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An Act to establish the Saguenay-St.
Lawrence Marine Park and to make a
consequential amendment to another Act
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[Assented to 10th December, 1997]
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| Preamble
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WHEREAS the Governments of Canada
and of Quebec recognize the necessity, both
for the present and for future generations, of
protecting the environment, the flora and
fauna and the exceptional natural resources of
a representative portion of the Saguenay River
and the St. Lawrence estuary;
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WHEREAS those Governments, on April
6, 1990, entered into an agreement for the
purpose of establishing a marine park there;
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WHEREAS those Governments have
agreed to cooperate to the greatest extent
possible in the exercise of their respective
powers;
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AND WHEREAS each of the Parliament of
Canada and the legislature of Quebec must
enact legislation within its own jurisdiction
for the establishment and management of a
marine park;
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NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate and
House of Commons of Canada, enacts as
follows:
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| Short title
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1. This Act may be cited as the Saguenay-St.
Lawrence Marine Park Act.
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| Definitions
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2. The definitions in this section apply in
this Act.
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``agreement''
« Entente »
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``agreement'' means the agreement entered
into on April 6, 1990 by the Government of
Canada and the Government of Quebec for
the purpose of establishing the
Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park.
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``enforcement
officer''
« agent de
l'autorité »
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``enforcement officer'' means an officer or a
member of a class of officers designated by
the Minister as an enforcement officer for
the purposes of this Act.
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``Minister''
« ministre »
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``Minister'' means the member of the Queen's
Privy Council for Canada who is designated
by the Governor in Council as the Minister
for the purposes of this Act.
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``park''
« parc »
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``park'' means the Saguenay-St. Lawrence
Marine Park created by section 5.
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``park
warden''
« garde de
parc »
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``park warden'' means an officer employed
under the Public Service Employment Act
whose duties include the enforcement of
this Act or the National Parks Act and who
may be designated by the Minister as a park
warden.
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``Quebec
minister''
« ministre du
Québec »
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``Quebec minister'' means the minister of the
Government of Quebec responsible for the
law of the Province of Quebec entitled An
Act respecting the Saguenay-St. Lawrence
Marine Park, chapter 16 of the Statutes of
Quebec, 1997.
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``superinten-
-
dent''
« directeur »
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``superintendent'' means the officer employed
under the Public Service Employment Act
who holds the office of superintendent of
the park, and includes any person employed
under that Act and authorized by that officer
to act on their behalf.
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| Binding on
Her Majesty
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3. This Act is binding on Her Majesty in
right of Canada or a province.
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| Purpose
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4. The purpose of this Act is to increase, for
the benefit of the present and future
generations, the level of protection of the
ecosystems of a representative portion of the
Saguenay River and the St. Lawrence estuary
for conservation purposes, while encouraging
its use for educational, recreational and
scientific purposes.
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| Park
established
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5. (1) The Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine
Park, the boundaries of which are set out in the
schedule, is hereby established.
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| Park zones
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(2) The park is composed of four types of
zone:
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(a) comprehensive preservation zones
(Type I zones);
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(b) specific protection zones (Type II
zones);
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(c) general protection zones (Type III
zones); and
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(d) general use zones (Type IV zones).
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| Change of
park
boundaries
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6. (1) Subject to section 7, the Governor in
Council may, by order, change the park
boundaries set out in the schedule if
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(a) agreement has been reached between
the Governments of Canada and Quebec;
and
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(b) the Minister and the Quebec minister
have jointly consulted with the public and
the coordinating committee.
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| Limitation
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(2) For greater certainty, any enlargement
of the park may only extend over public lands
of Quebec.
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| Notice of the
proposed
change to be
tabled and
referred to
committee
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7. (1) A notice of intention to make an order
to change park boundaries shall be tabled in
the House of Commons and, on being tabled,
is referred to the committee of that House that
normally considers national parks matters, or
to any other committee to which the House
refers matters for the purpose of this section,
if the intention is to reduce the area of the park,
or of any zone of the park, other than a
reduction of the area of a Type III or Type IV
zone by one square kilometre or less.
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Considera-
tion by
committee
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(2) The committee shall report to the House
of Commons whether it approves or
disapproves the change and, on or after the
next sitting day, a motion to concur in the
report shall be put to the House in accordance
with its procedures and disposed of without
amendment or debate.
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| Where
proposed
change
rejected
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(3) The proposed change shall not be made
if the House of Commons concurs in a report
disapproving the proposed order or does not
concur in a report approving the order.
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Administra-
tion
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8. (1) The administration, management and
control of the park are under the direction and
authority of the Minister.
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| Scientific
research
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(2) The Minister may conduct activities for
the purpose of advancing scientific
knowledge of the park ecosystems.
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| Agreement
with Quebec
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(3) The Minister may enter into agreements
with the Quebec minister or another minister
of the Government of Canada for carrying out
the purpose of this Act and for coordinating
the activities permitted in the park.
