Canada Water Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-11)
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Act current to 2013-05-26 and last amended on 2005-04-01. Previous Versions
Canada Water Act
R.S.C., 1985, c. C-11
An Act to provide for the management of the water resources of Canada, including research and the planning and implementation of programs relating to the conservation, development and utilization of water resources
Preamble
WHEREAS the demands on the water resources of Canada are increasing rapidly and more knowledge is needed of the nature, extent and distribution of those resources, of the present and future demands thereon and of the means by which those demands may be met;
AND WHEREAS pollution of the water resources of Canada is a significant and rapidly increasing threat to the health, well-being and prosperity of the people of Canada and to the quality of the Canadian environment at large and as a result it has become a matter of urgent national concern that measures be taken to provide for water quality management in those areas of Canada most critically affected;
AND WHEREAS Parliament desires that, in addition, comprehensive programs be undertaken by the Government of Canada and by the Government of Canada in cooperation with provincial governments, in accordance with the responsibilities of the federal government and each of the provincial governments in relation to water resources, for research and planning with respect to those resources and for their conservation, development and utilization to ensure their optimum use for the benefit of all Canadians;
NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
SHORT TITLE
Marginal note:Short title
1. This Act may be cited as the Canada Water Act.
- R.S., c. 5(1st Supp.), s. 1.
INTERPRETATION
Marginal note:Definitions
2. (1) In this Act,
“agency”
« organisme »
“agency” means a water quality management agency the incorporation of which is procured or that is named pursuant to section 11 or 13;
“analyst”
« analyste »
“analyst” means an analyst designated pursuant to subsection 25(1);
“boundary waters”
« eaux limitrophes »
“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;
“federal agency”
« organisme fédéral »
“federal agency” means a water quality management agency that is named pursuant to section 13;
“federal waters”
« eaux fédérales »
“federal waters” means, other than in Yukon, waters under the exclusive legislative jurisdiction of Parliament and, in Yukon, waters in a federal conservation area within the meaning of section 2 of the Yukon Act;
“inspector”
« inspecteur »
“inspector” means an inspector designated pursuant to subsection 25(1);
“inter-jurisdictional waters”
« eaux relevant de plusieurs juridictions »
“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;
“international waters”
« eaux internationales »
“international waters” means waters of rivers that flow across the international boundary between the United States and Canada;
“Minister”
« ministre »
“Minister” means the Minister of the Environment;
“prescribed”
Version anglaise seulement“prescribed” means prescribed by regulation;
“waste”
« déchet »
“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);
“water quality management”
« gestion qualitative des eaux »
“water quality management” means any aspect of water resource management that relates to restoring, maintaining or improving the quality of water;
“water resource management”
« gestion des ressources en eau »
“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.
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.
- R.S., 1985, c. C-11, s. 2;
- 2002, c. 7, s. 115.
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