Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act (S.C. 2003, c. 7)
Full Document:
Assented to 2003-05-13
Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act
S.C. 2003, c. 7
Assented to 2003-05-13
An Act to establish a process for assessing the environmental and socio-economic effects of certain activities in Yukon
SUMMARY
This enactment, in fulfilment of certain obligations under the Umbrella Final Agreement between Canada, the Yukon Territory and the Council of Yukon Indians, creates a process for assessing the environmental and socio-economic effects of activities in Yukon.
The enactment establishes a Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board with assessment staff in six or more designated offices in communities throughout Yukon. They serve as the main instruments for the assessment of the environmental and socio-economic effects of activities in Yukon.
The enactment provides for the making of regulations prescribing lists of activities that may be subject to assessment, and governing decision-making in response to recommendations made by assessment bodies.
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 Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act.
INTERPRETATION
Marginal note:Definitions
2. (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.
“assessment”
« évaluation »
“assessment” means an evaluation by a designated office, a screening by the executive committee or a review by a panel of the Board.
“authorization”
« autorisation »
“authorization” means a licence, permit or other form of approval that is issued or given by
(a) the Governor in Council, a government agency, an independent regulatory agency or a municipal government, or
(b) a first nation under its final agreement or a first nation law,
but does not include an access order issued under the Yukon Surface Rights Board Act or a consent given by a first nation for access to settlement land in circumstances where an access order could be issued under that Act.
“Board”
« Office »
“Board” means the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board established by section 8.
“category B settlement land”
« terres désignées de catégorie B »
“category B settlement land” means land that is, or is to be treated as, category B settlement land, as referred to in the definition “settlement land”.
“Council”
« Conseil »
“Council” means the Council for Yukon Indians or any successor to it or, in the absence of a successor, the first nations named in the schedule to the Yukon First Nations Land Claims Settlement Act.
“decision body”
« décisionnaire »
“decision body”, in relation to a project, means
(a) a first nation, if the project is to be located wholly or partly on its settlement land and
(i) the first nation has the power under the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act or under its final agreement to issue an authorization that is required for the project to be undertaken,
(ii) the first nation is a proponent of the project, has the power to grant an interest in land that is required for the project to be undertaken or has received an application for financial assistance for the project, or
(iii) no decision document is required for the project from any federal agency or the territorial minister;
(b) the territorial minister, if any territorial agency, municipal government or territorial independent regulatory agency
(i) has the power to issue an authorization that is required for the project to be undertaken,
(ii) in the case of a project to be located wholly or partly on non-settlement land, is a proponent of the project, has the power to grant an interest in land that is required for the project to be undertaken or has received an application for financial assistance for the project, or
(iii) is responsible for the administration of mines and minerals in category B or fee simple settlement land or Tetlit Gwich’in Yukon land, where the project involves a right to work those mines and minerals;
(c) any federal agency that
(i) has the power to issue an authorization that is required for the project to be undertaken,
(ii) in the case of a project to be located wholly or partly on non-settlement land, is a proponent of the project, has the power to grant an interest in land that is required for the project to be undertaken or has received an application for financial assistance for the project, or
(iii) is responsible for the administration of mines and minerals in category B or fee simple settlement land or Tetlit Gwich’in Yukon land, where the project involves a right to work those mines and minerals;
(d) the federal minister, if the project is to be located wholly or partly on non-settlement land, no other federal agency is a decision body under paragraph (c) and
(i) the territorial minister is not a decision body, or
(ii) the territorial minister is a decision body and
(A) the Governor in Council has the power to issue an authorization that is required for the project to be undertaken, or
(B) a federal independent regulatory agency is a proponent of the project, has the power to issue such an authorization or has received an application for financial assistance for the project; or
(e) the federal minister, if the project is to be located wholly on settlement land and
(i) the Governor in Council or a federal independent regulatory agency has the power to issue an authorization that is required for the project to be undertaken, or
(ii) a federal independent regulatory agency has received an application for financial assistance for the project.
“decision document”
« décision écrite »
“decision document” means a decision document issued by a decision body under section 75, 76 or 77.
“designated office”
« bureau désigné »
“designated office” means an office maintained under subsection 22(1).
“effects monitoring”
« mesures de contrôle »
“effects monitoring” means the monitoring of environmental and socio-economic effects, or of the effectiveness of mitigative measures.
