Wildlife Area Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1609)

• 3.3 (1) No person shall enter any of the following wildlife areas except in accordance with a permit issued under section 4:

  • (a) Îles de la Paix National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 3 of Part III of Schedule I;

  • (b) Eleanor Island National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 2 of Part IV of Schedule I;

  • (c) Wellers Bay National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 6 of Part IV of Schedule I;

  • (d) Scotch Bonnet Island National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 9 of Part IV of Schedule I;

  • (e) St-Denis National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 4 of Part VI of Schedule I;

  • (f) Meanook National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 2 of Part VII of Schedule I;

  • (g) Canadian Forces Base Suffield National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 4 of Part VII of Schedule I;

  • (g.1) Edéhzhíe National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 1 of Part IX of Schedule I;

  • (h) Akpait National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 1 of Part XI of Schedule I;

  • (i) Ninginganiq National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 2 of Part XI of Schedule I;

  • (j) Qaqulluit National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 3 of Part XI of Schedule I;

  • (k) Nanuit Itillinga National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 4 of Part XI of Schedule I; and

  • (l) Nirjutiqarvik National Wildlife Area, as set out in item 5 of Part XI of Schedule I.

• (2) No person shall enter Mohawk Island National Wildlife Area during the period beginning on April 1 in any year and ending on August 31 in the same year except in accordance with a permit issued under section 4.

3.4 Sections 3 and 3.3 do not apply in respect of an activity carried out for the purpose of ensuring public safety or national security or in response to an emergency.

• 3.5 (1) Paragraphs 3(1)(b), (c), (e), (g) to (i), (k) to (o), (r), (t) and (u) and section 3.3 do not apply in respect of a federal or provincial enforcement officer when they are performing their duties or functions or a person who is acting under the direction or control of that enforcement officer.

• (2) Section 3.3 does not apply in respect of an employee of the Department of the Environment who, in the course of performing their duties or functions, is carrying out a wildlife research, conservation or interpretation activity or a person who is acting under the direction or control of that employee.

• (3) Section 3.3 does not apply in respect of a person who, on behalf of a representative of the government of Canada and in the course of their duties or functions, is carrying out an activity relating to the maintenance of a wildlife area.

• (4) A person referred to in subsection (2) or (3) may, in the course of their duties or functions in a wildlife area,

  • (a) despite paragraph 3(1)(l), operate a conveyance with a driver on board, other than an aircraft; and

  • (b) despite paragraph 3(1)(o), remove, damage or destroy a poster or sign.

Domestic Animals and Non-Indigenous Wildlife

• 3.6 (1) If a domestic animal is at large in a wildlife area and a wildlife officer has reasonable grounds to conclude that the animal has an owner, the officer may

  • (a) capture the animal if the owner

    • (i) is present but is unable or unwilling to capture the animal within a reasonable time, or

    • (ii) is not present or is unknown;

  • (b) require the owner to remove the animal from the wildlife area if the owner is present;

  • (c) impound the animal at the expense of the owner if the owner is not present;

  • (d) if the animal is injured, obtain medical care for the animal at the expense of the owner if the owner is known; and

  • (e) destroy the animal if it poses a danger to any person, any other domestic animal or any wildlife and the owner

    • (i) is present but is unable or unwilling to capture the animal within a reasonable time, or

    • (ii) is not present or is unknown.

• (2) If a domestic animal is at large in a wildlife area and a wildlife officer has no reasonable grounds to conclude that the animal has an owner, the officer may

  • (a) capture the animal;

  • (b) impound the animal;

  • (c) if the animal is injured, obtain medical care for the animal; or

  • (d) destroy the animal if it poses a danger to any person, any other domestic animal or any wildlife.

• (3) For the purposes of this section, the owner of an animal includes the person who is responsible for it.

3.7 A wildlife officer, an employee referred to in subsection 3.5(2) or a person acting under the direction or control of the officer or the employee, may capture or destroy, in a wildlife area, any wildlife that is not indigenous to that wildlife area and is likely to cause immediate harm to indigenous wildlife or immediately degrade its habitat.

