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Bill C-8

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First Reading

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	PROHIBITIONS
No disposition or use without authority	12. Except as permitted by this Act or the regulations,
	(a) no interest in public lands in a marine conservation area may be disposed of; and
	(b) no person shall use or occupy public lands in a marine conservation area.
Exploration and exploitation	13. No person shall explore for or exploit hydrocarbons, minerals, aggregates or any other inorganic matter within a marine conservation area.
Dumping	14. (1) No person shall dump any substance into the waters of a marine conservation area except as authorized by a permit issued by a superintendent pursuant to this Act or, in the case of waters to which section 67 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act applies, authorized by section 68 of that Act or by a permit issued by the Minister of the Environment pursuant to section 71 of that Act.
Permits under CEPA	(2) No permit under section 71 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act in respect of a marine conservation area may be issued except with the concurrence of the Minister.
Permits and authoriza- tions	15. (1) To the extent authorized by the regulations , the superintendent of a marine conservation area may issue, amend, suspend and revoke permits and other authorizing instruments for activities in the marine conservation area.
Fishing licences	(2) A licence issued under the Fisheries Act is deemed to be a permit issued under this Act to carry out the activities permitted by the licence, subject to regulations made under subsection 16(1) on the recommendation of the Minister and the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
Superinten- dent may not amend	(3) For greater certainty, the superintendent of a marine conservation area may not amend, suspend or revoke a licence issued under the Fisheries Act.
	REGULATIONS
Regulations	16. (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations, consistent with international law, for the control and management of any or all marine conservation areas, including regulations
	(a) for the protection of ecosystems and the elements of ecosystems;
	(b) for the protection of cultural, historical and archaeological resources;
	(c) for the management and control of renewable resource harvesting activities;
	(d) respecting the delimitation of zones within marine conservation areas;
	(e) restricting or prohibiting activities or regulating the use of facilities in marine conservation areas or in any zones;
	(f) respecting the issuance, amendment, suspension and revocation of permits and other authorizing instruments pursuant to section 15, including the number of persons who may hold any class of permits or other instruments and the authority of superintendents to impose conditions on holders of permits or other instruments;
	(g) respecting the determination of fees, rates, rents and other charges for the use of resources, facilities and services and the issuance and amendment of permits and other authorizing instruments;
	(h) authorizing the granting, and the surrender or relinquishment, of leases, licences, easements or servitudes, of or over public lands in marine conservation areas for uses compatible with section 4;
	(i) respecting the safety of the public;
	(j) for the control of the flight of aircraft to prevent danger or disturbances to wildlife and wildlife habitat , and respecting the takeoff, landing and taxiing of aircraft;
	(k) for the control of scientific research activities;
	(l) authorizing the dumping of substances, in the manner and to the extent provided in the regulations, by persons holding permits for that purpose into waters of a marine conservation area to which section 67 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act does not apply; and
	(m) exercising, in relation to marine conservation areas, any of the powers to make regulations conferred on the Governor in Council by the National Parks Act.
Fisheries, aquaculture and marine matters	(2) Regulations under this section respecting fisheries management and conservation or that restrict or prohibit fishing or aquaculture, marine navigation or activities related to marine safety may be made only on the recommendation of the Minister and the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
Marine matters	(3) Regulations under this section that restrict or prohibit marine navigation or activities related to marine safety, to the extent that such regulations can be made on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport under the Canada Shipping Act or the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, may only be made on the recommendation of the Minister and the Minister of Transport.
Air navigation	(4) Regulations under paragraph (1)(j) that restrict or prohibit air navigation may be made only on the recommendation of the Minister and the Minister of Transport.
Conflicts	(5) Regulations referred to in subsection (2), (3) or (4) prevail over regulations made under the Fisheries Act, the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act, the Canada Shipping Act, the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, the Navigable Waters Protection Act or the Aeronautics Act to the extent of any conflict between them.
