An Act to amend the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (S.C. 2024, c. 20)
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Assented to 2024-10-03
An Act to amend the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
S.C. 2024, c. 20
Assented to 2024-10-03
An Act to amend the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
RECOMMENDATION
Her Excellency the Governor General recommends to the House of Commons the appropriation of public revenue under the circumstances, in the manner and for the purposes set out in a measure entitled “An Act to amend the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts”.
SUMMARY
This enactment amends the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act to, among other things,
(a) change their titles to the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation and Offshore Renewable Energy Management Act and the Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation and Offshore Renewable Energy Management Act, respectively;
(b) change the names of the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board to the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Energy Regulator and the Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator, respectively (“the Regulators”);
(c) establish the Regulators as the regulating bodies for offshore renewable energy projects;
(d) establish a land tenure regime for the issuance of submerged land licences to carry out offshore renewable energy projects, as well as the revenues regime associated with those licences and projects;
(e) establish a ministerial decision-making process respecting the issuance of submerged land licences and the Regulators’ exercise of certain powers or performance of certain duties;
(f) expand the application of the safety and environmental protection regime and its enforcement powers to include offshore renewable energy projects;
(g) provide that the Governor in Council may make regulations to prohibit the commencement or continuation of petroleum resource or renewable energy activities, or the issuance of interests, in respect of any portion of the offshore area that is located in an area that has been or may be identified as an area for environmental or wildlife conservation or protection;
(h) authorize negotiations for the surrender of an interest, the cancellation of an interest if negotiations fail and the granting of compensation to an interest owner for the surrender or cancellation;
(i) establish the regulatory and liability regime for abandoned facilities relating to petroleum-related works or activities or offshore renewable energy projects;
(j) expand the application of the occupational health and safety regime to offshore renewable energy projects;
(k) allow the federal or provincial governments to unilaterally fund certain expenses incurred by the Regulators as a result of specific requests made by that government;
(l) allow new methods to demonstrate the existence of significant hydrocarbon accumulations in a geological feature and limit the duration of future significant discovery licences to 25 years;
(m) provide that the Governor in Council may make regulations to regulate access to offshore infrastructure, including to enforce tolls and tariffs;
(n) establish a new transboundary hydrocarbon management regime to regulate fields or pools that straddle domestic and international administrative boundaries, enabling the implementation of the Canada-France transboundary fields agreement;
(o) remove references to the former Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 and, to align with the Impact Assessment Act, clarify the role of the Federal and Provincial Ministers and Regulators with respect to the conduct of impact assessments of designated projects as well as regional and strategic assessments; and
(p) specify that the Crown may rely on the Regulators for the purposes of consulting with the Indigenous peoples of Canada and that the Regulators may accommodate adverse impacts to existing Aboriginal and treaty rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
Finally, it makes consequential and terminological amendments to other Acts.
His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
PART 11987, c. 3; 2014, c. 13, s. 3Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act
Amendments to the Act
1 The long title of the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act is replaced by the following:
2 Section 1 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Short title
1 This Act may be cited as the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation and Offshore Renewable Energy Management Act.
3 (1) The definition Board in section 2 of the Act is repealed.
(2) The definition offshore area in section 2 of the Act is replaced by the following:
- offshore area
offshore area means
(a) in the case of petroleum, those submarine areas lying seaward of the low water mark of the Province and extending, at any location, as far as
(i) any prescribed line, or
(ii) if no line is prescribed at that location, the outer edge of the continental margin or a distance of two hundred nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of Canada is measured, whichever is the greater, and
(b) in the case of offshore renewable energy, the areas referred to in paragraph (a) that are not within the Province; (zone extracôtière ou zone)
(3) Section 2 of the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:
- abandoned facility
abandoned facility means any pipeline, as defined in section 135, installation, facility, equipment or system that has been abandoned in accordance with an authorization issued under Part III; (installation abandonnée)
- Indigenous peoples of Canada
Indigenous peoples of Canada has the meaning assigned by the definition aboriginal peoples of Canada in subsection 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982; (peuples autochtones du Canada)
- offshore renewable energy project
offshore renewable energy project means any of the following works and activities:
(a) any research or assessment conducted in relation to the exploitation or potential exploitation of a renewable resource to produce an energy product, unless it is conducted by or on behalf of a government or educational institution,
(b) any exploitation of a renewable resource to produce an energy product,
(c) any storage of an energy product produced from a renewable resource, and
(d) any transmission of an energy product produced from a renewable resource; (projet d’énergie renouvelable extracôtière)
- offshore renewable energy recommendation
offshore renewable energy recommendation means a recommendation made by the Regulator respecting the exercise of a power or the performance of a duty under a provision of this Act that expressly provides for the exercise of the power or the performance of the duty subject to sections 40.1 to 40.3; (recommandation relative à l’énergie renouvelable extracôtière)
- Regulator
Regulator means the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Energy Regulator referred to in section 9; (Régie)
4 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 2:
Marginal note:Offshore renewable energy project
2.1 Subject to section 7, the Governor in Council may make regulations amending the definition offshore renewable energy project, as defined in section 2, to add or remove any work or activity related to renewable energy that is carried out in the offshore area.