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| Management
plan
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9. (1) The Minister shall, within one year
after the coming into force of this Act, cause
to be laid before each House of Parliament a
management plan for the park that the
Minister draws up jointly with the Quebec
minister with respect to resource protection,
zoning, visitor use and any other matters that
the Minister considers appropriate.
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| Review of
plan
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(2) The Minister shall review the
management plan with the Quebec minister at
least once every seven years, and shall cause
any amendments to the plan to be laid with the
plan before each House of Parliament.
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| Public
participation
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(3) The Minister shall, in cooperation with
the Quebec minister, provide opportunities for
public participation in the development of the
management plan and any other matters that
the Minister considers relevant.
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| Permits
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10. (1) The Minister may issue, amend,
suspend and cancel permits and other
authorizing instruments for the control of any
activity in the park.
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| Delegation
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(2) The Minister may authorize any person,
or any member of a class of persons, to
exercise any power mentioned in subsection
(1).
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| Powers and
duties of
superintenden
t
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11. The superintendent has and may
exercise the powers and perform the duties of
the Minister under this Act that the Minister
delegates to the superintendent.
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| Powers of
park wardens
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12. For the purposes of the preservation and
maintenance of the public peace in the park,
and the enforcement of this Act and any other
federal Act that they may be authorized to
enforce, both inside and outside the park, a
park warden has the powers, duties and
protection provided by law to peace officers.
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| Powers of
enforcement
officers
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13. For the purpose of the enforcement of
this Act, both inside and outside the park,
enforcement officers have the powers, duties
and protection provided by law to peace
officers.
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| Entry
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14. In the discharge of their duties, park
wardens, enforcement officers and persons
accompanying them may enter on and pass
through and over private property without the
owner of the property having the right to
object to that use of the property.
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Establish-
ment of
committee
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15. (1) A harmonization committee, made
up of representatives of the Minister and the
Quebec minister, is hereby established for the
purposes of ensuring harmonization and
implementing the activities and programs of
the Government of Canada and the
Government of Quebec with respect to the
park, in particular with respect to the
protection of ecosystems, planning,
management, issuance of permits and other
authorizations, consultation, the
programming of activities, communications
and the ways in which infrastructures,
installations and equipment are to be shared.
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| Regulations
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(2) The harmonization committee also is to
harmonize draft regulations to be made under
this Act and draft regulations that are to be
made under the law of the Province of Quebec
that creates the Saguenay-St. Lawrence
Marine Park.
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| Representativ
es of the
Minister
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(3) The Minister shall name his or her
representative or representatives on the
harmonization committee.
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| Coordinating
committee
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16. (1) A coordinating committee is hereby
established to make recommendations to the
Minister and the Quebec minister on the
measures to be taken in order to carry out the
objectives of the management plan.
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| Composition
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(2) The Minister, in cooperation with the
Quebec minister, shall decide on the
composition of the coordinating committee.
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| Representativ
es of the
Minister
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(3) The Minister shall name his or her
representative or representatives on the
coordinating committee.
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| Regulations
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17. The Governor in Council may make
regulations
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(a) for the protection, control and manage
ment of the park;
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(b) for the protection of ecosystems, and
any elements of ecosystems, in the park;
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(c) for the protection of the cultural re
sources submerged in the park;
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(d) for public protection, health and safety
inside the park;
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(e) setting out the characteristics of each
type of zone in the park;
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(f) setting out the terms and conditions
under which each type of zone may be used,
the boundaries of each type of zone and any
time limits respecting zones;
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(g) determining the conditions under which
various activities may be undertaken in
each type of zone in the park;
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(h) determining the activities that are
prohibited in the park;
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(i) for the closing of park zones or for
prohibiting activities in those zones;
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(j) authorizing the superintendent to prohib
it or restrict activities that may be undertak
en in park zones under paragraph (g) or to
close park zones or prohibit access to those
zones, despite any regulation made under
this section, in order to protect park ecosys
tems and elements of park ecosystems;
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(k) for the issuance, renewal, revocation
and suspension of permits and other autho
rizing instruments required to carry on any
activity under this Act or the regulations,
and any conditions of those permits and
instruments;
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(l) for the determination of charges for the
permits or other authorizing instruments
required to carry on any activity under this
Act or the regulations;
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(m) for limiting the number of persons who
may hold the permits and authorizations at
any one time;
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(n) prescribing offences in respect of which
section 23 applies and the manner in which
they may be described in tickets;
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(o) prescribing the amount of the fine for
offences in respect of which section 23
applies, which amount shall not exceed
$2,000;
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(p) determining the conditions under which
aircraft may take off, fly over and land
within park boundaries; and
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(q) in respect of any other matters that are
necessary for carrying out the purposes of
this Act.
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