An Act to amend the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (S.C. 2024, c. 20)
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Assented to 2024-10-03
PART 21988, c. 28Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act (continued)
Amendments to the Act (continued)
110 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 2:
Marginal note:Offshore renewable energy project
2.1 Subject to section 6, the Governor in Council may make regulations amending the definition offshore renewable energy project, as defined in section 2, to add or remove any work or activity that is carried out in the offshore area.
111 Subsection 6(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Provincial Minister’s approval
6 (1) Before a regulation is made under section 2.1, subsection 5(1) or 17(4), section 30.1, subsection 35(8), 39(7) or 45(7), section 59.1 or 67, subsection 70(2), section 98.2, subsection 98.3(2), section 121, subsection 125(1), 128(1), 153(1), 167(2.3), 168(1.02), 188.19(6) or 188.25(1), section 188.29, subsection 188.3(3) or 207.01(1) or section 208, 245 or 248, the Federal Minister shall consult the Provincial Minister with respect to the proposed regulation and the regulation shall not be made without the Provincial Minister’s approval.
112 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 7:
Non-Application of Accord
Marginal note:Non-application of Accord
7.1 For greater certainty, the Accord does not apply to offshore renewable energy resources.
113 Subsection 8(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Excluded legislation
(2) Subject to section 103, the Canada Petroleum Resources Act, the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act and Part 5 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act and any regulations made under them do not apply within the offshore area.
114 Subsection 9(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Jointly established Regulator
9 (1) There is established by the joint operation of this Act and the Provincial Act a board to be known as the Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator.
115 Subsection 12(2) of the Act is repealed.
116 Subsection 18(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Proposed amendments
(2) The Regulator may make recommendations to both governments with respect to proposed amendments to this Act, the Provincial Act, any regulations made under those Acts and to any other legislation relating to petroleum resource and renewable energy activities in the offshore area.
117 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 18:
Marginal note:Consultation with Indigenous peoples of Canada
18.1 His Majesty in right of Canada or in right of the Province may rely on the Regulator for the purposes of consulting with the Indigenous peoples of Canada respecting any potential adverse impact of a work or activity in the offshore area on existing Aboriginal and treaty rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and the Regulator may, on behalf of His Majesty, if appropriate, accommodate any adverse impacts on those rights.
118 Subsection 19(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Access to information by governments
19 (1) The Federal Minister and the Provincial Minister are entitled to access to any information or documentation relating to petroleum resource and renewable energy activities in the offshore area that is provided for the purposes of this Act or any regulation made under it and such information or documentation shall, on the request of either Minister, be disclosed to that Minister without requiring the consent of the party who provided the information or documentation.
119 Subsection 21(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Storage of information
21 (1) The Regulator shall have responsibility for the storage and curatorship, in a facility in the Province, of
(a) all petroleum-related geophysical and geological records and reports, reports respecting wells and materials recovered from wells in the offshore area and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, drill cuttings, fluid samples, hydrocarbon samples and cores recovered from those wells; and
(b) all records and reports involving geophysical, geological or geotechnical data, data on physical environmental conditions, environmental effects monitoring data or renewable energy resource data — including data on wind, waves and currents — all environmental studies and all geological and geotechnical samples, to the extent that those records and reports, studies and samples relate to offshore renewable energy.
120 Subsection 26(4) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Mobility of staff
(4) For the purpose of being eligible for appointment to a position in the public service by an appointment process under the Public Service Employment Act,
(a) any person who, immediately prior to being employed by the Regulator, was employed in the public service shall be deemed to be a person employed in the public service in the Department of Natural Resources in the location where that person is performing duties for the Regulator and in a position of an occupational nature and at a level equivalent to the position in which that person is employed by the Regulator; and
(b) any person who, immediately prior to being employed by the Regulator, was not employed in the public service shall, two years after being employed by the Regulator, be deemed to be a person employed in the public service in the Department of Natural Resources in the location where that person is performing duties for the Regulator and in a position of an occupational nature and at a level equivalent to the position in which that person is employed by the Regulator.
121 Subsection 28(4) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Payment of operating costs
(4) Subject to subsection (4.1), the Government of Canada shall pay one-half of the aggregate of the expenditures set out in the budget or revised budget in respect of each fiscal year.
Marginal note:Payment of specific activities
(4.1) The Chief Executive Officer may include in the budget or revised budget expenditures associated with specific requirements of one government that are to be paid entirely by that government.
122 (1) Paragraph 30.1(1)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(b) respecting the fees or charges, or the method of calculating the fees or charges, in respect of any of the Regulator’s activities under this Act or the Impact Assessment Act, that are to be paid by
(i) a person who makes an application for an authorization under paragraph 142(1)(b) or subsection 142.011(1) or an application under subsection 143(2), or
(ii) the holder of an operating licence issued under paragraph 142(1)(a) or an authorization issued under paragraph 142(1)(b) or subsection 142.011(1); and
(2) Subsection 30.1(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Amounts not to exceed cost
(3) The amounts of the fees or charges referred to in paragraph (1)(b) shall not exceed the cost of the Regulator’s activities under this Act or the Impact Assessment Act.
123 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 31:
Petroleum-related Decisions
124 Paragraph 35(5)(c) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:
(c) must be published without delay by the Canadian Energy Regulator.
