Bill C-239

1st Session, 40th Parliament,

57 Elizabeth II, 2008

house of commons of canada

BILL C-239

An Act respecting the National Ecosystems Council of Canada

Whereas Parliament recognizes that the sustainability of many of Canada’s ecosystems is at risk and that it is of vital importance to the Canadian environment to preserve and protect those ecosystems;

Now, therefore, 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 National Ecosystems Council of Canada Act.

INTERPRETATION

2. The following definitions apply in this Act.

“Council” means the National Ecosystems Council of Canada established by subsection 3(1).

“Minister” means such member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada as may be designated by the Governor in Council as the Minister for the purposes of this Act.

“President” means the President of the Council appointed under subsection 3(1).

ESTABLISHMENT OF COUNCIL

3. (1) There is hereby established a Council, to be called the National Ecosystems Council of Canada, consisting of a President and not more than twelve other members to be appointed by the Governor in Council.

(2) The Council is a body corporate that has power to acquire and hold real, personal, movable and immovable property for the purposes of and subject to this Act.

DUTIES AND POWERS

4. The Council has charge of such matters affecting Canadian ecosystems and related environmental matters as may be assigned to it by the Governor in Council.

5. Without limiting the general powers conferred on or vested in the Council by this Act, the Council may

(a) subject to the approval of the Governor in Council, make by-laws for the conduct of its business;

(b) control and direct the work of the Council through the President;

(c) undertake all necessary studies and make recommendations to the Government of Canada as to the measures that must be taken in order to

(i) restore degraded and threatened areas in the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River and estuary,

(ii) reopen closed shellfish harvesting areas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence through remediation of land-based sources of pollution,

(iii) remediate the damage due to harmful pollutants and practices in the Areas of Concern identified under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978 concluded between Canada and the United States, as amended from time to time, including remediation of contaminated sediments in Hamilton Harbour,

(iv) in the Toronto area, improve urban water quality, restore fish and wildlife populations and reopen contaminated beaches,

(v) help decontaminate and restore the health of the rivers that flow into the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River,

(vi) identify and remediate the environmental impact of those persistent toxic substances that have a widespread harmful effect on the environment,

(vii) develop technology to allow municipal wastewater systems to treat and remove chemicals of concern,

(viii) facilitate research to improve our understanding of the effect of key pollutants on Canadian ecosystems, the impact of toxic discharges and poor air quality on human health, the impact of climate change on our planet and the effects of environmental damage on biodiversity,

(ix) integrate the monitoring of air quality, water quality and quantity, biodiversity and habitat to provide better information about the state of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence ecosystem,

(x) restore the health of Lake Winnipeg in partnership with those jurisdictions in Canada and the United States that comprise the Lake Winnipeg watershed,

(xi) make a valid assessment of the health of the Mackenzie River and Columbia River basins, in consultation with the governments of the affected First Nations peoples, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, the affected municipalities and the affected states of the United States, and

(xii) in collaboration with the Government of British Columbia, develop and implement a comprehensive water use and air quality plan for the Okanagan watershed.

ORGANIZATION

6. Each member of the Council, other than the President, shall be appointed to hold office for a term of not more than three years.

7. The President shall be appointed to hold office for such term, not exceeding five years, as the Governor in Council may determine.

8. The President is the chief executive officer of the Council and has supervision over and direction of the work of the Council and of the officers, technical and otherwise, appointed for the purpose of carrying on the work of the Council.

9. If the President is absent or unable to act or if the office of President is vacant, the Minister may appoint, for a period not exceeding 90 days, an acting President who, while so acting, is a member of the Council and has all the powers of the President.

10. Any retiring President or other retiring member of the Council is eligible for re-appointment.

11. (1) The President shall be paid such salary and expenses as are fixed by the Governor in Council.

(2) An acting President shall be paid such salary and expenses as are fixed by the Governor in Council.

(3) The members of the Council, other than the President, shall serve without remuneration but each of those members is entitled to be paid reasonable travel and other expenses incurred while absent from their ordinary place of residence in the course of performing duties under this Act.

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), a member of the Council, other than the President, shall, for any period during which the member performs with the approval of the Council any duties on its behalf in addition to their ordinary duties, be paid such remuneration therefor as may be authorized by the Council.

12. The head office of the Council shall be at such place in Canada as may be designated by the Governor in Council.

13. The Council shall meet at least three times a year at such times and at such places in Canada as it considers necessary.

14. (1) There is hereby established an executive committee of the Council consisting of the President and at least six other members to be selected by the Council.

(2) The executive committee of the Council may exercise the powers of the Council and shall submit, at each meeting of the Council, minutes of the proceedings of that committee since the last preceding meeting of the Council.

15. (1) The Council is for all purposes of this Act an agent of Her Majesty and it may exercise its powers under this Act only as an agent of Her Majesty.

(2) Actions, suits or other legal proceedings in respect of any right or obligation acquired or incurred by the Council on behalf of Her Majesty, whether in its name or in the name of Her Majesty, may be brought or taken by or against the Council in the name of the Council in any court that would have jurisdiction if the Council were not an agent of Her Majesty.

AUDIT

16. All the receipts and expenditures of the Council are subject to examination and audit by the Auditor General of Canada.

ANNUAL REPORT

17. The President shall, within four months after the termination of each fiscal year, transmit to the Minister a report on the operations of the Council in that fiscal year, the recommendations made by the Council to the Government of Canada in that fiscal year and the progress made by the Government of Canada in implementing recommendations of the Council during that fiscal year, and the Minister shall cause that report to be laid before Parliament within 15 days after the receipt thereof or, if Parliament is not then sitting, on any of the first 15 days next thereafter that either House of Parliament is sitting.