Temporary Closure of Wildlife Areas

• 3.8 (1) The Minister may temporarily close all or any part of a wildlife area if

  • (a) there is a risk of harm to wildlife, including as a result of an outbreak of disease;

  • (b) there is a natural disaster or any other major emergency; or

  • (c) there is a risk to public safety or national security.

• (2) The Minister shall give notice in writing to the public of

  • (a) the temporary closure of all or any part of a wildlife area under subsection (1); and

  • (b) the reopening of all or any part of a wildlife area.

• (3) The written notice shall be posted at the entrance or boundary of the wildlife area or published on a federal government website or on other media.

• (4) No person shall enter a wildlife area or any part of it that has been closed under subsection (1), other than a person referred to in section 3.5.

Permits

• 4 (1) The Minister may, on application, issue a permit to a person or a government body for any activity referred to in section 3 or 3.3 if

  • (a) in the case where the purpose of the proposed activity is to promote the conservation or protection of wildlife or wildlife habitat,

    • (i) the benefits that the proposed activity is likely to have for the conservation or protection of wildlife or wildlife habitat outweigh any adverse effects that it is likely to have on wildlife or wildlife habitat, and

    • (ii) there are no alternatives to the proposed activity that would be likely to produce the same or equivalent benefits for the conservation or protection of wildlife or wildlife habitat but would be likely to have less significant adverse effects; and

  • (b) in any other case,

    • (i) taking into consideration the measures described in paragraph (2)(d), the adverse effects that the proposed activity is likely to have on wildlife or wildlife habitat would not compromise their conservation, and

    • (ii) there are no alternatives to the proposed activity that would allow the applicant to achieve the same outcome but would likely have less significant adverse effects on wildlife or wildlife habitat.

• (2) The application must be in a form approved by the Minister and include the following information:

  • (a) the applicant’s contact information;

  • (b) details regarding the activity that the applicant proposes to carry out, including

    • (i) the purpose of the activity,

    • (ii) the location where it will be carried out,

    • (iii) the conveyances and devices that will be used, including remotely piloted aircraft and self-propelled terrestrial or aquatic devices, whether those devices are remotely controlled or autonomous,

    • (iv) the types of equipment that will be used, and

    • (v) the number of persons who will be carrying out the activity and their qualifications in relation to the activity;

  • (c) details regarding the effects that the activity is likely to have on wildlife or wildlife habitat in the wildlife area, including the likelihood that those effects will occur and their scope; and

  • (d) details regarding the measures that will be taken by the applicant to monitor the effects referred to in paragraph (c) and to prevent or, if prevention is not feasible, to mitigate any adverse effects.

4.1 Before issuing a permit under subsection 4(1), the Minister shall, for the purpose of evaluating the effects that a proposed activity is likely to have on wildlife or wildlife habitat in the wildlife area and determining whether the effects are adverse, take the following into consideration:

• (a) the likelihood that those effects will occur and their scope;

• (b) the capacity of the wildlife or wildlife habitat to recover or to be restored, if the effects occur; and

• (c) the cumulative effects of the activity when combined with the effects of other activities carried out in the wildlife area.

• 4.2 (1) A permit must include the condition that the permit holder must notify the Minister of any change to any information provided in the application for the permit.

• (2) A permit may include conditions with respect to

  • (a) the locations, dates, duration and frequency of the activity that may be carried out under the permit, the method by which the activity may be carried out and the types of equipment, devices and conveyances that may be used to carry out the activity;

  • (b) the measures that the permit holder must take to

    • (i) monitor the effects that the activity is likely to have on wildlife or wildlife habitat in the wildlife area, and

    • (ii) prevent or, if prevention is not feasible, mitigate any adverse effects;

  • (c) the reports that the permit holder must provide to the Minister with respect to the activity, including its actual and likely effects on wildlife or wildlife habitat in the wildlife area; and

  • (d) the minimum or maximum number of persons that may carry out the activity and the qualifications they must have.

5 Any person carrying out activities authorized by a permit shall

• (a) have a copy of the permit in their possession at all times when they are in the wildlife area; and

• (b) show a copy of the permit to a wildlife officer on request.