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RECOMMENDATION |
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Her Excellency the Governor General recommends to the House of
Commons the appropriation of public revenue under the circumstances,
in the manner and for the purposes set out in a measure entitled ``An Act
to amend the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act''.
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SUMMARY |
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This enactment implements the results of the statutory review of the
Canadian Environmental Assessment Act conducted by the Minister of
the Environment. It establishes a Federal Environmental Assessment
Coordinator for projects that undergo screening or comprehensive
study-level assessment. It modifies the comprehensive study process to
prevent a second environmental assessment of a project by review
panel, while extending the participant funding program to
comprehensive studies. This enactment expands existing
regulation-making authority for projects on federal lands, provides a
new use for class screening reports as a replacement for project-specific
assessments and makes follow-up programs mandatory for projects
after a comprehensive study or review panel.
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To provide Canadians with access to information about the
environmental assessment of specific projects, this enactment creates
the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry. It requires that the
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency establish and lead a
quality assurance program, promote and monitor compliance and assist
relevant parties in building consensus and resolving disputes.
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EXPLANATORY NOTES |
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Canadian Environmental Assessment Act |
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Clause 1: (1) and (2) The definitions ``comprehensive
study'', ``exclusion list'' and ``federal authority'' in
subsection 2(1) read as follows:
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``comprehensive study'' means an environmental assessment that is
conducted pursuant to section 21 and that includes a consideration
of the factors required to be considered under subsections 16(1) and
(2);
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``exclusion list'' means a list of all projects or classes of projects that
have been prescribed pursuant to regulations made under paragraph
59(c);
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``federal authority'' means
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(3) The relevant portion of the definition ``federal
lands'' in subsection 2(1) reads as follows:
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``federal lands'' means
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(4) New.
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Clause 2: New. The relevant portion of section 4 reads
as follows:
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4. The purposes of this Act are
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Clause 3: (1) The relevant portion of subsection 7(1)
reads as follows:
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7. (1) Notwithstanding section 5, an environmental assessment of a
project is not required where
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(2) Subsection 7(2) reads as follows:
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(2) For greater certainty, an environmental assessment is not
required where a federal authority exercises a power or performs a duty
or function referred to in paragraph 5(1)(b) in relation to a project and
the essential details of the project are not specified before or at the time
the power is exercised or the duty or function is performed.
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Clause 4: New.
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Clause 5: Subsection 8(1.1) is new. Subsection 8(1)
reads as follows:
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8. (1) Before a Crown corporation within the meaning of the
Financial Administration Act or any corporation controlled by such a
corporation exercises a power or performs a duty or function referred
to in paragraph 5(1)(a), (b) or (c) in relation to a project, the Crown
corporation shall ensure or require the corporation controlled by it to
ensure, as the case may be, that an assessment of the environmental
effects of the project is conducted in accordance with any regulations
made for that purpose under paragraph 59(j) as early as is practicable
in the planning stages of the project and before irrevocable decisions are
made.
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Clause 6: Sections 9.1 and 10.1 are new. Sections 9
and 10 read as follows:
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9. Before the Hamilton Harbour Commissioners constituted
pursuant to The Hamilton Harbour Commissioners' Act, The Toronto
Harbour Commissioners constituted pursuant to The Toronto Harbour
Commissioners' Act, 1911, any harbour commission established
pursuant to the Harbour Commissions Act, a not-for-profit corporation
that enters into an agreement under subsection 80(5) of the Canada
Marine Act or a port authority established under that Act exercises a
power or performs a duty or function referred to in paragraph 5(1)(a),
(b) or (c) in relation to a project, it shall ensure that an assessment of the
environmental effects of the project is conducted in accordance with
any regulations made for that purpose under paragraph 59(k) as early
as is practicable in the planning stages of the project and before
irrevocable decisions are made.
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10. (1) Before a person or body receives financial assistance
provided by a federal authority for the purpose of enabling a project to
be carried out in whole or in part on a reserve that is set apart for the use
and benefit of a band and that is subject to the Indian Act, the council
of the band for whose use and benefit the reserve has been set apart shall
ensure that an assessment of the environmental effects of the project is
conducted in accordance with any regulations made for that purpose
under paragraph 59(l) as early as is practicable in the planning stages of
the project and before irrevocable decisions are made.
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(2) Notwithstanding paragraph 5(1)(b), an environmental
assessment of a project is not required by reason only of the provision
of financial assistance for the purpose mentioned in subsection (1).
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Clause 7: New.
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Clause 8: New.
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Clause 9: New.
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Clause 10: (1) The relevant portion of subsection
18(1) reads as follows:
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18. (1) Where a project is not described in the comprehensive study
list or the exclusion list, the responsible authority shall ensure that
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(2) Subsection 18(4) is new. Subsection 18(3) reads as
follows:
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(3) Where the responsible authority is of the opinion that public
participation in the screening of a project is appropriate in the
circumstances, or where required by regulation, the responsible
authority shall give the public notice and an opportunity to examine and
comment on the screening report and on any record that has been filed
in the public registry established in respect of the project pursuant to
section 55 before taking a course of action under section 20.
