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Bill C-74

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First Reading

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	(c) setting a time limit for the negotiations.
Appointment of other person to prepare plan	(3) The court may appoint a person who is not a party to prepare a draft plan if the parties cannot agree on the plan or the court is not satisfied with the plan that they negotiate.
Order to prepare another plan	(4) The court may order the parties to prepare another plan if it is not satisfied with the plan that they negotiate.
Approval and effective date	(5) The court may approve a plan that the parties negotiate or a plan prepared by a person appointed under subsection (3) and the approved plan comes into effect on a day determined by the court.
Restriction on orders to negotiate plans	35. A court may not order the negotiation of a plan to correct or mitigate the harm to the environment or human, animal or plant life or health if it determines that
	(a) the harm has already been corrected or mitigated; or
	(b) adequate measures to correct or mitigate the harm have already been ordered under this Act or any other law in force in Canada.
Settlement or disconti- nuance	36. An environmental protection action may be settled or discontinued only with the approval of the court and on terms that it considers appropriate.
Settlements and orders	37. If an environmental protection action results in an order of a court or a settlement approved by a court,
	(a) the resolution of any question of fact by the order or settlement is binding on a court in any other environmental protection ac tion in which that question arises; and
	(b) no other environmental protection ac tion may be brought with respect to the offence or alleged offence dealt with by the order or settlement.
Costs	38. In deciding whether to award costs in an environmental protection action, the court may consider any special circumstances, including whether the action is a test case or raises a novel point of law.
	Action to Prevent or Compensate Loss
Injunction	39. Any person who suffers, or is about to suffer, loss or damage as a result of conduct that contravenes any provision of this Act or the regulations may seek an injunction from a court of competent jurisdiction ordering the person engaging in the conduct
	(a) to refrain from doing anything that it appears to the court causes or will cause the loss or damage; or
	(b) to do anything that it appears to the court prevents or will prevent the loss or damage.
Civil cause of action	40. Any person who has suffered loss or damage as a result of conduct that contravenes any provision of this Act or the regulations may, in any court of competent jurisdiction, bring an action to recover from the person who engaged in the conduct
	(a) an amount equal to the loss or damage proved to have been suffered by the person; and
	(b) an amount to compensate for the costs that the person incurs in connection with the matter and proceedings under this section.
	Other Matters
Evidence of offence	41. (1) In an action under this Part, the record of proceedings in any court in which a defendant was convicted of an offence under this Act is evidence that the defendant com mitted the offence.
Certificate evidence of conviction	(2) In the action, evidence that a defendant was convicted of an offence under this Act may be given by a certificate stating with reasonable particularity the conviction and sentence of the defendant.
Signature of certificate	(3) The certificate shall be signed by
	(a) the person who made the conviction; or
	(b) the clerk of the court in which the conviction was made.
	Once it is proved that the defendant is the of fender mentioned in the certificate, it is evi dence without proof of the signature or the of ficial character of the person appearing to have signed it.
Civil remedies not affected	42. (1) No civil remedy for any conduct is suspended or affected by reason only that the conduct is an offence under this Act.
Remedies not repealed, etc.	(2) Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted so as to repeal, remove or reduce any remedy available to any person under any law in force in Canada.
Canada Shipping Act	(3) No claim for damage caused by a ship may be made under this Act to the extent that a claim for that damage may be made under the Canada Shipping Act.
	PART III
	INFORMATION GATHERING, OBJECTIVES, GUIDELINES AND CODES OF PRACTICE
	Interpretation
Definition of ``fish''	43. In this Part and Part X, ``fish'' has the meaning assigned by section 2 of the Fisheries Act.
	Environmental Data and Research
Monitoring, research and publication	44. (1) The Minister may
	(a) establish, operate and maintain a system for monitoring environmental quality;
	(b) conduct research and studies relating to pollution prevention, the nature, transporta tion, dispersion, effects, control and abate ment of pollution and the effects of pollu tion on environmental quality, and provide advisory and technical services and in formation related to that research and those studies;
	(c) conduct research and studies relating to
	(i) environmental contamination arising from disturbances of ecosystems by hu man activity,
	(ii) changes in the normal geochemical cycling of toxic substances that are naturally present in the environment, and
	(iii) detection and damage to ecosystems;
	(d) collect, process, correlate, interpret, create an inventory of and publish on a periodic basis data on environmental quali ty in Canada from monitoring systems, research, studies and any other sources;
	(e) formulate plans for pollution prevention and the control and abatement of pollution, including plans respecting the prevention of, preparedness for and response to an environmental emergency and for restoring any part of the environment damaged by or during an emergency, and establish, operate and publicize demonstration projects and make them available for demonstration; and
	(f) publish, arrange for the publication of or distribute through an information clearing- house
	(i) information respecting pollution pre vention,
	(i) pertinent information in respect of all aspects of environmental quality, and
	(ii) a periodic report on the state of the Canadian environment.
Cooperation and agreements	(2) The Minister may
	(a) in establishing a system referred to in paragraph (1)(a), cooperate with govern ments, foreign governments and aboriginal people and with any person who has established or proposes to establish any such system; and
	(b) with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into agreements for the operation or maintenance of a system referred to in paragraph (1)(a) by the Minister on behalf of any government, aboriginal people or any person or for the operation or maintenance of any such system by the government or any person on behalf of the Minister.
