Bill C-295

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First Reading

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Management plans subject to aboriginal land claims agreement	(2) If the wildlife species is found on land that is subject to an aboriginal land claims agreement, the management plan must be prepared in accordance with any applicable provisions of the agreement.
Publication of management plans	(3) Once the management plan is completed, it must be included in the public registry.
Monitoring implementatio n of management plans	(4) The responsible minister must monitor the implementation of the management plan and must fully assess its implementation five years after the plan comes into effect.
Other sections of Act applicable to management plans	(5) Subsections 41(2) and (7) and sections 42, 45, 46, 47 and 48 apply to the development and implementation of management plans with such modifications as the circumstances require.
	Agreements and Permits
Powers of responsible minister	50. (1) The responsible minister may make an agreement with a person, or issue a permit to a person, authorizing them to engage in an activity affecting
	(a) a listed species, its residences or any other part of its critical habitat; or
	(b) a wildlife species to which section 33 applies or its residences.
Restriction on powers of responsible minister	(2) The agreement must not be made, or the permit must not be issued, unless the activity is
	(a) scientific research relating to the conservation of the species and conducted by qualified individuals;
	(b) an activity that benefits the species or is required to enhance its chance of survival in the wild; or
	(c) a lawful activity that will only incidentally harm the species.
Consultation	(3) The responsible minister must consult with a wildlife management board established under aboriginal land claims legislation before issuing a permit or making an agreement concerning a species that is within the authority of such a board.
Pre-conditions	(4) Before making an agreement with or issuing a permit to a person referred to in subsection (1), the responsible minister must determine that
	(a) all reasonable alternatives to the activity that would reduce the impact on the species have been considered and the best alternative has been adopted;
	(b) all feasible measures will be taken to minimize the impact of the activity on the species or its habitat or residence; and
	(c) the activity will not jeopardize the survival and recovery of the species.
	The responsible minister must provide reasons for the determination to the person.
Terms and conditions	(5) The agreement or permit shall contain any terms and conditions governing the activity that the responsible minister considers necessary for protecting the species, minimizing the impact of the authorized activity on the species or providing for its recovery.
Review of agreements and permits	(6) The responsible minister must review the agreement or permit if an emergency order is made with respect to the wildlife species.
Amendment of agreements and permits	(7) The responsible minister may amend a permit or agreement as required to ensure the survival and recovery of a species.
Maximum term	(8) No permit shall be issued for a term longer than three years and no agreement shall be made for a term longer than five years.
Regulations	(9) The Minister may make regulations respecting the issuance, renewal, revocation, amendment and suspension of agreements and permits.
Agreements and permits under other Acts	51. An agreement, permit, licence, order or other similar document authorizing a person to engage in an activity mentioned in subsection 50(1) and made or issued by the responsible minister under another Act of Parliament has the same effect as an agreement or permit under that subsection if
	(a) before making or issuing it, the responsible minister determines that the requirements of subsections 50(4), (5) and (8) are met; and
	(b) after making or issuing it, the responsible minister complies with the requirements of subsection 50(6).
Publication of agreements	52. Each agreement made under section 50 or in effect under section 51 must be included in the public registry.
	Project Review
Notification of Minister	53. (1) A person who is required by or under an Act of Parliament to ensure that an assessment of the environmental effects of a project is conducted must, without delay, notify the Minister in writing of the project if it is likely to affect
	(a) a wildlife species that is listed as vulnerable, threatened, endangered or extirpated, or its critical habitat; or
	(b) in the case of a project outside Canada, a wildlife species on the Red List of Threatened Animals or the Red List of Threatened Plants of the World Conservation Union.
Required action	(2) The person must identify the effects of the project on the wildlife species and its critical habitat and, if the project is carried out, must ensure that measures are taken to avoid or lessen the effects and to monitor them. The measures must be taken in a way that is consistent with the recovery plan for the species.
Definitions	(3) The following definitions apply in this section.
``person'' « personne »	``person'' includes an association or organization, and a responsible authority as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
``project'' « projet »	``project'' means a project as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
	ENFORCEMENT MEASURES
Enforcement officers	54. (1) A responsible minister may designate any person or class of persons to act as enforcement officers for the purposes of this Act.
Designation of provincial government employees	(2) The responsible minister may not designate any person or class of persons employed by the government of a province unless that government agrees.
Certificate of designation	(3) An enforcement officer must be provided with a certificate of designation as an enforcement officer in a form approved by the responsible minister and, on entering any place under this Act, the officer must, if so requested, show the certificate to the occupant or person in charge of the place.
Powers of peace officers	(4) For the purposes of this Act, enforcement officers have all the powers of a peace officer, but the responsible minister may specify limits on those powers when designating any person or class of persons.
Exemptions for law enforcement activities	(5) For the purpose of investigations and other law enforcement activities under this Act, a responsible minister may, on any terms and conditions that he or she considers necessary, exempt from the application of any provision of this Act, the regulations or an emergency order
	(a) enforcement officers that the responsible minister has designated and who are carrying out duties or functions under this Act; and
	(b) persons acting under their direction and control.
Obstruction	(6) When an enforcement officer is carrying out duties or functions under this Act, no person shall
	(a) knowingly make any false or misleading statement either orally or in writing to the enforcement officer; or
	(b) otherwise wilfully obstruct the enforcement officer.
Inspections	55. (1) For the purpose of ensuring compliance with any provision of this Act, the regulations or an emergency order, an enforcement officer may, subject to subsection (3), at any reasonable time, enter and inspect any place in which the officer believes, on reasonable grounds, there is any thing to which the provision applies or any document relating to its administration, and the enforcement officer may
	(a) open or cause to be opened any container that the enforcement officer believes, on reasonable grounds, contains any such thing or document;
	(b) inspect the thing and take samples free of charge;
	(c) require any person to produce the document for inspection or copying, in whole or in part; and
	(d) seize any thing by means of or in relation to which the enforcement officer believes, on reasonable grounds, the provision has been contravened or that the enforcement officer believes, on reasonable grounds, will provide evidence of a contravention.

