Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. A-12)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

2 In this Act,

analyst

analyst means a person designated as an analyst under the Canada Water Act, the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act or the Nunavut Waters and Nunavut Surface Rights Tribunal Act; (analyste)

arctic waters

arctic waters means the internal waters of Canada and the waters of the territorial sea of Canada and the exclusive economic zone of Canada, within the area enclosed by the 60th parallel of north latitude, the 141st meridian of west longitude and the outer limit of the exclusive economic zone; however, where the international boundary between Canada and Greenland is less than 200 nautical miles from the baselines of the territorial sea of Canada, the international boundary shall be substituted for that outer limit; (eaux arctiques)

ice-breaker

ice-breaker means a ship specially designed and constructed for the purpose of assisting the passage of other ships through ice; (brise-glace)

owner

owner, in relation to a ship, includes any person having for the time being, either by law or by contract, the same rights as the owner of the ship with respect to the possession and use thereof; (propriétaire)

pilot

pilot means a licensed pilot as defined in section 1.1 of the Pilotage Act; (pilote)

pollution prevention officer

pollution prevention officer means a person designated as a pollution prevention officer pursuant to section 14; (fonctionnaire compétent)

ship

ship includes any description of vessel or boat used or designed for use in navigation without regard to method or lack of propulsion; (navire)

shipping safety control zone

shipping safety control zone means an area of the arctic waters prescribed as a shipping safety control zone by an order made under section 11; (zone de contrôle de la sécurité de la navigation)

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),

and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes anything that, for the purposes of the Canada Water Act, is deemed to be waste. (déchet)

Application of Act

Marginal note:Inconsistency with Marine Liability Act

2.1 In the event of an inconsistency between the provisions of this Act, or any regulation made under this Act, and the provisions of the Marine Liability Act, the provisions of that Act prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

Marginal note:Application to arctic waters

• 3 (1) Except where otherwise provided, this Act applies to the arctic waters.

• Marginal note:Adjacent waters included in arctic waters

  (2) In so far as this Act applies to or in respect of any person described in paragraph 6(1)(a), the expression “arctic waters” includes all the waters described in the definition of that expression in section 2 and all waters adjacent thereto lying north of the sixtieth parallel of north latitude, the natural resources of whose subjacent submarine areas Her Majesty in right of Canada has the right to dispose of or exploit, whether the waters so described or those adjacent waters are in a frozen or liquid state, but does not include inland waters.

Incorporation by Reference

Marginal note:Incorporation as amended from time to time

• 3.1 (1) Regulations made under this Act incorporating standards by reference may incorporate them as amended from time to time.

• Marginal note:For greater certainty only

  (2) Subsection (1) is for greater certainty and does not limit any authority to make regulations incorporating material by reference that exists apart from it.

Deposit of Waste

Marginal note:Prohibition

• 4 (1) Except as authorized by regulations made under this section, no person or ship shall deposit or permit the deposit of waste of any type in the arctic waters or in any place on the mainland or islands of the Canadian arctic under any conditions where the waste or any other waste that results from the deposit of the waste may enter the arctic waters.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the deposit of waste in waters that form part of a water quality management area designated pursuant to the Canada Water Act if the waste so deposited is of a type and quantity and is deposited under conditions authorized by regulations made under paragraph 18(2)(a) of that Act with respect to that water quality management area.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (3) The Governor in Council may make regulations for the purposes of this section prescribing

  • (a) the type and quantity of waste, if any, that may be deposited by any person or ship in the arctic waters or in any place on the mainland or islands of the Canadian arctic under any conditions where that waste or any other waste that results from the deposit of that waste may enter the arctic waters; and

  • (b) the conditions under which any such waste may be so deposited.

Marginal note:Report of deposit of waste or danger thereof

• 5 (1) Any person who

  • (a) has deposited waste in contravention of subsection 4(1), or

  • (b) carries on any undertaking on the mainland or islands of the Canadian arctic or in the arctic waters that, by reason of any accident or other occurrence, is in danger of causing any deposit of waste described in that subsection otherwise than of a type, in a quantity and under conditions prescribed by regulations made under section 4,

  shall forthwith report the deposit of waste or the accident or other occurrence to a pollution prevention officer at such location and in such manner as may be prescribed by the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Report by master of ship

  (2) The master of any ship that has deposited waste in contravention of subsection 4(1), or that is in distress and for that reason is in danger of causing any deposit of waste described in that subsection otherwise than of a type, in a quantity and under conditions prescribed by regulations made under section 4, shall forthwith report the deposit of waste or the condition of distress to a pollution prevention officer at such location and in such manner as may be prescribed by the Governor in Council.