125 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 38:
Decisions Related to Offshore Renewable Energy
Marginal note:Regulator’s recommendation
38.1 (1) The Regulator shall notify the Federal Minister and the Provincial Minister in writing of its offshore renewable energy recommendation as soon as practicable after deciding to make the recommendation.
Marginal note:Ministers’ decisions
(2) The Federal Minister and the Provincial Minister shall, within 60 days after receiving the recommendation, notify the Regulator in writing of their respective decision to approve the recommendation, with or without variations, or to reject it.
Marginal note:Additional 30 days
(3) Despite subsection (2), on written notice by either Minister to the Regulator and the other Minister, both Ministers shall have an additional 30 days to notify the Regulator of their respective decision under that subsection.
Marginal note:No time limit
(4) Despite subsection (2), the Federal Minister or the Provincial Minister may notify the Regulator of their respective decision with respect to an offshore renewable energy recommendation to make a call for bids beyond the period of 60 days referred to in that subsection.
Marginal note:Publication
38.2 The Regulator shall publish in the Canada Gazette any notice of decision referred to in subsection 38.1(2), unless the decision is to reject an offshore renewable energy recommendation to make a call for bids.
Marginal note:Implementation of Ministers’ approval
38.3 The Regulator shall only exercise a power or perform a duty subject to this section and sections 38.1 and 38.2 if it has been the subject of an offshore renewable energy recommendation that was approved by both Ministers with the same variations, if any. In that case, the Regulator shall exercise the power or perform the duty as soon as practicable after it receives the notices referred to in subsection 38.1(2).
126 (1) Subsection 41(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a):
(a.1) offshore renewable energy recommendations;
(2) Subsection 41(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (b):
(b.1) the principles referred to in section 98.7;
(3) Subsection 41(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (c):
(c.1) the development of guidelines and interpretation notes issued under subsection 156(1) or section 188.27;
127 Subsection 42(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Public notice
42 (1) If the Federal Minister issues or jointly issues a directive under section 41, suspends the implementation of a fundamental decision under section 34, or sets aside or overrules the setting aside of a fundamental decision under section 35, the Minister shall cause a notice of the Minister’s action and, if applicable, of the fundamental decision in relation to which it is exercised, to be published in the Canada Gazette.
128 Section 44.1 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Public hearings
44.1 The Regulator may conduct a public hearing in relation to the exercise of any of its powers or the performance of any of its duties and functions under this Act.
129 Paragraph 44.3(a) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) there is a real and substantial risk that disclosure of the information will impair the security of pipelines, as defined in section 138, installations, facilities, vessels, aircraft or systems, including computer or communication systems, or methods employed to protect them; and
130 Section 45 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (7):
Marginal note:Transboundary pool
(8) The definitions in section 171 also apply in subsections (9) and (10).
Marginal note:Approval subject to agreement
(9) A Canada-Nova Scotia benefits plan submitted for approval in respect of a work or activity to be carried out in a transboundary pool that is the subject of a joint exploitation agreement is not to be approved under this section unless the Regulator and the appropriate authority have agreed on its content.
Marginal note:Disagreement
(10) The Regulator or the appropriate authority — or in respect of any transboundary pool extending into the jurisdiction of a foreign government, the Federal Minister, after having consulted the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Provincial Minister — may, if they disagree about the content of the plan submitted for approval, refer the matter to an expert in accordance with section 188.16. The expert’s decision is deemed to be approval of the plan by the Regulator.
131 Subsection 47(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Notice
47 (1) Before a panel is constituted for the purposes of subsection 13(2), 25(3) or 37(1), the government or Minister proposing constitution of the panel shall notify the other government or Minister of the proposal.
132 Subsection 48(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Definition of agreement
48 (1) In this section, agreement means an agreement between the Government of Canada and the government of a province respecting resource management and revenue sharing in relation to activities respecting the exploration for or the production of petroleum, or respecting offshore renewable energy projects, carried out on any frontier lands.
133 The heading “Petroleum Resources” before section 49 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Petroleum and Offshore Renewable Energy Resources
134 The definitions call for bids, Crown reserve area, interest and significant discovery in section 49 of the Act are replaced by the following:
- call for bids
call for bids means a call for bids made in accordance with
(a) in the case of petroleum, section 61, and
(b) in the case of offshore renewable energy, section 93; (appel d’offres)
- Crown reserve area
Crown reserve area means
(a) in relation to petroleum, portions of the offshore area in respect of which no petroleum-related interest is in force, and
(b) in relation to offshore renewable energy, portions of the offshore area in respect of which no submerged land licence is in force respecting a particular renewable energy resource; (réserves de l’État)
- interest
interest means
(a) in relation to petroleum, any former exploration agreement, former lease, former permit, former special renewal permit, exploration licence, production licence or significant discovery licence, and
(b) in relation to offshore renewable energy, any submerged land licence; (titre)
- significant discovery
significant discovery means a discovery indicated by a well on a geological feature that
(a) demonstrates, through any formation flow test approved by the Regulator, the existence of hydrocarbons in that feature, and
(b) having regard to geological and engineering factors, suggests the existence of an accumulation of hydrocarbons that has potential for sustained production; (découverte importante)
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