Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act (S.C. 2013, c. 14, s. 2)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 2 (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.

  Agreement

  Agreement means the land claims agreement between the Inuit of the Nunavut Settlement Area and Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada that was ratified, given effect and declared valid by the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, which came into force on July 9, 1993, and includes any amendments to that agreement made under it. (accord)

  Board

  Board means the Nunavut Impact Review Board referred to in section 18. (Version anglaise seulement)

  Commission

  Commission means the Nunavut Planning Commission referred to in section 10. (Version anglaise seulement)

  conservation area

  conservation area means an area listed in Schedule 9-1 to the Agreement and any of the following:

  • (a) a wildlife area established under the Canada Wildlife Act;

  • (b) a critical habitat, wildlife sanctuary or special management area, as defined in section 2 of the Wildlife Act, S.Nu. 2003, c. 26;

  • (c) a migratory bird sanctuary prescribed under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994;

  • (d) a wetland of international importance, as defined in Article 2 of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, concluded at Ramsar on February 2, 1971 and in force in Canada on May 15, 1981, that is designated by the Government of Canada;

  • (e) a marine protected area designated under paragraph 35(3)(a) of the Oceans Act;

  • (f) a protected marine area established under subsection 4.1(1) of the Canada Wildlife Act;

  • (g) a Canadian heritage river referred to in paragraph 4(1)(b) of the Parks Canada Agency Act;

  • (h) a historic place designated under the Historic Sites and Monuments Act;

  • (i) a historic place designated under the Historical Resources Act, R.S.N.W.T. 1988, c. H-3; and

  • (j) any other area of particular significance for ecological, cultural, archaeological, research or similar reasons, if established under an Act of Parliament or territorial law. (aire de préservation)

  department or agency

  department or agency means

  • (a) a department, agency or other portion of the federal public administration; and

  • (b) a department, agency or other division of the public service of Nunavut. (ministère ou organisme)

  designated area

  designated area means the area that consists of the Nunavut Settlement Area and the Outer Land Fast Ice Zone. (région désignée)

  designated Inuit organization

  designated Inuit organization means

  • (a) Tunngavik or, in respect of a provision of this Act, the organization designated in the public record, which is maintained by Tunngavik under the Agreement, as being responsible for the exercise of any power or the performance of any duty or function under the corresponding provision of the Agreement; or

  • (b) in respect of Inuit owned lands in the areas of equal use and occupancy, Makivik acting jointly with the organization determined under paragraph (a). (organisation inuite désignée)

  federal Minister

  federal Minister means, other than in the definition proponent in this subsection, section 68, the definition responsible Minister in subsection 73(1), subsections 135(5), 136(1) and 149(2), paragraph 152(1)(b), section 173 and subsection 189(1), the Minister of Northern Affairs. (ministre fédéral)

  interested corporation or organization

  interested corporation or organization means, for the purposes of section 43 and subsections 50(2), 101(4) and 120(5), a corporation or other organization that has given written notice to the Commission, the Board or any federal environmental assessment panel, as the case may be, of its interest in providing comments. (intéressée)

  Inuit of northern Quebec

  Inuit of northern Quebec means the Inuit of northern Quebec within the meaning of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement that was approved, given effect and declared valid by the James Bay and Northern Quebec Native Claims Settlement Act, S.C. 1976-77, c. 32. (Inuits du Nord québécois)

  Inuktitut

  Inuktitut includes Inuinnaqtun. (inuktitut)

  land

  land includes, for the purposes of Parts 1 and 3 to 6, land covered by waters, whether in the onshore or offshore. (terres)

  land use plan

  land use plan does not include a municipal land use plan. (plan d’aménagement)

  Makivik

  Makivik means the Corporation established by An Act respecting the Makivik Corporation, R.S.Q., c. S-18.1, representing the Inuit of northern Quebec. (Makivik)

  marine conservation area

  marine conservation area means a marine conservation area or reserve as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act. (aire marine de préservation)

  municipality

  municipality means a municipality or settlement as defined in subsection 28(1) of the Interpretation Act, R.S.N.W.T. 1988, c. I-8, as amended for Nunavut under section 76.05 of the Nunavut Act. (municipalité)

  national park

  national park means a park or park reserve as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada National Parks Act. (parc national)

  park

  park means a national park, a territorial park or a marine conservation area. (parc)

  project

  project means the carrying out, including the construction, operation, modification, decommissioning or abandonment, of a physical work or the undertaking or carrying out of a physical activity that involves the use of land, waters or other resources. It does not include

