Bill C-27
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48-49 ELIZABETH II |
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CHAPTER 32 |
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An Act respecting the national parks of
Canada
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[Assented to 20th October, 2000]
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SHORT TITLE |
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| Short title
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1. This Act may be cited as the Canada
National Parks Act.
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INTERPRETATION |
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| Definitions
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2. (1) The definitions in this subsection
apply in this Act.
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| ``community
plan'' « plan communau- taire »
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``community plan'' means a land use plan for
a park community.
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| ``ecological
integrity'' « intégrité écologique »
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``ecological integrity'' means, with respect to
a park, a condition that is determined to be
characteristic of its natural region and
likely to persist, including abiotic
components and the composition and
abundance of native species and biological
communities, rates of change and
supporting processes.
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| ``enforcement
officer'' « agent de l'autorité »
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``enforcement officer'' means a person
designated under section 19 or belonging to
a class of persons so designated.
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| ``Minister'' « ministre »
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``Minister'' means such member of the
Queen's Privy Council for Canada as is
designated by the Governor in Council as
the Minister for the purposes of this Act.
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| ``park'' « parc »
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``park'' means a national park of Canada or a
national marine park of Canada named and
described in Schedule 1.
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| ``park
community'' « collecti- vité »
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``park community'' means any of the
following communities:
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| ``park
reserve'' « réserve »
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``park reserve'' means a national park reserve
of Canada or a national marine park reserve
of Canada named and described in
Schedule 2.
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| ``park
warden'' « garde de parc »
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``park warden'' means a person designated
under section 18.
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| ``public
lands'' « terres domaniales »
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``public lands'' means lands, including
submerged lands, that belong to Her
Majesty in right of Canada or that the
Government of Canada has the power to
dispose of, whether or not such disposal is
subject to the terms of any agreement
between the Government of Canada and the
government of a province.
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| ``superin- tendent'' « directeur »
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``superintendent'' means an officer appointed
under the Parks Canada Agency Act who
holds the office of superintendent of a park
or of a national historic site of Canada to
which this Act applies, and includes any
person appointed under that Act who is
authorized by such an officer to act on the
officer's behalf.
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| Aboriginal
rights
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(2) For greater certainty, nothing in this Act
shall be construed so as to abrogate or
derogate from the protection provided for
existing aboriginal or treaty rights of the
aboriginal peoples of Canada by the
recognition and affirmation of those rights in
section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
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HER MAJESTY |
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| Binding on
Her Majesty
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3. This Act is binding on Her Majesty in
right of Canada or a province.
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NATIONAL PARKS OF CANADA |
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| Parks
dedicated to
public
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4. (1) The national parks of Canada are
hereby dedicated to the people of Canada for
their benefit, education and enjoyment,
subject to this Act and the regulations, and the
parks shall be maintained and made use of so
as to leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment
of future generations.
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| Purpose of
reserves
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(2) Park reserves are established in
accordance with this Act for the purpose
referred to in subsection (1) when an area or a
portion of an area proposed for a park is
subject to a claim by aboriginal people that has
been accepted for negotiation by the
Government of Canada as a comprehensive
land claim.
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| National parks
of Canada
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5. (1) Subject to section 7, the Governor in
Council may, by order, for the purpose of
establishing or enlarging a park, amend
Schedule 1 by adding the name and a
description of the park, or by altering the
description of the park, if the Governor in
Council is satisfied that
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| No reduction
of area
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(2) No amendment may be made by the
Governor in Council to Schedule 1 for the
purpose of removing any portion of a park.
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| Reserves for
parks
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6. (1) Subject to section 7, the Governor in
Council may, by order, for the purpose of
establishing or enlarging a park reserve,
amend Schedule 2 by adding the name and a
description of the reserve, or by altering the
description of the reserve, if the Governor in
Council is satisfied that the government of the
province in which the lands to be included in
the reserve are situated has agreed to their use
for that purpose.
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| Settlement of
land claims in
reserves
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(2) When a claim referred to in subsection
4(2) is settled, the Governor in Council may,
by order,
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| No reduction
of area
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(3) Except as provided by subsection (2), no
amendment may be made by the Governor in
Council to Schedule 2 for the purpose of
removing any portion of a park reserve.
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| Amendment
to be tabled
and referred
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7. (1) Before an amendment is made to
Schedule 1 or 2 for a purpose referred to in
subsection 5(1) or 6(1), respectively, the
proposed amendment shall be tabled in each
House of Parliament, together with a report on
the proposed park or park reserve that includes
information on consultations undertaken and
any agreements reached with respect to its
establishment, and an amendment so tabled
stands referred to the standing committee of
each House that normally considers matters
relating to parks or to any other committee that
that House may designate for the purposes of
this section.
