice of the
availability of a report that summarizes how
any comments or notices of objection were
dealt with.
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| Publication of
final
agreements
|
(7) The Minister shall publish any
agreement referred to in subsection (3) after it
is entered into, or give notice of its
availability, in the Canada Gazette and in any
other manner that the Minister considers
appropriate.
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| Termination
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(8) An agreement made under subsection
(3) terminates five years after the date on
which it comes into force or may be
terminated earlier by either party giving the
other at least three months notice.
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| Revocation of
order
|
(9) The Governor in Council may, on the
recommendation of the Minister, revoke an
order made under subsection (3) if the
agreement referred to in that subsection
terminates or is terminated.
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| Report to
Parliament
|
(10) The Minister shall include in the
annual report required by section 342 a report
on the administration of this section.
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| Definition of
``environment
al protection
action''
|
11. In this Part, ``environmental protection
action'' means an action under section 22.
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| Establishment
of
Environmenta
l Registry
|
12. The Minister shall establish a registry, to
be called the Environmental Registry, for the
purpose of facilitating access to documents
relating to matters under this Act.
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| Contents of
Environmenta
l Registry
|
13. (1) The Environmental Registry shall
contain notices and other documents
published or made publicly available by the
Minister, and shall also include, subject to the
Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act,
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(a) notices of objection and of any approval
granted under this Act;
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(b) a copy of every policy and of every
proposed regulation or order made under
this Act; and
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(c) copies of documents submitted to a court
by the Minister relating to any
environmental protection action.
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| Form and
manner of
Environmenta
l Registry
|
(2) The Minister may determine the form of
the Environmental Registry, how it is to be
kept and how access to it is to be provided.
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| Protection
from civil
proceeding or
prosecution
|
14. (1) Despite any other Act of Parliament,
no civil or criminal proceedings may be
brought against any person mentioned in
subsection (2) for the full or partial disclosure
in good faith of any notice or other document
through the Environmental Registry or any
consequences of its disclosure.
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| Persons
protected
|
(2) The persons against whom the
proceedings may not be brought are Her
Majesty in right of Canada, the Minister and
any person acting on behalf of or under the
direction of the Minister.
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| Additional
rights
|
15. The rights conferred by this Part are in
addition to the right to request the addition of
a substance to the Priority Substance List, the
right to file a notice of objection under Parts
1, 5, 7 and 11 and the right to request under
Parts 5, 7 and 11 that a board of review be
established under section 333.
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| Voluntary
reports
|
16. (1) Where a person has knowledge of
the commission or reasonable likelihood of
the commission of an offence under this Act,
but is not required to report the matter under
this Act, the person may report any
information relating to the offence or likely
offence to an enforcement officer or any
person to whom a report may be made under
this Act.
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| Request for
confidentiality
|
(2) The person making the report may
request that their identity, and any information
that could reasonably be expected to reveal
their identity, not be disclosed.
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| Requirement
for
confidentiality
|
(3) No person shall disclose or cause to be
disclosed the identity of a person who makes
a request under subsection (2) or any
information that could reasonably be expected
to reveal their identity unless the person
authorizes the disclosure in writing.
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| Employee
protection
|
(4) Despite any other Act of Parliament, no
employer shall dismiss, suspend, demote,
discipline, harass or otherwise disadvantage
an employee, or deny an employee a benefit of
employment, by reason that
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(a) the employee has made a report under
subsection (1);
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(b) the employee, acting in good faith and
on the basis of reasonable belief, has
refused or stated an intention of refusing to
do anything that is an offence under this
Act; or
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(c) the employee, acting in good faith and
on the basis of reasonable belief, has done
or stated an intention of doing anything that
is required to be done by or under this Act.
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| Application
for
investigation
by Minister
|
17. (1) An individual who is resident in
Canada and at least 18 years of age may apply
to the Minister for an investigation of any
offence under this Act that the individual
alleges has occurred.
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| Statement to
accompany
application
|
(2) The application shall include a solemn
affirmation or declaration
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(a) stating the name and address of the
applicant;
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(b) stating that the applicant is at least 18
years old and a resident of Canada;
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(c) stating the nature of the alleged offence
and the name of each person alleged to have
contravened, or to have done something in
contravention of, this Act or the
regulations; and
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(d) containing a concise statement of the
evidence supporting the allegations of the
applicant.
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| Form
|
(3) The Minister may prescribe the form in
which an application under this section is
required to be made.
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| Investigation
by Minister
|
18. The Minister shall acknowledge receipt
of the application within 20 days of the receipt
and shall investigate all matters that the
Minister considers necessary to determine the
facts relating to the alleged offence.
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| Progress
reports
|
19. After acknowledging receipt of the
application, the Minister shall report to the
applicant every 90 days on the progress of the
investigation and the action, if any, that the
Minister has taken or proposes to take, and the
Minister shall include in the report an estimate
of the time required to complete the
investigation or to implement the action, but
a report is not required if the investigation is
discontinued before the end of the 90 days.