Marginal note:Civil liability resulting from deposit of waste

• 6 (1) The following persons, namely,

  • (a) any person who is engaged in exploring for, developing or exploiting any natural resource on any land adjacent to the arctic waters or in any submarine area subjacent to the arctic waters,

  • (b) any person who carries on any undertaking on the mainland or islands of the Canadian arctic or in the arctic waters, and

  • (c) the owner of any ship that navigates within the arctic waters and the owners of the cargo of any such ship,

  are respectively liable and, in the case of the owner of a ship and the owners of the cargo thereof, are jointly and severally liable, up to the amount determined in the manner prescribed by regulations made under section 9 in respect of the activity or undertaking so engaged in or carried on or in respect of that ship, as the case may be, for costs, expenses and loss or damage described in subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Extent of liability

  (2) Liability under subsection (1) is

  • (a) for all costs and expenses of and incidental to the taking of action described in subsection (3) on the direction of the Governor in Council, and

  • (b) for all actual loss or damage incurred by other persons

  resulting from any deposit of waste described in subsection 4(1) that is caused by or is otherwise attributable to the activity, undertaking or ship, as the case may be, referred to in subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Costs and expenses of Her Majesty

  (3) Where the Governor in Council directs any action to be taken by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada to repair or remedy any condition that results from a deposit of waste described in subsection (2), or to reduce or mitigate any damage to or destruction of life or property that results or may reasonably be expected to result from such a deposit of waste, the costs and expenses of and incidental to the taking of that action, to the extent that those costs and expenses can be established to have been reasonably incurred in the circumstances, are, subject to this section, recoverable by Her Majesty in right of Canada from the person or persons described in paragraph (1)(a), (b) or (c), with costs, in proceedings brought or taken therefor in the name of Her Majesty.

• Marginal note:Proceedings for recovery of claims

  (4) All claims pursuant to this section against a person or persons described in paragraph (1)(a), (b) or (c) may be sued for and recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction in Canada, and all those claims shall rank

  • (a) first, in favour of persons who have suffered actual loss or damage as provided in paragraph (2)(b), which claims shall among themselves rank pari passu, and

  • (b) second, to meet the costs and expenses described in subsection (3),

  up to the limit of the amount determined in the manner prescribed by regulations made under section 9 in respect of the activity or undertaking engaged in or carried on by the person or persons against whom the claims are made, or in respect of the ship of which any such person is the owner or of all or part of whose cargo any such person is the owner.

• Marginal note:Limitation period

  (5) No proceedings in respect of a claim pursuant to this section shall be commenced after two years from the time when the deposit of waste in respect of which the proceedings are brought or taken occurred or first occurred, as the case may be, or could reasonably be expected to have become known to those affected thereby.

Marginal note:Nature and limitation of liability

• 7 (1) The liability of any person pursuant to section 6 is absolute and does not depend on proof of fault or negligence, except that no person is liable pursuant to that section for any costs, expenses or actual loss or damage incurred by another person whose conduct caused any deposit of waste described in subsection 6(2), or whose conduct contributed to any such deposit of waste, to the degree to which that other person’s conduct contributed thereto.

• Marginal note:Construction of reference to conduct

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a reference to any conduct of “another person” includes any wrongful act or omission by that other person or by any person for whose wrongful act or omission that other person is by law responsible.

• Marginal note:Prohibited construction

  (3) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting or restricting any right of recourse or indemnity that a person liable pursuant to section 6 may have against any other person.

• Marginal note:Limitation on liability of cargo owner

  (4) Notwithstanding anything in this Act, no person is liable pursuant to section 6, either alone or jointly and severally with one or more other persons, by reason only that the person is the owner of all or any part of the cargo of a ship, if the person can establish that the cargo or that part thereof is of such a nature, or is of such a nature and is carried in such a quantity, that, if it and any other cargo of the same nature that is carried by that ship were deposited by that ship in the arctic waters, the deposit would not constitute a contravention of subsection 4(1).