“environment”
« environnement »
“environment” means the components of the Earth and includes
(a) air, land and water;
(b) all layers of the atmosphere;
(c) all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms; and
(d) the interacting natural systems that include the components referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c).
“executive committee”
« comité de direction »
“executive committee” means the executive committee of the Board established by section 8.
“existing project”
« ouvrage »
“existing project” means an activity that has been undertaken or completed and that, if proposed to be undertaken, would be subject to assessment under section 47.
“federal agency”
« autorité fédérale »
“federal agency” means a minister of the federal government or a person or body carrying out a function of government under a federal law other than the Yukon Act, the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act or the Yukon First Nations Land Claims Settlement Act, but does not include the Governor in Council, an independent regulatory agency or the Yukon Surface Rights Board.
“federal decision body”
« décisionnaire fédéral »
“federal decision body”, in relation to a project, means a decision body referred to in any of paragraphs (c) to (e) of the definition “decision body”.
“federal independent regulatory agency”
« organisme administratif autonome fédéral »
“federal independent regulatory agency” means any body named in Part 1 of the schedule.
“federal minister”
« ministre fédéral »
“federal minister” means the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, unless another member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada is designated by the Governor in Council as the federal minister for the purposes of this Act.
“fee simple settlement land”
« terres désignées en fief simple »
“fee simple settlement land” means land that is, or is to be treated as, fee simple settlement land, as referred to in the definition “settlement land”.
“final agreement”
« accord définitif »
“final agreement” means a final agreement within the meaning of the Yukon First Nations Land Claims Settlement Act or the agreement contained in Appendix C to the Gwich’in Agreement.
“financial assistance”
« aide financière »
“financial assistance” means a payment, loan or loan guarantee, but does not include
(a) a refund, remission, reduction or deferral, or any other form of relief from the payment, of a tax, duty or fee, other than relief provided by law to permit the undertaking of an activity specifically named in the law;
(b) assistance for anything done preliminary to a project, such as a feasibility study, that does not have effects on the environment; or
(c) assistance for an environmental or socio-economic study undertaken in relation to the assessment of a project, except a study that itself comprises a project.
“first nation”
« première nation »
“first nation” means a Yukon First Nation, within the meaning of the Umbrella Final Agreement, and includes the Gwich’in Tribal Council, in relation to consultation, or the Tetlit Gwich’in, in relation to any other matter.
“first nation law”
« texte législatif d’une première nation »
“first nation law” means a law enacted by a first nation in accordance with the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act or the first nation’s final agreement.
“government agency”
« autorité publique »
“government agency” means a federal agency or a territorial agency.
“Gwich’in Agreement”
« accord gwich’in »
“Gwich’in Agreement” means the Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement between Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada and the Gwich’in as represented by the Gwich’in Tribal Council, signed on April 22, 1992 and approved, given effect and declared valid by the Gwich’in Land Claim Settlement Act, as that Agreement is amended from time to time in accordance with its provisions.
“heritage resource”
« ressources patrimoniales »
“heritage resource” means
(a) a moveable work or assembly of works of people or of nature, other than a record only, that is of scientific or cultural value for its archaeological, palaeontological, ethnological, prehistoric, historic or aesthetic features;
(b) a record, regardless of its physical form or characteristics, that is of scientific or cultural value for its archaeological, palaeontological, ethnological, prehistoric, historic or aesthetic features; or
(c) an area of land that contains a work or assembly of works referred to in paragraph (a) or an area that is of aesthetic or cultural value, including a human burial site outside a recognized cemetery.
“independent regulatory agency”
« organisme administratif autonome »
“independent regulatory agency” means any body named in the schedule.
“interested person”
« intéressé »
“interested person” means any person or body having an interest in the outcome of an assessment, for a purpose that is not frivolous or vexatious, and includes
(a) the Fish and Wildlife Management Board established under the Umbrella Final Agreement, in relation to a project that is likely to affect the management and conservation of fish or wildlife or their habitat;
(b) the salmon subcommittee of the Fish and Wildlife Management Board, in relation to a project that is likely to affect the management and conservation of salmon or their habitat; and
(c) a renewable resource council established under a first nation’s final agreement, in relation to a project that is likely to affect the management and conservation of fish or wildlife or their habitat within the traditional territory of that first nation.
“joint panel”
« comité mixte »
“joint panel” means a joint panel established by an agreement under section 67.