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| Minister may
send evidence
to Attorney
General of
Canada
|
20. At any stage of an investigation, the
Minister may send any documents or other
evidence to the Attorney General of Canada
for consideration of whether an offence has
been or is about to be committed under this
Act and for any action that the Attorney
General may wish to take.
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| Discontinuati
on of
investigation
|
21. (1) The Minister may discontinue the
investigation if the Minister is of the opinion
that
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(a) the alleged offence does not require
further investigation; or
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(b) the investigation does not substantiate
the alleged offence.
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| Report
|
(2) If the investigation is discontinued, the
Minister shall
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(a) prepare a report in writing describing the
information obtained during the
investigation and stating the reasons for its
discontinuation; and
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(b) send a copy of the report to the applicant
and to any person whose conduct was
investigated.
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A copy of the report sent to a person whose
conduct was investigated must not disclose
the name or address of the applicant or any
other personal information about them.
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| Circumstances
when an
individual
may bring an
action
|
22. (1) An individual who has applied for an
investigation may bring an environmental
protection action if
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(a) the Minister failed to conduct an
investigation and report within a reasonable
time; or
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(b) the Minister's response to the
investigation was unreasonable.
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| Nature of the
action
|
(2) The action may be brought in any court
of competent jurisdiction against a person
who committed an offence under this Act that
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(a) was alleged in the application for the
investigation; and
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(b) caused significant harm to the
environment.
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| Relief that
may be
claimed
|
(3) In the action, the individual may claim
any or all of the following:
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(b) an order, including an interlocutory
order, requiring the defendant to refrain
from doing anything that, in the opinion of
the court, may constitute an offence under
this Act;
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(c) an order, including an interlocutory
order, requiring the defendant to do
anything that, in the opinion of the court,
may prevent the continuation of an offence
under this Act;
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(d) an order to the parties to negotiate a plan
to correct or mitigate the harm to the
environment or to human, animal or plant
life or health, and to report to the court on
the negotiations within a time set by the
court; and
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(e) any other appropriate relief, including
the costs of the action, but not including
damages.
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| Limitation
period of two
years
|
23. (1) An environmental protection action
may be brought only within a limitation period
of two years beginning when the plaintiff
becomes aware of the conduct on which the
action is based, or should have become aware
of it.
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| Time during
investigation
not included
|
(2) The limitation period does not include
any time following the plaintiff's application
for an investigation, but before the plaintiff
receives a report under subsection 21(2).
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| No action for
remedial
conduct
|
24. An environmental protection action
may not be brought if the alleged conduct
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(i) to correct or mitigate harm or the risk
of harm to the environment or to human,
animal or plant life or health, or
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(ii) to protect national security, support
humanitarian relief efforts, participate in
multilateral military or peace-keeping
activities under the auspices of
international organizations or defend a
member state of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization; and
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(b) was reasonable and consistent with
public safety.
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| Exception
|
25. An environmental protection action
may not be brought against a person if the
person was convicted of an offence under this
Act, or environmental protection alternative
measures within the meaning of Part 10 were
used to deal with the person, in respect of the
alleged conduct on which the action is based.
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|
| Notice of the
action
|
26. (1) The plaintiff in an environmental
protection action shall give notice of the
action to the Minister no later than 10 days
after the document originating the action is
first served on a defendant, and the Minister
shall give notice of the action in the
Environmental Registry as soon as possible
after receipt of the plaintiff's notice.
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| Notice of
other matters
|
(2) In an environmental protection action,
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(a) the court may order any party to the
action to give notice to the Minister of any
matter relating to the action, within the time
specified by the court; and
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(b) the Minister shall give notice of that
matter in the Environmental Registry as
soon as possible after receipt of the party's
notice.
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|
| Attorney
General to be
served
|
27. (1) A plaintiff shall serve the Attorney
General of Canada with a copy of the
document originating an environmental
protection action within 20 days after first
serving the document on a defendant.
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| Attorney
General may
participate
|
(2) The Attorney General of Canada is
entitled to participate in the action, either as a
party or otherwise. Notice of his or her
decision to participate shall be given to the
plaintiff and be included in the Environmental
Registry within 45 days after the copy of the
originating document is served on the
Attorney General.
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| Right of
appeal
|
(3) The Attorney General of Canada is
entitled to appeal from a judgment in the
action and to make submissions and present
evidence in an appeal.
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| Other
participants
|
28. (1) A court may allow any person to
participate in an environmental protection
action in order to provide fair and adequate
representation of the private and public
interests involved.
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| Manner and
terms of
participation
|
(2) The court may determine the manner
and terms of the person's participation,
including the payment of costs.
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| Burden of
proof
|
29. The offence alleged in an
environmental protection action and the
resulting significant harm are to be proved on
a balance of probabilities.
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| Defences
|
30. (1) The following defences are
available in an environmental protection
action:
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(a) the defence of due diligence in
complying with this Act and the
regulations;
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