Bill C-15

56 ELIZABETH II

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CHAPTER 33

An Act respecting the exploitation of the Donkin coal block and employment in or in connection with the operation of a mine that is wholly or partly at the Donkin coal block, and to make a consequential amendment to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act

[Assented to 14th December, 2007]

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as the Donkin Coal Block Development Opportunity Act.

INTERPRETATION

2. The following definitions apply in this Act.

“Donkin coal block” means the coal and coal-bed methane deposits located in the area described in the schedule.

“exploitation” includes the exploration, development and reclamation of a coal block, as well as the operation of a mine that is wholly or partly at the coal block.

“frontier lands” means lands that belong to Her Majesty in right of Canada, or in respect of which Her Majesty in right of Canada has the right to dispose of or exploit the natural resources, and that are situated in

(a) the Northwest Territories, Nunavut or Sable Island; or

(b) submarine areas, not within a province, in the internal waters of Canada, the territorial sea of Canada or the continental shelf of Canada.

However, it does not include the adjoining area, as defined in section 2 of the Yukon Act.

“Minister” means the Minister of Natural Resources.

“operation” includes the development, construction and abandonment of a mine, as well as exploration for a mine.

“Province” means Nova Scotia.

3. For greater certainty, this Act shall not be interpreted as providing a basis for any claim by or on behalf of any province in respect of any interest in or legislative jurisdiction over any frontier lands, or any living or non-living resources of any frontier lands, or as limiting the application of any federal law that is not specifically limited under this Act.

PURPOSE

4. The purpose of this Act is to provide a legal regime within a cooperative framework to facilitate the exploitation of the Donkin coal block and to regulate employment in or in connection with the operation of a mine that is wholly or partly at the Donkin coal block.

HER MAJESTY

5. This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada and of the Province.

APPLICATION

6. This Act applies to the exploitation of the Donkin coal block and to employment in or in connection with the operation of a mine that is wholly or partly at the Donkin coal block.

7. Except as otherwise provided in the regulations, the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act, the Canada Petroleum Resources Act and the Federal Real Property and Federal Immovables Act, and all regulations made under those Acts, do not apply to the Donkin coal block.

DELEGATION

8. Subject to section 15, the Minister may delegate to any person any power, function or duty that the Minister considers necessary for the administration of the exploitation of the Donkin coal block.

ROYALTIES

9. There is hereby reserved to Her Majesty in right of Canada the royalties on coal and coal-bed methane from the portions of the Donkin coal block that lie in frontier lands, as well as related interest and penalties.

10. (1) The Province shall remit to the Receiver General, in accordance with the terms of any agreement referred to in section 12, all royalties, interest and penalties reserved to Her Majesty in right of Canada under section 9.

(2) Her Majesty in right of Canada shall, in accordance with the terms of such an agreement, remit to Her Majesty in right of the Province an amount equal to each amount remitted to the Receiver General under subsection (1).

11. All royalties, interest and penalties payable under subsection 10(1) are debts due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and are recoverable as such from the Province.

AGREEMENT

12. The Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada into an agreement with the government of the Province with respect to the collection and administration of the royalties, interest and penalties referred to in section 9 on behalf of the Government of Canada, and to the remittance of those amounts by the Government of Canada to the Province.

REGULATIONS

13. (1) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister of Labour, make regulations respecting employment in or in connection with the operation of a mine that is wholly or partly at the Donkin coal block, including regulations

(a) excluding, in whole or in part, from the application of any of the provisions of the Canada Labour Code any employment, or any class or classes of employment, in or in connection with the operation of such a mine; and

(b) governing industrial relations, occupational health and safety and labour standards in relation to employment that is subject to a regulation made under paragraph (a).

(2) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations respecting all other matters relating to the exploitation of the Donkin coal block, including regulations

(a) amending the schedule to provide for any change that is necessary to the description of the area in which the Donkin coal block is located;

(b) respecting the application, in whole or in part, of any of the Acts referred to in section 7 and the regulations made under those Acts; and

(c) respecting royalties, interest and penalties that are referred to in section 9.

(3) The regulations referred to in subsections (1) and (2) may incorporate by reference in whole or in part any Act of the Province or instrument made under such an Act, as amended from time to time, with any adaptations that the Governor in Council considers necessary.

(4) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of both the Minister and the Minister of Labour, by regulation provide that any Act of the Province or instrument made under such an Act relating to the prosecution of provincial offences applies, in whole or in part, as amended from time to time and with any adaptations that the Governor in Council considers necessary, to prosecutions for offences under this Act.

14. For greater certainty, the User Fees Act does not apply in respect of any fees fixed under a provision that is incorporated into the regulations by reference.

15. (1) A regulation incorporating — and, as necessary, adapting — any Act of the Province or instrument made under such an Act shall, after consultation with the appropriate provincial minister, be administered and enforced by the person or authority that is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the incorporated Act or instrument.

(2) Persons and authorities referred to in subsection (1) are not agents of Her Majesty in right of Canada.

(3) Every person who contravenes a regulation by contravening a provision that is incorporated — and, as necessary, adapted — by the regulation is guilty of an offence against this Act and liable to the same punishment as is imposed by or under an Act of the Province for the contravention of that provision.

(4) The prosecution of an offence described in subsection (3) shall be conducted by the Attorney General of the Province or his or her lawful deputy.

CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENT TO THE CANADA-NOVA SCOTIA OFFSHORE PETROLEUM RESOURCES ACCORD IMPLEMENTATION ACT

16. The definition “gas” in section 2 of the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act is replaced by the following:

“gas” means natural gas and includes all substances, other than oil, that are produced in association with natural gas, but does not include coal-bed methane associated with the development or operation of a coal mine;