  • (a) the undertaking or carrying out of a work or activity if its adverse ecosystemic impacts are manifestly insignificant, taking into account in particular the factors set out in paragraphs 90(a) to (i);

  • (b) the undertaking or carrying out of a work or activity that is part of a class of works or activities prescribed by regulation; or

  • (c) the construction, operation or maintenance of a building or the provision of a service, within a municipality, that does not have ecosystemic impacts outside the municipality and does not involve the deposit of waste by a municipality, the bulk storage of fuel, the production of nuclear or hydro-electric power or any industrial activities. (projet)

  proponent

  proponent means a person or entity, including a federal, provincial or territorial minister, department or agency, a municipality or a designated Inuit organization, that proposes the carrying out of a project. (promoteur)

  regulatory authority

  regulatory authority means a minister — other than for the purposes of section 197 —, a department or agency, a municipality or any other public body responsible for issuing a licence, permit or other authorization required by or under any other Act of Parliament or a territorial law for a project to proceed. (autorité administrative)

  territorial law

  territorial law means an Act of the Legislature for Nunavut. (loi territoriale)

  territorial Minister

  territorial Minister means, other than in the definition proponent in this subsection, paragraph 19(2)(d), section 68, the definition responsible Minister in subsection 73(1), subsections 94(5), 135(5), 136(1) and 149(2), paragraph 152(1)(b), section 173, subsection 189(1) and paragraph 200(2)(c), the Minister of Environment for Nunavut. (ministre territorial)

  Tunngavik

  Tunngavik means Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, a corporation without share capital incorporated under Part II of the Canada Corporations Act, R.S.C. 1970, c. C-32, and any successor to that corporation. (Tunngavik)

  waters

  waters means inland waters on or below the surface of land and marine waters, whether in a liquid or solid state. (eaux)

• Marginal note:Definitions from Agreement

  (2) In this Act

  • (a) ecosystemic has the same meaning as in section 12.1.1 of the Agreement;

  • (b) Inuit owned lands, marine areas, Nunavut Settlement Area, Outer Land Fast Ice Zone, territorial park and wildlife have the same meaning as in section 1.1.1 of the Agreement; and

  • (c) areas of equal use and occupancy has the same meaning as in section 40.2.2 of the Agreement.

• Marginal note:Interpretation

  (3) For greater certainty, in this Act the issuance of a licence, permit or other authorization, includes a renewal, an amendment or an extension of its period of validity.

Marginal note:Inconsistency with Agreement

• 3 (1) In the event of any inconsistency or conflict between the Agreement and this Act or any regulation made under it, the Agreement prevails to the extent of the inconsistency or conflict.

• Marginal note:Inconsistency with other Acts

  (2) In the event of any inconsistency or conflict between this Act or any regulation made under it and any other Act of Parliament, except the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, or any territorial law or any regulation made under that Act or that territorial law, this Act or its regulations prevail to the extent of the inconsistency or conflict.

• Marginal note:Limitation — orders

  (3) In the event of any inconsistency or conflict between an order made under section 214 and an order made by any person designated for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of any other Act of Parliament, any requirement imposed on the carrying out of a project by that Act or a term or condition in any licence, permit or other authorization issued under that Act, the order made under section 214 does not prevail over the other order, the requirement or the term or condition for the sole reason that the provisions of this Act prevail over any inconsistent provisions of any other Act of Parliament.

Marginal note:Rights preserved

4 For greater certainty, nothing in this Act or its regulations, or in an original or amended project certificate or in any decision indicating that the assessment of a project is complete and that the proponent may carry it out constitutes a defence to a claim for loss or damage sustained by any person by reason of the carrying out of a project.

Application

Marginal note:Geographic application

• 5 (1) This Act applies to the designated area.

• Marginal note:Application outside designated area

  (2) This Act also applies to projects to be carried out wholly or partly outside the designated area and to impacts outside that area to the extent necessary to give effect to sections 80, 98, 113, 133, 156 to 162, 168 and 185 to 187.