Aboriginal activities	(6) The Governor in Council may, after the Minister has consulted with affected aboriginal organizations, make regulations respecting activities that may be carried on by aboriginal people in a marine conservation area by virtue of their existing aboriginal or treaty rights as recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
Variations by superinten- dent	(7) Regulations made under this section may authorize the superintendent of a marine conservation area, in the circumstances described and to the extent provided in the regulations, to vary any of the requirements of the regulations in relation to the marine conservation area.
Exemption of ship and air movements	17. The Governor in Council may, by order, exempt from any provision of the regulations a movement of a ship or aircraft owned or operated by Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province or a foreign state, on the recommendation of the Minister and any other minister of the Crown having responsibility in relation to the movement, if the Governor in Council is satisfied that the exemption is necessary
	(a) in the interests of Canadian sovereignty or security; or
	(b) for the conduct of any maritime activity by Canada, a province or a foreign state that is consistent with the purposes of this Act.
	ENFORCEMENT
Designation of marine conservation area wardens	18. The Minister may designate persons appointed under the Public Service Employment Act whose duties include the enforcement of this Act to be marine conservation area wardens
	(a) for the enforcement of this Act and the regulations in any part of Canada or the exclusive economic zone of Canada, and
	(b) for the preservation and maintenance of the public peace in marine conservation areas, except in any portion of them situated within the exclusive economic zone of Canada,
	and marine conservation area wardens are, for those purposes, peace officers within the meaning of the Criminal Code.
Designation of enforcement officers	19. The Minister may designate persons or classes of persons employed in the public service of Canada or by a provincial, municipal or local authority, whose duties include law enforcement, to be enforcement officers for the purpose of the enforcement of specified provisions of this Act or the regulations in specified marine conservation areas, and for that purpose enforcement officers have the powers and are entitled to the protection provided by law to peace officers within the meaning of the Criminal Code.
Certificate of designation and oath	20. (1) Every marine conservation area warden and enforcement officer shall be provided with a certificate of designation in a form approved by the Minister and shall take and subscribe an oath prescribed by the Minister.
Limitation of powers	(2) A certificate of designation provided to an enforcement officer shall specify the provisions of this Act or the regulations that the enforcement officer has the power to enforce and the marine conservation areas in which that power applies.
Crossing private property	(3) In the discharge of their duties, marine conservation area wardens, enforcement officers and persons accompanying them may enter on and pass through or over private property.
Arrest by warden or officer	21. (1) A marine conservation area warden or enforcement officer may, in accordance with and subject to the Criminal Code, arrest without warrant any person whom the warden or officer finds committing an offence under this Act or who, on reasonable grounds, the warden or officer believes has committed or is about to commit an offence under this Act.
Arrest by warden	(2) A marine conservation area warden may, in accordance with and subject to the Criminal Code, arrest without warrant any person whom the warden finds committing an offence under any other Act in a marine conservation area, except in any portion of it situated within the exclusive economic zone of Canada.
Search and seizure	22. (1) A marine conservation area warden or enforcement officer may
	(a) enter and search any place and open and examine any package or receptacle in accordance with a warrant issued under subsection (2) at any time during the day or, if so specified in the warrant, during the night; and
	(b) seize any thing that the warden or officer believes on reasonable grounds is a thing described in subsection (2).
Authority to issue warrant	(2) If a justice of the peace, on ex parte application, is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is in any place, including any building, boat or other conveyance, or in any package or receptacle,
	(a) any thing in relation to which there are reasonable grounds to believe an offence under this Act or the regulations has been committed, or
	(b) any thing that there are reasonable grounds to believe will afford evidence with respect to the commission of such an offence,
	the justice of the peace may issue a warrant authorizing a marine conservation area warden or enforcement officer named in the warrant to enter and search the place or to open and examine the package or receptacle, subject to any conditions specified in the warrant.
Where warrant not necessary	(3) A marine conservation area warden or enforcement officer may exercise any powers under subsection (1) without a warrant if the conditions for obtaining a warrant exist but by reason of exigent circumstances it would not be practical to obtain one.
Custody of things seized	23. (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3) and sections 25 and 26, where a marine conservation area warden or enforcement officer seizes a thing under this Act or under a warrant issued pursuant to the Criminal Code,