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Clause 11: Section 19 reads as follows:
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19. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Agency may, on the request of
the responsible authority and where the Agency determines that a
screening report could be used as a model in conducting screenings of
other projects within the same class, declare that report to be a class
screening report.
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(2) The Agency shall, before making a declaration pursuant to
subsection (1),
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(3) Any declaration made pursuant to subsection (1) shall be
published in the Canada Gazette and the screening report to which it
relates shall be made available to the public at the registry maintained
by the Agency.
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(4) Where a project or part of a project is within a class in respect of
which a class screening report has been declared, the responsible
authority may use or permit the use of that report and the screening on
which it is based to whatever extent the responsible authority considers
appropriate for the purpose of complying with section 18.
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(5) Where a responsible authority uses or permits the use of a class
screening report, it shall ensure that any adjustments are made to the
report that are necessary to take into account local circumstances and
any cumulative environmental effects that may result from the project
in combination with other projects or activities that have been or will be
carried out.
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(6) Where the Agency determines that a class screening report can
no longer be used as a model in conducting screenings of other projects
within the same class, the Agency may declare the report not to be a
class screening report.
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(7) Any declaration made pursuant to subsection (6) shall be
published in the Canada Gazette and the screening report in respect of
which it relates shall be removed from the public registry maintained by
the Agency.
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Clause 12: Subsections 20(2.1) and (2.2) are new.
Subsection 20(3) reads as follows:
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(3) Where the responsible authority takes a course of action pursuant
to paragraph (1)(b) in relation to a project,
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Clause 13: Sections 21.1 and 21.2 are new. Section 21
reads as follows:
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21. Where a project is described in the comprehensive study list, the
responsible authority shall
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Clause 14: Section 23 reads as follows:
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23. The Minister shall take one of the following courses of action in
respect of a project after taking into consideration the comprehensive
study report and any comments filed pursuant to subsection 22(2):
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Clause 15: Subsection 29(4) reads as follows:
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(4) Where at any time after an environmental assessment or part of
an environmental assessment of a project has been referred to a
mediator, the Minister or the mediator determines that the mediation of
any issue subject to the mediation is not likely to produce a result that
is satisfactory to all the participants to the mediation, the Minister shall
terminate the mediation of the issue and refer the issue to a review panel.
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Clause 16: Subsection 32(1) reads as follows:
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32. (1) A mediator shall, at the conclusion of the mediation, prepare
and submit a report to the Minister and to the responsible authority.
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Clause 17: (1) Subsection 35(3) reads as follows:
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(3) A hearing by a review panel shall be public unless the panel is
satisfied after representations made by a witness that specific, direct and
substantial harm would be caused to the witness by the disclosure of the
evidence, documents or other things that the witness is ordered to give
or produce pursuant to subsection (1).
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(2) New.
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Clause 18: (1) The relevant portion of subsection
37(1) reads as follows:
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37. (1) Subject to subsection (1.1), the responsible authority shall
take one of the following courses of action in respect of a project after
taking into consideration the report submitted by a mediator or a review
panel or, in the case of a project referred back to the responsible
authority pursuant to paragraph 23(a), the comprehensive study report:
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(2) New.
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(3) Subsections 37(2.1) and (2.2) are new. Subsection
37(3) reads as follows:
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(3) Where the responsible authority takes a course of action referred
to in paragraph (1)(b) in relation to a project,
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Clause 19: Section 38 reads as follows:
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38. (1) Where a responsible authority takes a course of action
pursuant to paragraph 20(1)(a) or 37(1)(a), it shall, in accordance with
any regulations made for that purpose, design any follow-up program
that it considers appropriate for the project and arrange for the
implementation of that program.
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(2) A responsible authority referred to in subsection (1) shall, in
accordance with any regulations made for that purpose, advise the
public of
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Clause 20: Subsection 40(2) reads as follows:
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(2) Subject to section 41, where the referral of a project to a review
panel is required or permitted by this Act and a jurisdiction referred to
in paragraph (1)(a), (b), (c) or (d) has a responsibility or an authority to
conduct an assessment of the environmental effects of the project or any
part of it, the Minister
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Clause 21: The relevant portion of section 41 reads as
follows:
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41. An agreement or arrangement entered into pursuant to
subsection 40(2) or (3), and any document establishing a review panel
under subsection 40(2.1), shall provide that the assessment of the
environmental effects of the project shall include a consideration of the
factors required to be considered under subsections 16(1) and (2) and
be conducted in accordance with any additional requirements and
procedures set out in the agreement and shall provide that
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Clause 22: Subsection 46(1) reads as follows:
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46. (1) Where no power, duty or function referred to in section 5 or
conferred by or under any other Act of Parliament or regulation is to be
exercised or performed by a federal authority in relation to a project that
is to be carried out in a province and the Minister is of the opinion that
the project may cause significant adverse environmental effects in
another province, the Minister may refer the project to a mediator or a
review panel in accordance with section 29 for an assessment of the
environmental effects of the project in that other province.