Cooperation with other bodies	(3) The Minister may, in exercising the powers conferred by paragraphs (1)(b) to (e), act in cooperation with any government, foreign government, government department or agency, institution, aboriginal people or any person and may sponsor or assist in any of their research, studies, planning or activities in relation to environmental quality, pollution prevention, environmental emergencies or the control or abatement of pollution.
Role of Minister of Health	45. The Minister of Health may
	(a) conduct research and studies relating to the role of substances in illnesses or in health problems;
	(b) collect, process, correlate and publish on a periodic basis data from any research or studies done pursuant to paragraph (a); and
	(c) distribute available information to in form the public about the effects of sub stances on human health.
	Information Gathering
Notice requiring information	46. (1) The Minister may, for the purpose of conducting research, creating an inventory of data, formulating objectives and codes of practice, issuing guidelines or assessing or reporting on the state of the environment, publish in the Canada Gazette and in any other manner that the Minister considers appropri ate a notice requiring any person described in the notice to provide the Minister with such information as may be in the possession of that person or to which that person may reasonably be expected to have access, including in formation regarding the following:
	(a) substances on the Priority Substances List;
	(b) substances that have not been deter mined to be toxic under Part V or VI because of the current extent of the environ ment's exposure to them, but whose pres ence in the environment must be monitored if the Minister considers that to be appropri ate;
	(c) substances, including nutrients, that can be released into water or are present in products like water conditioners and clean ing products;
	(d) substances released, or disposed of, at or into the sea;
	(e) substances that are toxic under section 65 or that may become toxic;
	(f) substances that cause or contribute to international or interprovincial pollution of fresh water, salt water or the atmosphere;
	(g) substances or fuels that contribute significantly to air pollution;
	(h) substances that, if released into Cana dian waters, cause or may cause damage to fish or to their habitat;
	(i) substances that, if released into areas of Canada where there are migratory birds, endangered species or other wildlife regu lated under any other Act of Parliament, are harmful or capable of causing harm to those birds, species or wildlife;
	(j) substances that are on the list established pursuant to regulations made under subsec tion 200(1);
	(k) the release of substances into the environment at any stage of their life-cycle;
	(l) the manufacture, handling, storage, transportation, recycling, treatment and disposal of, and other activities relating to, the substances referred to in any of para graphs (a) to (j);
	(m) pollution prevention; and
	(n) use of federal land and of aboriginal land.
Other recipients	(2) The Minister may, in accordance with an agreement signed with a government, require that a person to whom a notice is directed submit the information to that government.
Period of notice and date for compliance	(3) A notice referred to in subsection (1) must indicate the period during which it is in force, which may not exceed three years, and the date or dates within which the person to whom the notice is directed shall comply with the notice.
Compliance with notice	(4) Every person to whom a notice is directed shall comply with the notice.
Extension of time	(5) The Minister may, on request in writing from any person to whom a notice is directed, extend the date or dates within which the person shall comply with the notice.
Manner	(6) The notice must indicate the manner in which the information is to be provided to the Minister.
Preservation of information	(7) The notice may indicate the period during which, and the location where, the person to whom the notice is directed shall keep copies of the required information, together with any calculations, measurements and other data on which the information is based. The period may not exceed three years from the date the information is required to be submitted to the Minister.
Guidelines	47. (1) The Minister shall issue guidelines respecting the cost-effective use of the powers provided for by subsection 46(1).
Consultation	(2) In carrying out the duties under subsec tion (1), the Minister may consult with a government, a government department or agency, aboriginal people, representatives of industry and labour and municipal authorities or with persons interested in the quality of the environment.
National inventory	48. The Minister may use the information collected under section 46 to establish a national inventory of releases of pollutants and any other inventory of information.
Publication in whole or in part	49. The notice published under subsection 46(1) must indicate whether or not the Minis ter intends to publish the information and, if so, whether in whole or in part.
Publication of inventory	50. Subject to subsection 53(4), the Minis ter may publish, in such manner as the Minister considers appropriate, any inventory of information established under section 48.
Request for confidentia- lity	51. A person who provides information to the Minister under subsection 46(1) may, if the Minister's intention to publish the information has been indicated under section 49, submit with the information a written request, sup ported by reasons, that the information be treated as confidential.
Reasons	52. Notwithstanding Part XI, a request under subsection (1) may only be based on any of the following reasons:
	(a) the information constitutes a trade secret;
	(b) the disclosure of the information would likely cause financial loss to, or damage the competitive position of, the person provid ing the information; and
	(c) the disclosure of the information would likely interfere with contractual or other negotiations being conducted by the person providing the information.
Additional justification	53. (1) The Minister may, after studying the reasons provided under section 52, require the person in question to provide, within 20 days and in writing, additional justification for the request for confidentiality.
Extension of time	(2) The Minister may extend the period mentioned in subsection (1) by up to 10 days if the extension is necessary to permit ade quate preparation of the additional justifica tion.
Minister's decision	(3) In determining whether to accept or reject the request, the Minister shall consider whether the reasons are well founded and, if they are, the Minister may nevertheless reject the request if
	(a) the disclosure is in the interest of the protection of the environment, public health or public safety; and
	(b) the public interest in the disclosure clearly outweighs in importance
	(i) any material financial loss or preju dice to the competitive position of the person who provided the information or on whose behalf it was provided, and

Bill C-74

Action to Prevent or Compensate Loss

Other Matters

PART III

INFORMATION GATHERING, OBJECTIVES, GUIDELINES AND CODES OF PRACTICE

Interpretation

Environmental Data and Research

Information Gathering