An Act to enact the Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, to amend the Navigation Protection Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (S.C. 2019, c. 28)

Marginal note:Abandoned vessel

• 20 (1) If any vessel or thing is wrecked, sunk, partially sunk, stranded, grounded, including on the shore, or abandoned in a navigable water, the Minister may, for a purpose that he or she specifies and subject to any conditions that he or she considers appropriate, authorize any person to take possession of all or part of the vessel or thing, for the benefit of that person or the public.

• Marginal note:Notification

  (2) The Minister must not authorize a person to take possession of all or part of the vessel or thing under subsection (1) unless the person has given 30 days’ notice, in the form and manner specified by the Minister, of their intention to do so

  • (a) to its owner; or

  • (b) to the public, if its owner is unknown or cannot be located.

• Marginal note:Consent not required

  (3) A person that is authorized to take possession of a vessel under subsection (1) is not required to obtain the consent of its owner to register the vessel or obtain a pleasure craft licence for it under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001.

• Marginal note:Statutory Instruments Act

  (4) For greater certainty, conditions imposed under subsection (1) are not statutory instruments as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Statutory Instruments Act.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (2) The prohibition in subsection (1) does not apply with respect to the dumping of fill done in compliance with an approval issued under subsection 7(6).

Marginal note:Dewatering and other actions

• 23 (1) No person shall take any action that lowers the water level of a navigable water or any part of a navigable water to a level that extinguishes navigation for vessels of any class that navigate, or are likely to navigate, the navigable water in question.

• Marginal note:Historic canals

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a historic canal as defined in section 2 of the Historic Canals Regulations.

• Marginal note:Navigation not extinguished

  (3) For the purposes of this Act, navigation is not extinguished if the Minister is of the opinion that there are sufficient measures in place to mitigate the impact of the lower water level on navigation and he or she approves the work whose construction, placement, alteration, rebuilding, removal, decommissioning, repair, maintenance, operation or use lowers the water level of a navigable water or part of a navigable water.

Marginal note:Exemption by order

• 24 (1) The Governor in Council may, by order, exempt from the application of any of sections 21 to 23, any rivers, streams or waters, in whole or in part, if the Minister receives an application for an exemption and the Governor in Council is satisfied that it would be in the public interest.

• Marginal note:Application

  (2) An application for an exemption under subsection (1) must be made in the form and manner, and contain the information, specified by the Minister.

Marginal note:Minister’s powers

• 25.1 (1) The Minister may

  • (a) order any person who is contravening section 21 or 22 to stop throwing or depositing or causing, suffering or permitting to be thrown or deposited any material or rubbish;

  • (b) order any person who contravened section 21 or 22 to remove the material or rubbish in question or to do any other thing with respect to it, including taking all measures necessary for the safety of navigation;

  • (c) if a person fails to comply with an order given under paragraph (a) or (b), cause any thing to be done with respect to the material or rubbish in question, including its removal and disposition;

  • (d) order any person who is contravening subsection 23(1) to stop taking the action that is lowering the level of the navigable water;

  • (e) order any person who has contravened subsection 23(1) to take any action necessary to restore the level of the navigable water to the level that the Minister considers acceptable; and

  • (f) if a person fails to comply with an order given under paragraph (d) or (e), cause any thing to be done with respect to the navigable water, including the taking of any action necessary to restore the level of the navigable water to the level that the Minister considers acceptable.

• Marginal note:Debt

  (2) The amount of the costs incurred by the Minister while acting under paragraph (1)(c) or (f) constitutes a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada.

• Marginal note:Statutory Instruments Act

  (3) For greater certainty, an order given under this section is not a statutory instrument as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Statutory Instruments Act.

Marginal note:Designated places to deposit materials

• 26 (1) The Governor in Council may, by regulation, designate places in any navigable water that is not within the jurisdiction of any person referred to in section 25, where stone, gravel, earth, cinders, ashes or other material may be deposited even if the minimum depth of water at that place may be less than 36 metres.

• Marginal note:Ministerial approval

  (2) The Minister may, on application, authorize the deposit of materials in a place designated under subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Application

  (3) An application under subsection (2) must be made in the form and manner, and contain the information, specified by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (4) For greater certainty, this section does not apply with respect to the dumping of fill done in compliance with an approval issued under subsection 7(6).

Studies and Collection of Information

Marginal note:Minister

26.1 The Minister may undertake any study and collect any information that, in his or her opinion, is necessary for the purposes of the administration of this Act.

Indigenous Knowledge

Marginal note:Confidentiality

• 26.2 (1) Any Indigenous knowledge that is provided to the Minister under this Act in confidence is confidential and must not knowingly be, or be permitted to be, disclosed without written consent.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Despite subsection (1), the Indigenous knowledge referred to in that subsection may be disclosed if

  • (a) it is publicly available;

  • (b) the disclosure is necessary for the purposes of procedural fairness and natural justice, or for use in legal proceedings; or

  • (c) the disclosure is authorized in the circumstances set out in the regulations made under paragraph 28(1)(g.2).

• Marginal note:Consultation

  (2.1) Before disclosing Indigenous knowledge under paragraph 2(b) for the purposes of procedural fairness and natural justice, the Minister must consult the person or entity who provided the Indigenous knowledge and the person or entity to whom it is proposed to be disclosed about the scope of the proposed disclosure and potential conditions under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Further disclosure

  (3) The Minister may, having regard to the consultation referred to in subsection (2.1), impose conditions with respect to the disclosure of Indigenous knowledge by any person or entity to whom it is disclosed under paragraph (2)(b) for the purposes of procedural fairness and natural justice.

• Marginal note:Duty to comply

  (4) The person or entity referred to in subsection (3) must comply with any conditions imposed by the Minister under that subsection.

• Marginal note:Protection from civil proceeding or prosecution

  (5) Despite any other Act of Parliament, no civil or criminal proceedings lie against the Minister — or any person acting on behalf of, or under the direction of, him or her — and no proceedings lie against the Crown, for the disclosure in good faith of any Indigenous knowledge under this Act or for any consequences that flow from that disclosure.