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Clause 23: Subsection 47(1) reads as follows:
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47. (1) Where no power, duty or function referred to in section 5 or
conferred by or under any other Act of Parliament or regulation is to be
exercised or performed by a federal authority in relation to a project that
is to be carried out in Canada or on federal lands and the Minister is of
the opinion that the project may cause significant adverse
environmental effects occurring both outside Canada and outside those
federal lands, the Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs may refer
the project to a mediator or a review panel in accordance with section
29 for an assessment of the environmental effects of the project
occurring both outside Canada and outside federal lands.
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Clause 24: (1) The relevant portion of subsection
48(1) reads as follows:
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48. (1) Where no power, duty or function referred to in section 5 or
conferred by or under any other Act of Parliament or regulation is to be
exercised or performed by a federal authority in relation to a project that
is to be carried out in Canada and the Minister is of the opinion that the
project may cause significant adverse environmental effects on
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(2) The relevant portion of subsection 48(2) reads as
follows:
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(2) Where no power, duty or function referred to in section 5 or
conferred by or under any other Act of Parliament or regulation is to be
exercised or performed by a federal authority in relation to a project that
is to be carried out on
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(3) New. The relevant portion of subsection 48(5)
reads as follows:
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(5) At least ten days before a reference is made pursuant to
subsection (1) or (2), the Minister shall give notice of the intention to do
so to
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Clause 25: Subsections 54(2) and (3) read as follows:
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(2) Subject to subsection (3), where a federal authority or the
Government of Canada on behalf of a federal authority enters into an
agreement or arrangement with any government or any person,
organization or institution, whether or not part of or affiliated with a
government, under which a federal authority exercises a power or
performs a duty or function referred to in paragraph 5(1)(b) in relation
to projects the essential details of which are not specified and that are
to be carried out both outside Canada and outside federal lands, the
Government of Canada or the federal authority shall ensure, in so far as
is practicable and subject to any other such agreement to which the
Government of Canada or federal authority is a party, that the agreement
or arrangement provides for the assessment of the environmental
effects of those projects and that the assessment will be carried out as
early as practicable in the planning stages of those projects, before
irrevocable decisions are made, in accordance with
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(3) Subsection (1) or (2) does not apply in respect of an agreement
or arrangement referred to in that subsection where the federal authority
will be required to exercise a power or perform a duty or function
referred to in paragraph 5(1)(b) in relation to the projects in respect of
which the agreement or arrangement applies after the essential details
of the projects are specified.
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Clause 26: Sections 55.1 to 55.4 are new. Section 55
and the heading before it read as follows:
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ACCESS TO INFORMATION |
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55. (1) For the purpose of facilitating public access to records
relating to environmental assessments, a public registry shall be
established and operated in a manner to ensure convenient public
access to the registry and in accordance with this Act and the regulations
in respect of every project for which an environmental assessment is
conducted.
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(2) The public registry in respect of a project shall be maintained
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(3) Subject to subsection (4), a public registry shall contain all
records produced, collected, or submitted with respect to the
environmental assessment of the project, including
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(4) A public registry shall contain a record referred to in subsection
(3) if the record falls within one of the following categories:
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(5) Sections 27, 28 and 44 of the Access to Information Act apply,
with such modifications as the circumstances require, to any
determination made under paragraph (4)(b) in respect of third party
information, and, for the purpose of section 27 of that Act, any record
referred to in paragraph (4)(b) shall be deemed to be a record that the
responsible authority or the Minister intends to disclose and, for the
purpose of applying that Act, any reference in that Act to the person who
requested access shall be disregarded if no person has requested access
to the information.
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(6) Notwithstanding any other Act of Parliament, no civil or criminal
proceedings lie against a responsible authority or the Minister, or
against any person acting on behalf of or under the direction of a
responsible authority or the Minister, and no proceedings lie against the
Crown or any responsible authority for the disclosure in good faith of
any record or any part of a record pursuant to this Act, for any
consequences that flow from that disclosure, or for the failure to give
any notice required under section 27 or any other provision of the
Access to Information Act if reasonable care is taken to give the required
notice.
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(7) For the purposes of this section, ``third party information'' means
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Clause 27: The heading before section 56 reads as
follows:
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STATISTICAL SUMMARY |
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Clause 28: New.
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Clause 29: Subsection 58(1.1) reads as follows:
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(1.1) For the purposes of this Act, the Minister shall establish a
participant funding program to facilitate the participation of the public
in mediations and assessments by review panels.
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Clause 30: (1) to (4) Paragraphs 59(a.1), (c.1), (h.1),
(i.1), (i.2), (j.1) to (j.3), (k.1) to (k.5), (l.01) and (l.02) are
new. The relevant portion of section 59 reads as follows:
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59. The Governor in Council may make regulations
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Clause 31: New. The relevant portion of section 62
reads as follows:
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62. The objects of the Agency are
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Clause 32: (1) New. The relevant portion of
subsection 63(1) reads as follows:
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63. (1) In carrying out its objects, the Agency shall
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(2) New. The relevant portion of subsection 63(2)
reads as follows:
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(2) In carrying out its objects, the Agency may
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