Nuclear Safety and Control Act (S.C. 1997, c. 9)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

2 The definitions in this section apply in this Act.

analyst

analyst means a person designated as an analyst under section 28. (analyste)

Commission

Commission means the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission established by section 8. (Commission)

designated officer

designated officer means a person designated as a designated officer under section 37. (fonctionnaire désigné)

dosimetry service

dosimetry service means a prescribed facility for the measurement and monitoring of doses of radiation. (service de dosimétrie)

inspector

inspector means a person designated as an inspector under section 29. (inspecteur)

licence

licence means a licence issued under section 24. (licence ou permis)

Minister

Minister means the Minister of Natural Resources or such member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada as the Governor in Council may designate as the Minister for the purposes of this Act. (ministre)

nuclear energy

nuclear energy means any form of energy released in the course of nuclear fission or nuclear fusion or of any other nuclear transmutation. (énergie nucléaire)

nuclear energy worker

nuclear energy worker means a person who is required, in the course of the person’s business or occupation in connection with a nuclear substance or nuclear facility, to perform duties in such circumstances that there is a reasonable probability that the person may receive a dose of radiation that is greater than the prescribed limit for the general public. (travailleur du secteur nucléaire)

nuclear facility

nuclear facility means any of the following facilities, namely,

• (a) a nuclear fission or fusion reactor or subcritical nuclear assembly,

• (b) a particle accelerator,

• (c) a uranium or thorium mine or mill,

• (d) a plant for the processing, reprocessing or separation of an isotope of uranium, thorium or plutonium,

• (e) a plant for the manufacture of a product from uranium, thorium or plutonium,

• (f) a plant for the processing or use, in a quantity greater than 10¹⁵ Bq per calendar year, of nuclear substances other than uranium, thorium or plutonium,

• (g) a facility for the disposal of a nuclear substance generated at another nuclear facility,

• (h) a vehicle that is equipped with a nuclear reactor, and

• (i) any other facility that is prescribed for the development, production or use of nuclear energy or the production, possession or use of a nuclear substance, prescribed equipment or prescribed information,

and includes, where applicable, the land on which the facility is located, a building that forms part of, or equipment used in conjunction with, the facility and any system for the management, storage or disposal of a nuclear substance. (installation nucléaire)

nuclear substance

nuclear substance means

• (a) deuterium, thorium, uranium or an element with an atomic number greater than 92;

• (b) a derivative or compound of deuterium, thorium, uranium or of an element with an atomic number greater than 92;

• (c) a radioactive nuclide;

• (d) a substance that is prescribed as being capable of releasing nuclear energy or as being required for the production or use of nuclear energy;

• (e) a radioactive by-product of the development, production or use of nuclear energy; and

• (f) a radioactive substance or radioactive thing that was used for the development or production, or in connection with the use, of nuclear energy. (substance nucléaire)

penalty

penalty means an administrative monetary penalty imposed under this Act for a violation. (pénalité)

prescribed

prescribed means prescribed by regulation of the Commission. (réglementaire ou réglementé)

radiation

radiation means the emission by a nuclear substance, the production using a nuclear substance, or the production at a nuclear facility of, an atomic or subatomic particle or electromagnetic wave with sufficient energy for ionization. (rayonnement)

record

record has the meaning assigned to that word by section 3 of the Access to Information Act. (document)

vehicle

vehicle means any means of air, water or land transport, and includes railway equipment within the meaning assigned to that expression by subsection 4(1) of the Railway Safety Act. (véhicule)

Purpose of Act

Marginal note:Purpose

3 The purpose of this Act is to provide for

• (a) the limitation, to a reasonable level and in a manner that is consistent with Canada’s international obligations, of the risks to national security, the health and safety of persons and the environment that are associated with the development, production and use of nuclear energy and the production, possession and use of nuclear substances, prescribed equipment and prescribed information; and

• (b) the implementation in Canada of measures to which Canada has agreed respecting international control of the development, production and use of nuclear energy, including the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear explosive devices.

Application

Marginal note:Her Majesty

4 Subject to any order made pursuant to section 5, this Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

Marginal note:Orders excluding Department of National Defence, etc.

5 The Governor in Council may, by order, exclude the Department of National Defence or the Canadian Forces from the application of this Act or any regulations made pursuant to this Act, to the extent and under the conditions specified in the order.

Marginal note:Act not applicable to certain naval vessels

6 This Act does not apply to a nuclear-powered or nuclear-capable naval vessel of a foreign state that is invited into Canada by Her Majesty in right of Canada.

Marginal note:Commission may exclude certain substances

7 The Commission may, in accordance with the regulations, exempt any activity, person, class of person or quantity of a nuclear substance, temporarily or permanently, from the application of this Act or the regulations or any provision thereof.

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Establishment of Commission

Marginal note:Establishment of Commission

• 8 (1) There is hereby established a body corporate to be known as the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

• Marginal note:Agent of Her Majesty

  (2) The Commission is for all its purposes an agent of Her Majesty and may exercise its powers only as an agent of Her Majesty.