5 Subsection 5(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Regulations
5 (1) Subject to section 7, the Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) prescribing lines enclosing areas adjacent to the Province for the purpose of subparagraph (a)(i) of the definition offshore area in section 2; and
(b) amending paragraph (b) of that definition.
6 The definition agreement in subsection 6(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
- agreement
agreement means an agreement between the Government of Canada and the government of a province respecting resource management and revenue sharing in relation to activities respecting the exploration for or the production of petroleum, or respecting offshore renewable energy projects, carried out on any frontier lands; (accord)
7 Subsection 7(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Provincial Minister’s approval
7 (1) Before a regulation is made under section 2.1, subsection 5(1), section 29.1, subsection 41(7), section 56.1 or section 64, subsection 67(2), section 96.1, subsection 96.2(2), section 118, subsection 122(1), 125(1), 149(1), 162(2.3), 163(1.02), 183.19(6) or 183.25(1), section 183.29, subsection 183.3(3) or 202.01(1) or section 203, the Federal Minister shall consult the Provincial Minister with respect to the proposed regulation and the regulation shall not be made without the Provincial Minister’s approval.
8 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 7:
Non-Application of Atlantic Accord
Marginal note:Non-application of Atlantic Accord
7.1 For greater certainty, the Atlantic Accord does not apply to offshore renewable energy resources.
9 Subsection 8(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Excluded legislation
(2) Subject to section 101, the Canada Petroleum Resources Act and the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act and Part 5 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act and any regulations made under them do not apply within the offshore area.
10 Subsections 9(1) to (1.2) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Jointly established Regulator
9 (1) There is established by the joint operation of this Act and the Provincial Act a board to be known as the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Energy Regulator.
Marginal note:References
(1.2) A reference in any contract, document, instrument, proclamation, by-law or order in council to the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board or the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board is, unless the context otherwise requires, to be read as a reference to the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Energy Regulator.
11 Subsections 15(1) to (3) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Terms of office
15 (3) The Chairperson and members of the Regulator shall be appointed for terms of six years.
12 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 17:
Marginal note:Consultation with Indigenous peoples of Canada
17.1 His Majesty in right of Canada or in right of the Province may rely on the Regulator for the purposes of consulting with the Indigenous peoples of Canada respecting any potential adverse impact of a work or activity in the offshore area on existing Aboriginal and treaty rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and the Regulator may, on behalf of His Majesty, if appropriate, accommodate any adverse impacts on those rights.
13 Subsection 18(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Access to information
18 (1) The Federal Minister and the Provincial Minister are entitled to access to any information or documentation relating to petroleum resource and renewable energy activities in the offshore area that is provided for the purposes of this Act or any regulation made under it and such information or documentation shall, on the request of either Minister, be disclosed to that Minister without requiring the consent of the party who provided the information or documentation.
14 Section 22 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Storage of information
22 The Regulator shall establish, maintain and operate a facility in the Province for the storage and curatorship of
(a) all petroleum-related geophysical records and geological and hydrocarbon samples relating to the offshore area; and
(b) all geological, geophysical, geotechnical and environmental records and geological and geotechnical samples relating to offshore renewable energy.
