Oceans Act (S.C. 1996, c. 31)

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Act current to 2013-05-26 and last amended on 2005-10-05. Previous Versions

12. (1) Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a person has committed an offence in Canada in respect of a federal law that is a customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary law, every power of arrest, entry, search or seizure or other power that could be exercised in Canada in respect of that offence may also be exercised in the contiguous zone of Canada.
Marginal note:Limitation
(2) A power of arrest referred to in subsection (1) shall not be exercised in the contiguous zone of Canada on board any ship registered outside Canada without the consent of the Attorney General of Canada.

Exclusive Economic Zone

13. (1) The exclusive economic zone of Canada consists of an area of the sea beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea of Canada that has as its inner limit the outer limit of the territorial sea of Canada and as its outer limit
- (a) subject to paragraph (b), the line every point of which is at a distance of 200 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baselines of the territorial sea of Canada; or
- (b) in respect of a portion of the exclusive economic zone of Canada for which geographical coordinates of points have been prescribed pursuant to subparagraph 25(a)(iii), lines determined from the geographical coordinates of points so prescribed.
Marginal note:Determination of the outer limit of the exclusive economic zone of Canada
(2) For greater certainty, paragraph (1)(a) applies regardless of whether regulations are made pursuant to subparagraph 25(a)(iv) prescribing geographical coordinates of points from which the outer limit of the exclusive economic zone of Canada may be determined.

14. Canada has

(a) sovereign rights in the exclusive economic zone of Canada for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the exclusive economic zone of Canada, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds;
(b) jurisdiction in the exclusive economic zone of Canada with regard to
- (i) the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures,
- (ii) marine scientific research, and
- (iii) the protection and preservation of the marine environment; and
(c) other rights and duties in the exclusive economic zone of Canada provided for under international law.

15. (1) For greater certainty, any rights of Canada in the seabed and subsoil of the exclusive economic zone of Canada and their resources are vested in Her Majesty in right of Canada.
Marginal note:Saving
(2) Nothing in this section abrogates or derogates from any legal right or interest held before February 4, 1991.