Nuclear Fuel Waste Act (S.C. 2002, c. 23)

Reports by Waste Management Organization

Marginal note:Obligation to submit annual reports

• 16 (1) The waste management organization shall, within three months after the end of each fiscal year of the organization, submit to the Minister a report of its activities for that fiscal year.

• Marginal note:Contents of annual report after section 15 decision

  (2) Each annual report after the date of the decision of the Governor in Council under section 15 must include

  • (a) the form and amount of any financial guarantees that have been provided during that fiscal year by the nuclear energy corporations and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act and relate to implementing the approach that the Governor in Council selects under section 15 or approves under subsection 20(5);

  • (b) the updated estimated total cost of the management of nuclear fuel waste;

  • (c) the budget forecast for the next fiscal year;

  • (d) the proposed formula for the next fiscal year to calculate the amount required to finance the management of nuclear fuel waste and an explanation of the assumptions behind each term of the formula; and

  • (e) the amount of the deposit required to be paid during the next fiscal year by each of the nuclear energy corporations and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, and the rationale by which those respective amounts were arrived at.

• Marginal note:Minister’s approval of formula and deposits

  (3) The formula referred to in paragraph (2)(d) and the amount of each deposit referred to in paragraph (2)(e) are subject to the approval of the Minister when proposed in

  • (a) the first annual report after the date of a decision of the Governor in Council under section 15 or subsection 20(5); and

  • (b) the first annual report after the issuance, under section 24 of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, of a construction or operating licence for an activity to implement the approach that the Governor in Council selects under section 15 or approves under subsection 20(5).

• Marginal note:Grounds for refusing to approve

  (4) If the Minister

  • (a) is not satisfied that the formula referred to in paragraph (2)(d) will provide sufficient funds to implement the approach that the Governor in Council selects under section 15 or approves under subsection 20(5), or

  • (b) is not satisfied that the amount of each deposit referred to in paragraph (2)(e) is consistent with the formula referred to in paragraph (2)(d),

  the Minister shall refuse to give the approval referred to in subsection (3) and shall direct the waste management organization to revise the relevant portions of the annual report and submit the revised annual report to the Minister within 30 days.

Marginal note:Obligation to deposit

• 17 (1) Each nuclear energy corporation and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited shall, either directly or through a third party, deposit to its trust fund maintained under subsection 9(1) its respective deposit specified in the annual report

  • (a) if the Minister’s approval under subsection 16(3) is not required, within 30 days after the annual report is submitted to the Minister under subsection 16(1); or

  • (b) if the Minister’s approval under subsection 16(3) is required, within 30 days after the date of that approval.

• Marginal note:Extension of time

  (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Governor in Council may, on request by a nuclear energy corporation made before the expiration of the 30 day period referred to in that subsection, authorize the nuclear energy corporation to defer by one year all or part of its deposit required by that subsection, if the Governor in Council is of the opinion that the public interest requires that that money be used instead to repair the damage caused by an event that is not attributable to the corporation and is extraordinary, unforeseen and irresistible.

Marginal note:Triennial report

18 The annual report of the waste management organization for its third fiscal year after the fiscal year in which a decision is made by the Governor in Council under section 15, and for every third fiscal year after that, in this Act called the “triennial report”, must include

• (a) a summary of its activities respecting the management of nuclear fuel waste during the last three fiscal years, including an analysis of any significant socio-economic effects of those activities on a community’s way of life or on its social, cultural or economic aspirations;

• (b) its strategic plan for the next five fiscal years to implement the approach that the Governor in Council selects under section 15 or approves under subsection 20(5);

• (c) its budget forecast for the next five fiscal years to implement the strategic plan;

• (d) the results of its public consultations held during the last three fiscal years with respect to the matters set out in paragraphs (a) and (b); and

• (e) the comments of the Advisory Council on the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d).

Marginal note:Minister’s statement

19 The Minister shall, within 90 days after receiving a report, issue a public statement regarding the report.

Marginal note:Tabling of reports in Parliament

19.1 The Minister shall cause a copy of each report to be laid before each House of Parliament within the first fifteen sitting days of that House after the Minister has received the report.

Change in Approach

Marginal note:New approach — technical difficulty

• 20 (1) If the waste management organization is unable, for technical reasons beyond its control, to implement the approach that was selected by the Governor in Council under section 15, the waste management organization shall so report in its triennial report and shall, in that report, propose a new approach.

• Marginal note:New approach — technical innovation

  (2) If a new technological method is developed that has been the subject of a scientific and technical review by experts from international governmental organizations that deal with nuclear matters and has received their support, the waste management organization may propose, in its triennial report, a new approach for the management of nuclear fuel waste that is based on that new method.

• Marginal note:Application of other provisions

  (3) Subsections 12(3) to (7) and sections 13 and 14 apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, in respect of an approach proposed under subsection (1) or (2). The approach must be accompanied by the comments of the Advisory Council on that approach.

• Marginal note:Submission to Governor in Council

  (4) If the Minister is satisfied that the new approach referred to in subsection (1) or (2) is technically and economically feasible in Canada, the Minister shall submit the new approach to the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Decision of Governor in Council

  (5) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, approve an approach proposed under subsection (1) or (2), in which case the decision of the Governor in Council shall be published in the Canada Gazette.