“mitigative measures”
« mesures d’atténuation »
“mitigative measures” means measures for the elimination, reduction or control of adverse environmental or socio-economic effects.
“non-settlement land”
« terres non désignées »
“non-settlement land” means
(a) land other than settlement land;
(b) water lying on or flowing through land, including settlement land; or
(c) mines and minerals, other than specified substances, in category B or fee simple settlement land or Tetlit Gwich’in Yukon land.
“panel of the Board”
« comité restreint »
“panel of the Board” means a panel established under subsection 65(1), paragraph 93(1)(a) or subsection 95(1), 103(1) or 105(1).
“plan”
« plan »
“plan” means any plan, program, policy or proposal that is not a project or existing project.
“project”
« projet de développement »
“project” means an activity that is subject to assessment under section 47 or 48 and is not exempt from assessment under section 49.
“proponent”
« promoteur »
“proponent”, in relation to a project or other activity, means a person or body that proposes to undertake it, or a government agency, independent regulatory agency, municipal government or first nation that proposes to require — under a federal or territorial law, a municipal by-law or a first nation law — that it be undertaken.
“self-govern-ment agreement”
« accord sur l’autonomie gouvernementale »
“self-govern-ment agreement” has the same meaning as in the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act.
“settlement land”
« terres désignées »
“settlement land” means land that is category A settlement land, category B settlement land or fee simple settlement land under a final agreement or under section 63 of the Yukon Surface Rights Board Act, or land that is to be treated as such by virtue of a self-government agreement, and includes Tetlit Gwich’in Yukon land, but does not include water or mines and minerals defined to be non-settlement land.
“socio-economic effects”
« effets sur la vie socio-économique »
“socio-economic effects” includes effects on economies, health, culture, traditions, lifestyles and heritage resources.
“territorial agency”
« autorité territoriale »
“territorial agency” means a member of the Executive Council of Yukon or a person or body carrying out a function of government under the Yukon Act, but does not include an independent regulatory agency or a municipal government.
“territorial independent regulatory agency”
« organisme administratif autonome territorial »
“territorial independent regulatory agency” means any body named in Part 2 of the schedule.
“territorial minister”
« ministre territorial »
“territorial minister” means the member of the Executive Council of Yukon designated as the territorial minister for the purposes of this Act by the Commissioner of Yukon acting with the consent of the Executive Council of Yukon.
“territory”
« territoire »
“territory” means
(a) in relation to a first nation for which a final agreement is in effect, that first nation’s traditional territory and any of its settlement lands within Yukon that are not part of that traditional territory;
(b) in relation to the first nation known as the Tetlit Gwich’in, the areas described in Annex A of Appendix C to the Gwich’in Agreement; and
(c) in relation to any other first nation, the geographic area within Yukon identified on the map provided by that first nation under the Umbrella Final Agreement for the purpose of delineating the first nation’s traditional territory.
“Tetlit Gwich’in”
« Gwich’in Tetlit »
“Tetlit Gwich’in” means the Tetlit Gwich’in as defined in Appendix C to the Gwich’in Agreement.
“Tetlit Gwich’in Yukon land”
« terres gwich’in tetlit »
“Tetlit Gwich’in Yukon land” means land described in Annex B of Appendix C to the Gwich’in Agreement.
“traditional knowledge”
« connaissances traditionnelles »
“traditional knowledge” means the accumulated body of knowledge, observations and understandings about the environment, and about the relationship of living beings with one another and the environment, that is rooted in the traditional way of life of first nations.
“Umbrella Final Agreement”
« accord-cadre »
“Umbrella Final Agreement” has the same meaning as in the Yukon First Nations Land Claims Settlement Act.
“Yukon”
Version anglaise seulement“Yukon” means the Yukon Territory.
“Yukon Indian person”
« Indien du Yukon »
“Yukon Indian person” means a person enrolled under a final agreement — other than the Gwich’in Agreement — or a person who is a Tetlit Gwich’in.
Marginal note:Definitions from Umbrella Final Agreement
(2) In this Act, the expressions “mines”, “minerals”, “right to work”, “specified substances” and “traditional territory” have the same meanings as in the Umbrella Final Agreement.
Marginal note:Grant of interest in land
(3) In this Act, a reference to the granting of an interest in land includes only the granting of such an interest in circumstances where there is a discretion whether to grant it or not.
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