Objects

Marginal note:Objects

9 The objects of the Commission are

• (a) to regulate the development, production and use of nuclear energy and the production, possession and use of nuclear substances, prescribed equipment and prescribed information in order to

  • (i) prevent unreasonable risk, to the environment and to the health and safety of persons, associated with that development, production, possession or use,

  • (ii) prevent unreasonable risk to national security associated with that development, production, possession or use, and

  • (iii) achieve conformity with measures of control and international obligations to which Canada has agreed; and

• (b) to disseminate objective scientific, technical and regulatory information to the public concerning the activities of the Commission and the effects, on the environment and on the health and safety of persons, of the development, production, possession and use referred to in paragraph (a).

Members

Marginal note:Constitution

• 10 (1) The Commission consists of not more than seven permanent members to be appointed by the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Temporary members

  (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Governor in Council may appoint temporary members of the Commission whenever, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, it is necessary to do so.

• Marginal note:President

  (3) The Governor in Council shall designate one of the permanent members to hold office as President.

• Marginal note:Full- or part-time members

  (4) The President is a full-time member of the Commission and the other members may be appointed as full-time or part-time members.

• Marginal note:Tenure and term of appointment

  (5) Each permanent member holds office during good behaviour for a term not exceeding five years and may be removed at any time by the Governor in Council for cause.

• Marginal note:Temporary members

  (6) Each temporary member holds office during good behaviour for a term not exceeding three years.

• Marginal note:Re-appointment

  (7) A member is eligible to be re-appointed to the Commission in the same or another capacity.

Marginal note:Conflict of interest

• 11 (1) A member shall not, directly or indirectly, engage in any activity, have any interest in a business or accept or engage in any office or employment that is inconsistent with the member’s duties.

• Marginal note:Termination of conflict of interest

  (2) A member who becomes aware that the member is in a conflict of interest contrary to subsection (1) shall, within one hundred and twenty days, terminate the conflict or resign from the Commission.

President

Marginal note:Duties of President

• 12 (1) The President is the chief executive officer of the Commission and has supervision over and direction of the work of the members and officers and employees of the Commission, including the apportionment of work among the members and, where the Commission sits in a panel, the assignment of a member or members to the panel and of a member to preside over the panel.

• Marginal note:Absence, etc. of President

  (2) If the President is absent or incapacitated or if the office of President is vacant, such other member as may be designated by the Commission has all the powers and functions of the President during the absence, incapacity or vacancy, but no person may so act for a period exceeding ninety days without the approval of the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Delegation

  (3) The President may delegate any of the powers delegated to the President pursuant to subsection 16(2) or 17(2) to any officer or employee of the Commission.

• Marginal note:Reports

  (4) Subject to the regulations made pursuant to paragraph 44(1)(d), the President shall make such reports to the Minister as the Minister may require concerning the general administration and management of the affairs of the Commission and such of these reports as the Minister may direct shall form part of the report referred to in section 72.

Remuneration and Expenses

Marginal note:Remuneration

13 Each member and each former member to whom subsection 23(2) applies shall be paid such remuneration and allowances as are fixed by the Governor in Council and is entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred in the course of the member’s or former member’s duties under this Act while absent from, in the case of a full-time member or former member, their ordinary place of work and, in the case of a part-time member or former member, their ordinary place of residence.

Meetings

Marginal note:Meetings

• 14 (1) The Commission may meet for the conduct of its affairs at such times and in such places as are established by by-law of the Commission.

• Marginal note:Telephone conferences

  (2) A member may, subject to the by-laws of the Commission, participate in a meeting of the Commission by means of a telephone or other communication device that permits all persons participating in the meeting to hear one another, and a member who participates in a meeting by those means is deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be present at the meeting.

By-laws

Marginal note:By-laws

15 The Commission may make by-laws respecting the management and conduct of its affairs and to meet its objects and carry out its duties under this Act and may, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, make by-laws

• (a) respecting the calling of meetings of the Commission;

• (b) respecting generally the carrying on of the work of the Commission, including establishing the number of members that constitutes a quorum of the Commission or of a panel of the Commission; and

• (c) determining the procedures to be followed in proceedings other than those for which rules are otherwise prescribed.

Officers, Employees and Contractors

Marginal note:Employment of staff

• 16 (1) The Commission may, notwithstanding any other Act of Parliament, appoint and employ such professional, scientific, technical or other officers or employees as it considers necessary for the purposes of this Act and may establish the terms and conditions of their employment and, in consultation with the Treasury Board, fix their remuneration.

• Marginal note:Delegation to President

  (2) The Commission may delegate to the President any of the powers conferred on it by subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Compensation

  (3) The members, officers and employees of the Commission are deemed to be employees for the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and to be employed in the federal public administration for the purposes of any regulations made pursuant to section 9 of the Aeronautics Act.

Marginal note:Technical assistance

• 17 (1) The Commission may enter into contracts for the services of any persons having technical or specialized knowledge of any matter relating to the work of the Commission, to advise and assist the Commission in the exercise or performance of any of its powers, duties or functions under this Act, and those persons shall receive such payment for their services and such expenses as are fixed by the Commission.

• Marginal note:Delegation to President

  (2) The Commission may delegate to the President any of the powers conferred on it by subsection (1).