Withdrawal by Beneficiary

Marginal note:Withdrawals from trust funds

21 Notwithstanding subsection 11(1), the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, authorize a beneficiary of a trust fund to withdraw all or part of the balance in the trust fund if

• (a) the Governor in Council has approved an approach under subsection 20(5) and the total balance in the trust funds exceeds the estimated total cost of implementing that approach; or

• (b) the waste management organization has completed the implementation of an approach that the Governor in Council selected under section 15 or approved under subsection 20(5).

Records, Books and Financial Statements

Marginal note:Records and books to be kept

• 22 (1) The waste management organization, every nuclear energy corporation and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, as well as every financial institution that holds a trust fund, shall keep, at its place of business in Canada, records, books of account and other documents for at least six years after the end of the fiscal year to which they relate, in such form and containing such information as will enable the verification of the accuracy and completeness of the information that is required to be submitted or provided to the Minister under this Act.

• Marginal note:False entries, omissions

  (2) No person shall make a false entry, or fail to make an entry, in a record, book of account or other document required to be kept under subsection (1).

Marginal note:WMO financial statements

• 23 (1) The waste management organization shall provide the Minister, within three months after the end of each fiscal year of the organization, with financial statements audited at its own expense by an independent auditor.

• Marginal note:Trust fund financial statements

  (2) Every financial institution that holds a trust fund shall provide the Minister and the waste management organization, within three months after the end of each fiscal year of the trust fund, with financial statements relating to that trust fund, audited at its own expense by an independent auditor.

Documents To Be Made Public

Marginal note:Documents to be made public

24 The waste management organization shall make available to the public

• (a) the study, reports and financial statements that it is required to submit to the Minister under this Act, simultaneously with submitting them to the Minister; and

• (b) financial statements provided to the waste management organization under subsection 23(2), as soon as practicable.

Inspection of Records and Books

Marginal note:Auditors

• 25 (1) The Minister may designate as an auditor for the purposes of this Act any person that the Minister considers to be qualified.

• Marginal note:Powers of auditors

  (2) For the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act, an auditor may, during normal business hours,

  • (a) enter any premises of a body referred to in subsection 22(1), after having given reasonable advance notice to the person in charge of the premises; and

  • (b) inspect, make copies of, and take extracts from, any records, books of account and other documents that the auditor believes on reasonable grounds are required by subsection 22(1) to be kept.

• Marginal note:Designation to be produced

  (3) An auditor shall, if so requested either before or after entering any premises under this section, produce to the person in charge of the premises evidence of the auditor’s designation by the Minister.

Marginal note:Duty to assist auditor

• 26 (1) Every person shall give all reasonable assistance to an auditor.

• Marginal note:Prohibitions

  (2) No person shall obstruct or hinder an auditor, or make a false or misleading statement, either orally or in writing, or provide false or misleading information, to an auditor.

Offences and Punishment

Marginal note:Failure to deposit amounts

• 27 (1) If a nuclear energy corporation or Atomic Energy of Canada Limited fails to comply with subsection 10(5) or section 17, it is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $300,000 for each day on which the offence is committed or is continued.

• Marginal note:Court order

  (2) If a body is convicted under subsection (1), the court may, in addition to any punishment imposed under that subsection, order the body to deposit to its trust fund, on or before the date fixed by the court, the amount that it failed to deposit as required, plus interest on that amount at the prime rate plus two per cent calculated from the day on which the amount was required to have been deposited.

• Marginal note:Failure to comply with court order

  (3) If a body fails to comply with an order made under subsection (2), it is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine equal to twenty per cent of the aggregate amount set out in that order.

Marginal note:Failure to submit study

• 28 (1) If the waste management organization fails to submit the study of its proposed approaches within the period set out in subsection 12(1), it is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $300,000 for each day on which the offence is committed or is continued.

• Marginal note:Failure to submit revised study, annual report

  (2) If the waste management organization fails to comply with a direction of the Minister made under subsection 14(2), or fails to submit the report of its activities within the period set out in subsection 16(1), it is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 for each day on which the offence is committed or is continued.

• Marginal note:Failure to submit revised annual report

  (3) If the waste management organization fails to comply with a direction of the Minister made under subsection 16(4), it is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 for each day on which the offence is committed or is continued.

• Marginal note:Withdrawals, making documents public

  (4) If the waste management organization withdraws moneys from a trust fund without the Minister’s approval where that approval is required under subsection 11(4), or fails to comply with section 24, it is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000.

• Marginal note:Auditors

  (5) Every person who contravenes section 26 is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000.

• Marginal note:Other offences

  (6) Every person who contravenes any other provision of this Act is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000.

Marginal note:Offence by employee or agent

29 In a prosecution for an offence under this Act, it is sufficient proof of the offence to establish that it was committed by an employee or agent of the accused, whether or not the employee or agent is identified or has been prosecuted for the offence.

Marginal note:Due diligence

30 No person shall be found guilty of an offence under this Act if it is established that the person exercised all due diligence to comply with this Act or to prevent the commission of the offence.

Marginal note:Time limit for prosecution

31 Proceedings in respect of an offence under this Act may be instituted within but not later than two years after the time when the subject matter of the proceedings arose or the Minister became aware of the subject matter of the proceedings.

Coming into Force

Marginal note:Coming into force

Footnote ^*32 This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

• Return to footnote ^*[Note: Act in force November 15, 2002, see SI/2002-139.]