Conveyance	(2) For the purposes of carrying out the inspection, the enforcement officer may stop a conveyance or direct that it be moved to a place where the inspection can be carried out.
Dwelling place	(3) The enforcement officer may not enter a dwelling place except with the consent of the occupant or person in charge of the dwelling place or under the authority of a warrant.
Warrant	(4) If on ex parte application a justice, as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code, is satisfied by information on oath that
	(a) the conditions for entry described in subsection (1) exist in relation to a dwelling place,
	(b) entry to the dwelling place is necessary in relation to the administration of this Act or the regulations, and
	(c) entry to the dwelling place has been refused or there are reasonable grounds for believing that entry will be refused,
	the justice may issue a warrant authorizing the enforcement officer to enter the dwelling place subject to any conditions that may be specified in the warrant.
Search and seizure without warrant	56. For the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act, the regulations or an emergency order, an enforcement officer may exercise the powers of search and seizure provided in section 487 of the Criminal Code without a warrant if the conditions for obtaining a warrant exist but, by reason of exigent circumstances, it would not be feasible to obtain the warrant.
Custody of things seized	57. (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), if an enforcement officer seizes a thing under this Act or under a warrant issued under the Criminal Code,
	(a) sections 489.1 and 490 of the Criminal Code apply; and
	(b) the enforcement officer, or any person that the officer may designate, must retain custody of the thing subject to any order made under section 490 of the Criminal Code.
Forfeiture if ownership not ascertainable	(2) If the lawful ownership of or entitlement to the seized thing cannot be ascertained within thirty 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 an 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 the government of that province.
Perishable things	(3) If the seized thing is perishable, the enforcement officer may dispose of it or destroy it, and any proceeds of its disposition must be
	(a) paid to the lawful owner or person lawfully entitled to possession of the thing, unless proceedings under this Act are commenced within ninety days after its seizure; or
	(b) retained by the enforcement officer pending the outcome of the proceedings.
Abandonment	(4) The owner of the seized thing may abandon it to Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.
Disposition by responsible minister	58. Any thing that has been forfeited or abandoned under this Act is to be dealt with and disposed of as the responsible minister may direct.
Liability for costs	59. The lawful owner and any person lawfully entitled to possession of any thing seized, abandoned or forfeited under this Act are jointly and severally liable for all the costs of inspection, seizure, abandonment, forfeiture or disposition incurred by Her Majesty in excess of any proceeds of disposition of the thing that have been forfeited to Her Majesty under this Act.
Application for investigation	60. (1) A person who is resident in Canada and at least eighteen years of age may apply to the responsible minister for an investigation of whether an alleged offence has been committed or whether anything directed towards its commission has been done.
Statement to accompany application	(2) The application must be in a form approved by the responsible minister and must include a solemn affirmation or declaration containing
	(a) the name and address of the applicant;
	(b) a statement that the applicant is at least eighteen years old and a resident of Canada;
	(c) a statement of the nature of the alleged offence and the name of each person alleged to be involved;
	(d) a summary of the evidence supporting the allegations;
	(e) the names and addresses of each person who might be able to give evidence about the alleged offence, together with a summary of the evidence they might give, to the extent that this information is available to the applicant;
	(f) a description of any document or other material that the applicant believes should be considered in the investigation and, if possible, a copy of the document; and
	(g) details of any previous contact between the applicant and the responsible minister about the alleged offence.
Investigation	61. (1) The responsible minister must acknowledge receipt of the application within twenty days of receiving it and must investigate all matters that he or she considers necessary to determine the facts relating to the alleged offence.
Frivolous or vexatious applications	(2) No investigation is required if the responsible minister decides that the application is frivolous or vexatious.
Notice of decision	(3) If the responsible minister decides not to conduct the investigation, he or she must, within sixty days after the application for investigation is received, give notice of the decision, including the justification, to
	(a) the applicant; and
	(b) each person alleged in the application to have been involved in the commission of the offence for whom an address is given in the application.
When notice need not be given	(4) The responsible minister need not give the notice if an investigation in relation to the alleged offence is ongoing apart from the application.
Progress reports	62. (1) After acknowledging receipt of the application, the responsible minister must report to the applicant every ninety days on the progress of the investigation, the estimated time it will take to complete and the action, if any, that the responsible minister has taken or proposes to take, but a report is not required if the investigation is suspended or concluded before the end of the ninety days.
Responsible minister may send evidence to Attorney General	(2) At any stage of the investigation, the responsible minister may send any documents or other evidence to the Attorney General for consideration of whether an offence has been or is about to be committed, and for any action that the Attorney General may wish to take.

Bill C-295

Agreements and Permits

Project Review

ENFORCEMENT MEASURES