Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999

Marginal note:Monitoring, research and publication

• 44 (1) The Minister shall

  • (a) establish, operate and maintain a system for monitoring environmental quality;

  • (b) conduct research and studies relating to pollution prevention, the nature, transportation, dispersion, effects, control and abatement of pollution and the effects of pollution on environmental quality, and provide advisory and technical services and information related to that research and those studies;

  • (c) conduct research and studies relating to

    • (i) environmental contamination arising from disturbances of ecosystems by human activity,

    • (ii) changes in the normal geochemical cycling of toxic substances that are naturally present in the environment, and

    • (iii) detection and damage to ecosystems;

  • (d) collect, process, correlate, interpret, create an inventory of and publish on a periodic basis data on environmental quality in Canada from monitoring systems, research, studies and any other sources;

  • (e) formulate plans for pollution prevention and the control and abatement of pollution, including plans respecting the prevention of, preparedness for and response to an environmental emergency and for restoring any part of the environment damaged by or during an emergency, and establish, operate and publicize demonstration projects and make them available for demonstration; and

  • (f) publish, arrange for the publication of or distribute through an information clearing-house

    • (i) information respecting pollution prevention,

    • (ii) pertinent information in respect of all aspects of environmental quality, and

    • (iii) a periodic report on the state of the Canadian environment.

• Marginal note:Cooperation and agreements

  (2) The Minister may

  • (a) in establishing a system referred to in paragraph (1)(a), cooperate with governments, foreign governments and aboriginal people and with any person who has established or proposes to establish any such system; and

  • (b) with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into agreements for the operation or maintenance of a system referred to in paragraph (1)(a) by the Minister on behalf of any government, aboriginal people or any person or for the operation or maintenance of any such system by the government or any person on behalf of the Minister.

• Marginal note:Cooperation with other bodies

  (3) The Minister may, in exercising the powers conferred by paragraphs (1)(b) to (e), act in cooperation with any government, foreign government, government department or agency, institution, aboriginal people or any person and may sponsor or assist in any of their research, studies, planning or activities in relation to environmental quality, pollution prevention, environmental emergencies or the control or abatement of pollution.

• Marginal note:Protection of right to healthy environment

  (3.1) The Ministers shall conduct research, studies or monitoring activities to support the Government of Canada in protecting the right to a healthy environment referred to in paragraph 2(1)(a.2).

• Marginal note:Hormone disrupting substances

  (4) The Ministers shall conduct research or studies relating to hormone disrupting substances, methods related to their detection, methods to determine their actual or likely short-term or long-term effect on the environment and human health, and preventive, control and abatement measures to deal with those substances to protect the environment and human health.