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| Disapproval
by committee
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(2) The committee of each House may,
within 30 sitting days after the amendment is
tabled, report to the House that it disapproves
the amendment, in which case a motion to
concur in the report shall be put to the House
in accordance with its procedures.
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| Amendment
allowed
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(3) A proposed amendment to Schedule 1 or
2 may be made if 31 sitting days have elapsed
after the tabling of the amendment in both
Houses and no motion referred to in
subsection (2) has been proposed in either
House.
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| Amendment
not allowed
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(4) A proposed amendment to Schedule 1 or
2 may not be made if either House passes a
motion referred to in subsection (2).
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ADMINISTRATION |
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| Management
by Minister
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8. (1) The Minister is responsible for the
administration, management and control of
parks, including the administration of public
lands in parks and, for that purpose, the
Minister may use and occupy those lands.
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| Ecological
integrity
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(2) Maintenance or restoration of
ecological integrity, through the protection of
natural resources and natural processes, shall
be the first priority of the Minister when
considering all aspects of the management of
parks.
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| Park
communities
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9. Powers in relation to land use planning
and development in park communities may
not be exercised by a local government body,
except as provided in the agreement referred
to in section 35.
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| Agreements
- general
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10. (1) The Minister may enter into
agreements with federal and provincial
ministers and agencies, local and aboriginal
governments, bodies established under land
claims agreements and other persons and
organizations for carrying out the purposes of
this Act.
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| Agreements
- particular
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(2) The Minister may enter into agreements
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| Traditional
water supply
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(2.1) An agreement entered into pursuant to
paragraph (2)(b) must take into account any
traditional supply of water from the park.
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| Use of land
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(3) An agreement entered into by the
Minister with a provincial minister or agency
may authorize the use of public lands in a park,
but the Minister may terminate the agreement
if those lands cease to be used as authorized.
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| Management
plans
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11. (1) The Minister shall, within five years
after a park is established, prepare a
management plan for the park containing a
long-term ecological vision for the park, a set
of ecological integrity objectives and
indicators and provisions for resource
protection and restoration, zoning, visitor use,
public awareness and performance
evaluation, which shall be tabled in each
House of Parliament.
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| Review of
plans
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(2) The Minister shall review the
management plan for each park every five
years, and any amendments to a plan shall be
tabled with the plan in each House of
Parliament.
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| Public
consultation
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12. (1) The Minister shall, where
applicable, provide opportunities for public
participation at the national, regional and
local levels, including participation by
aboriginal organizations, bodies established
under land claims agreements and
representatives of park communities, in the
development of parks policy and regulations,
the establishment of parks, the formulation of
management plans, land use planning and
development in relation to park communities
and any other matters that the Minister
considers relevant.
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| Progress
reports
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(2) At least every two years, the Minister
shall cause to be tabled in each House of
Parliament a report on the state of the parks
and on progress made towards the
establishment of new parks.
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PARK LANDS |
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| No disposition
or use without
authority
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13. Except as permitted by this Act or the
regulations,
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| Wilderness
areas
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14. (1) The Governor in Council may, by
regulation, declare any area of a park that
exists in a natural state or that is capable of
returning to a natural state to be a wilderness
area.
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| Maintaining
character
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(2) The Minister may not authorize any
activity to be carried on in a wilderness area
that is likely to impair the wilderness
character of the area.
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| Exceptions
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(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) but
subject to any conditions that the Minister
considers necessary, the Minister may
authorize activities to be carried on in a
wilderness area for purposes of
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| Time limit for
declaration
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(4) Where a new or amended management
plan sets out an area of a park for declaration
as a wilderness area, the Minister shall
recommend such declaration to the Governor
in Council within one year after the plan or
amendment is tabled under section 11.
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| Disposition of
public lands
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15. (1) The Minister may
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| Use of lands
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(2) Public lands in a park in which a right or
interest is held for any purpose under this
section remain part of the park and, if those
lands cease to be used for that purpose, the
right or interest reverts to the Crown.
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| Termination,
etc.
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(3) The Minister may terminate, or accept
the surrender or resiliation of, a lease of public
lands in a park and may terminate, or accept
the relinquishment of, a licence of occupation
of such lands or an easement or servitude over
such lands.
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| Expropria- tion if interests
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(4) The Expropriation Act applies in respect
of the taking or acquisition of an interest in
public lands in a park for the purposes of this
Act where the holder of the interest does not
consent and there is no cause for termination
under subsection (3).
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| Meaning of
terms
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(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), the
Minister is deemed to be a minister referred to
in paragraph (b) of the definition ``Minister''
in section 2 of that Act and the Parks Canada
Agency is deemed to be a department named
in Schedule I to the Financial Administration
Act.
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| No other
expropriation
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(6) Notwithstanding the Expropriation Act,
Her Majesty in right of Canada may not
acquire any interest in land by expropriation
for the purpose of enlarging a park or
establishing a new park.
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