Canada Water Act

Marginal note:Definitions

• 2 (1) In this Act,

  agency

  agency means a water quality management agency the incorporation of which is procured or that is named pursuant to section 11 or 13; (organisme)

  analyst

  analyst means an analyst designated pursuant to subsection 25(1); (analyste)

  boundary waters

  boundary waters means the waters from main shore to main shore of the lakes and rivers and connecting waterways, or the portions thereof, along which the international boundary between the United States and Canada passes, including all bays, arms, and inlets thereof, but not including tributary waters which in their natural channels would flow into such lakes, rivers, and waterways, or waters flowing from such lakes, rivers, and waterways, or the waters of rivers flowing across the boundary; (eaux limitrophes)

  federal agency

  federal agency means a water quality management agency that is named pursuant to section 13; (organisme fédéral)

  federal waters

  federal waters means — other than in Yukon and the Northwest Territories — waters under the exclusive legislative jurisdiction of Parliament and

  • (a) in Yukon, waters in a federal conservation area as defined in section 2 of the Yukon Act, and

  • (b) in the Northwest Territories, waters other than those in respect of which the Legislature of the Northwest Territories may make laws under paragraph 18(1)(n) of the Northwest Territories Act; (eaux fédérales)

  inspector

  inspector means an inspector designated pursuant to subsection 25(1); (inspecteur)

  inter-jurisdictional waters

  inter-jurisdictional waters means any waters, whether international, boundary or otherwise, that, whether wholly situated in a province or not, significantly affect the quantity or quality of waters outside the province; (eaux relevant de plusieurs juridictions)

  international waters

  international waters means waters of rivers that flow across the international boundary between the United States and Canada; (eaux internationales)

  Minister

  Minister means the Minister of the Environment; (ministre)

  prescribed

  prescribed means prescribed by regulation; (Version anglaise seulement)

  waste

  waste means

  • (a) any substance that, if added to any water, would degrade or alter or form part of a process of degradation or alteration of the quality of that water to an extent that is detrimental to their use by man or by any animal, fish or plant that is useful to man, and

  • (b) any water that contains a substance in such a quantity or concentration, or that has been so treated, processed or changed, by heat or other means, from a natural state that it would, if added to any other water, degrade or alter or form part of a process of degradation or alteration of the quality of that water to the extent described in paragraph (a); (déchet)

  water quality management

  water quality management means any aspect of water resource management that relates to restoring, maintaining or improving the quality of water; (gestion qualitative des eaux)

  water resource management

  water resource management means the conservation, development and utilization of water resources and includes, with respect thereto, research, data collection and the maintaining of inventories, planning and the implementation of plans, and the control and regulation of water quantity and quality. (gestion des ressources en eau)

• Marginal note:Prescribed substances and certain water deemed waste

  (2) Without limiting the generality of the definition waste in this Act,

  • (a) any substance or any substance that is part of a class of substances prescribed pursuant to subparagraph 18(1)(a)(i),

  • (b) any water that contains any substance or any substance that is part of a class of substances in a quantity or concentration that is equal to or in excess of a quantity or concentration prescribed in respect of that substance or class of substances pursuant to subparagraph 18(1)(a)(ii), and

  • (c) any water that has been subjected to a treatment, process or change prescribed pursuant to subparagraph 18(1)(a)(iii),

  shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be waste.