	(a) sections 489.1 and 490 of the Criminal Code apply; and
	(b) the warden or officer, or any person that the warden or officer may designate, shall retain custody of the thing subject to any order made under section 490 of the Criminal Code.
Forfeiture where ownership not ascertainable	(2) If the lawful ownership of or entitlement to a seized thing cannot be ascertained within 30 days after its seizure, the thing, or any proceeds of its disposition, are forfeited to
	(a) Her Majesty in right of Canada, if the thing was seized by a marine conservation area warden or enforcement officer employed in the public service of Canada; or
	(b) Her Majesty in right of a province, if the thing was seized by an enforcement officer employed by a provincial, municipal or local authority.
Perishable things	(3) Where a seized thing is perishable, the marine conservation area warden or enforcement officer may dispose of it or destroy it, and any proceeds of its disposition shall be
	(a) paid to the lawful owner or person lawfully entitled to possession of the thing, unless proceedings under this Act are commenced within 90 days after its seizure; or
	(b) retained by the warden or officer pending the outcome of the proceedings.
	OFFENCES AND PUNISHMENT
Contraven- tion of Act or regulations	24. (1) Every person who contravenes a provision of this Act or the regulations, or a condition of a permit or other authorizing instrument issued pursuant to the regulations, is
	(a) guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding $100,000; or
	(b) guilty of an indictable offence and liable to a fine not exceeding $500,000.
Continuing offences	(2) If a contravention of this Act or the regulations is committed or continued on more than one day, it constitutes a separate offence for each day on which it is committed or continued.
Injunction	(3) Whether or not proceedings have been commenced with respect to an offence under this Act, Her Majesty in right of Canada may undertake or continue proceedings to prevent conduct that constitutes such an offence.
Forfeiture	25. (1) When a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the convicting court may, in addition to any punishment imposed, order that any seized thing by means of or in relation to which the offence was committed, or any proceeds of its disposition, be forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada.
Return where no forfeiture ordered	(2) If the convicting court does not order the forfeiture, a seized thing or the proceeds of its disposition shall be returned to its lawful owner or the person lawfully entitled to it.
Retention or sale	(3) If a fine is imposed on a person convicted of an offence under this Act, any seized thing or any proceeds of its disposition may be retained until the fine is paid or the thing may be sold in satisfaction of the fine and the proceeds applied, in whole or in part, in payment of the fine.
Disposition by Minister	26. Any seized thing that has been forfeited under this Act to Her Majesty in right of Canada or abandoned by its owner may be dealt with and disposed of as the Minister may direct.
Orders of court	27. (1) When a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may, in addition to any punishment imposed and having regard to the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission, make an order
	(a) prohibiting the person from doing any act or engaging in any activity that may, in the opinion of the court, result in the continuation or repetition of the offence;
	(b) directing the person to take any action the court considers appropriate to remedy or avoid any harm to any element of the ecosystems of a marine conservation area that resulted or may result from the commission of the offence;
	(c) directing the person to pay the Minister an amount of money as compensation, in whole or in part, for the cost of any remedial or preventive action taken by or caused to be taken on behalf of the Minister as a result of the commission of the offence;
	(d) directing the person to post a bond or pay into court an amount of money the court considers appropriate for the purpose of ensuring compliance with any prohibition, direction or requirement mentioned in this section; or
	(e) requiring the person to comply with any other conditions that the court considers appropriate.
Suspended sentence	(2) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act and the court suspends the passing of sentence under paragraph 731(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, the court may, in addition to any probation order made under that paragraph, make an order referred to in subsection (1).
Imposition of sentence	(3) If the person does not comply with the order or is convicted of another offence, the court may, within three years after the order was made, on the application of the prosecution, impose any sentence that could have been imposed if the passing of sentence had not been suspended.
Limitation or prescription	28. (1) Proceedings by way of summary conviction may be commenced not later than two years after the day on which the subject-matter of the proceedings becomes known to the Minister.
Minister's certificate	(2) A document purporting to have been issued by the Minister, certifying the day on which the subject-matter of any proceedings became known to the Minister, is admissible in evidence without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed the document and is evidence of the matters asserted in it.

Bill C-8

PROHIBITIONS

REGULATIONS

ENFORCEMENT

OFFENCES AND PUNISHMENT