15 Subsection 25(4) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Mobility of staff
(4) For the purpose of being eligible for appointment to a position in the public service by an appointment process under the Public Service Employment Act,
(a) any person who, immediately prior to being employed by the Regulator, was employed in the public service shall be deemed to be a person employed in the public service in the Department of Natural Resources in the location where that person is performing duties for the Regulator and in a position of an occupational nature and at a level equivalent to the position in which that person is employed by the Regulator; and
(b) any person who, immediately prior to being employed by the Regulator, was not employed in the public service shall, two years after being employed by the Regulator, be deemed to be a person employed in the public service in the Department of Natural Resources in the location where that person is performing duties for the Regulator and in a position of an occupational nature and at a level equivalent to the position in which that person is employed by the Regulator.
16 Subsection 27(4) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Payment of operating costs
(4) Subject to subsection (4.1), the Government of Canada shall pay one-half of the aggregate of the expenditures set out in the budget or revised budget in respect of each fiscal year.
Marginal note:Payment of specific activities
(4.1) The Chief Executive Officer may include in the budget or revised budget expenditures associated with specific requirements of one government that are to be paid entirely by that government.
17 (1) Paragraph 29.1(1)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(b) respecting the fees or charges, or the method of calculating the fees or charges, in respect of any of the Regulator’s activities under this Act or the Impact Assessment Act, that are to be paid by
(i) a person who makes an application for an authorization under paragraph 138(1)(b) or subsection 138.01(1) or an application under subsection 139(2), or
(ii) the holder of an operating licence issued under paragraph 138(1)(a) or an authorization issued under paragraph 138(1)(b) or subsection 138.01(1); and
(2) Subsection 29.1(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Amounts not to exceed cost
(3) The amounts of the fees or charges referred to in paragraph (1)(b) shall not exceed the cost of the Regulator’s activities under this Act or the Impact Assessment Act.
18 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 30:
Petroleum-related Decisions
19 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 40:
Decisions Related to Offshore Renewable Energy
Marginal note:Regulator’s recommendation
40.1 (1) The Regulator shall notify the Federal Minister and the Provincial Minister in writing of its offshore renewable energy recommendation as soon as practicable after deciding to make the recommendation.
Marginal note:Ministers’ decisions
(2) The Federal Minister and the Provincial Minister shall, within 60 days after receiving the recommendation, notify the Regulator in writing of their respective decision to approve the recommendation, with or without variations, or to reject it.
Marginal note:Additional 30 days
(3) Despite subsection (2), on written notice by either Minister to the Regulator and the other Minister, both Ministers shall have an additional 30 days to notify the Regulator of their respective decision under that subsection.
Marginal note:No time limit
(4) Despite subsection (2), the Federal Minister or the Provincial Minister may notify the Regulator of their respective decision with respect to an offshore renewable energy recommendation to make a call for bids beyond the period of 60 days referred to in that subsection.
Marginal note:Publication
40.2 The Regulator shall publish in the Canada Gazette any notice of decision referred to in subsection 40.1(2), unless the decision is to reject an offshore renewable energy recommendation to make a call for bids.
Marginal note:Implementation of Ministers’ approval
40.3 The Regulator shall only exercise a power or perform a duty subject to this section and sections 40.1 and 40.2 if it has been the subject of an offshore renewable energy recommendation that was approved by both Ministers and with the same variations, if any. In that case, the Regulator shall exercise the power or perform the duty as soon as practicable after it receives the notices referred to in subsection 40.1(2).
20 (1) Subsection 42(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a):
(a.1) offshore renewable energy recommendations;
(2) Subsection 42(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (d) and by adding the following after paragraph (d):
(d.1) the principles referred to in section 96.6;
(d.2) the development of guidelines and interpretation notes issued under subsection 151.1(1) and section 183.27; and
21 Section 44.1 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Public hearings
44.1 The Regulator may conduct a public hearing in relation to the exercise of any of its powers or the performance of any of its duties and functions under this Act.
22 Subsection 44.3(a) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) there is a real and substantial risk that disclosure of the information will impair the security of pipelines, as defined in section 135, installations, facilities, vessels, aircraft or systems, including computer or communication systems, or methods employed to protect them; and
- Date modified: