Canada Water Act ( R.S.C. , 1985, c. C-11)

An Act to provide for the management of the water resources of Canada, including research and the planning and implementation of programs relating to the conservation, development and utilization of water resources

Preamble

WHEREAS the demands on the water resources of Canada are increasing rapidly and more knowledge is needed of the nature, extent and distribution of those resources, of the present and future demands thereon and of the means by which those demands may be met;

AND WHEREAS pollution of the water resources of Canada is a significant and rapidly increasing threat to the health, well-being and prosperity of the people of Canada and to the quality of the Canadian environment at large and as a result it has become a matter of urgent national concern that measures be taken to provide for water quality management in those areas of Canada most critically affected;

AND WHEREAS Parliament desires that, in addition, comprehensive programs be undertaken by the Government of Canada and by the Government of Canada in cooperation with provincial governments, in accordance with the responsibilities of the federal government and each of the provincial governments in relation to water resources, for research and planning with respect to those resources and for their conservation, development and utilization to ensure their optimum use for the benefit of all Canadians;

NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short Title

Marginal note: Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Canada Water Act .

• R.S., c. 5(1st Supp.), s. 1

Interpretation

Marginal note: Definitions

• 2 (1) In this Act, means a water quality management agency the incorporation of which is procured or that is named pursuant to section 11 or 13; ( organisme ) means an analyst designated pursuant to subsection 25(1); ( analyste ) means the waters from main shore to main shore of the lakes and rivers and connecting waterways, or the portions thereof, along which the international boundary between the United States and Canada passes, including all bays, arms, and inlets thereof, but not including tributary waters which in their natural channels would flow into such lakes, rivers, and waterways, or waters flowing from such lakes, rivers, and waterways, or the waters of rivers flowing across the boundary; ( eaux limitrophes ) means a water quality management agency that is named pursuant to section 13; ( organisme fédéral ) means — other than in Yukon and the Northwest Territories — waters under the exclusive legislative jurisdiction of Parliament and
  • (a) in Yukon, waters in a federal conservation area as defined in section 2 of the Yukon Act , and
  • (b) in the Northwest Territories, waters other than those in respect of which the Legislature of the Northwest Territories may make laws under paragraph 18(1)(n) of the Northwest Territories Act ; ( eaux fédérales )

  means an inspector designated pursuant to subsection 25(1); ( inspecteur )

  means any waters, whether international, boundary or otherwise, that, whether wholly situated in a province or not, significantly affect the quantity or quality of waters outside the province; ( eaux relevant de plusieurs juridictions )

  means waters of rivers that flow across the international boundary between the United States and Canada; ( eaux internationales )

  means the Minister of the Environment; ( ministre )

  means prescribed by regulation; ( Version anglaise seulement )

  • (a) any substance that, if added to any water, would degrade or alter or form part of a process of degradation or alteration of the quality of that water to an extent that is detrimental to their use by man or by any animal, fish or plant that is useful to man, and
  • (b) any water that contains a substance in such a quantity or concentration, or that has been so treated, processed or changed, by heat or other means, from a natural state that it would, if added to any other water, degrade or alter or form part of a process of degradation or alteration of the quality of that water to the extent described in paragraph (a); ( déchet )

  means any aspect of water resource management that relates to restoring, maintaining or improving the quality of water; ( gestion qualitative des eaux )

  means the conservation, development and utilization of water resources and includes, with respect thereto, research, data collection and the maintaining of inventories, planning and the implementation of plans, and the control and regulation of water quantity and quality. ( gestion des ressources en eau )

  • (a) any substance or any substance that is part of a class of substances prescribed pursuant to subparagraph 18(1)(a)(i),
  • (b) any water that contains any substance or any substance that is part of a class of substances in a quantity or concentration that is equal to or in excess of a quantity or concentration prescribed in respect of that substance or class of substances pursuant to subparagraph 18(1)(a)(ii), and
  • (c) any water that has been subjected to a treatment, process or change prescribed pursuant to subparagraph 18(1)(a)(iii),

  shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be waste.

  • R.S., 1985, c. C-11, s. 2
  • 2002, c. 7, s. 115
  • 2014, c. 2, s. 6

  Her Majesty

  Marginal note: Binding on Her Majesty

  3 This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

  • R.S., c. 5(1st Supp.), s. 2

  PART I Comprehensive Water Resource Management

  Federal-Provincial Arrangements

  Marginal note: Establishment of intergovernmental committees, etc.

  4 For the purpose of facilitating the formulation of policies and programs with respect to the water resources of Canada and to ensure the optimum use of those resources for the benefit of all Canadians, having regard to the distinctive geography of Canada and the character of water as a natural resource, the Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into an arrangement with one or more provincial governments to establish, on a national, provincial, regional, lake or river-basin basis, intergovernmental committees or other bodies

  • (a) to maintain continuing consultation on water resource matters and to advise on priorities for research, planning, conservation, development and utilization relating thereto;
  • (b) to advise on the formulation of water policies and programs; and
  • (c) to facilitate the coordination and implementation of water policies and programs.
  • R.S., c. 5(1st Supp.), s. 3

  Comprehensive Water Resource Management Programs

  Marginal note: Federal-provincial water resource management programs

  5 Subject to this Act, the Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, with respect to any waters where there is a significant national interest in the water resource management thereof, enter into agreements with one or more provincial governments having an interest in the water resource management of those waters, providing for programs to

  • (a) establish and maintain an inventory of those waters,
  • (b) collect, process and provide data on the quality, quantity, distribution and use of those waters,
  • (c) conduct research in connection with any aspect of those waters or provide for the conduct of any such research by or in cooperation with any government, institution or person,
  • (d) formulate comprehensive water resource management plans, including detailed estimates of the cost of implementation of those plans and of revenues and other benefits likely to be realized from the implementation thereof, based on an examination of the full range of reasonable alternatives and taking into account views expressed at public hearings and otherwise by persons likely to be affected by implementation of the plans,
  • (e) design projects for the efficient conservation, development and utilization of those waters, and
  • (f) implement any plans or projects referred to in paragraphs (d) and (e),

  and establishing or naming joint commissions, boards or other bodies empowered to direct, supervise and coordinate those programs.

  • R.S., c. 5(1st Supp.), s. 4

  Marginal note: Federal water resource management programs

  • 6 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister shall, with the approval of the Governor in Council, undertake directly,
    • (a) with respect to any federal waters, any program described in any of paragraphs 5(a) to (e) and the implementation of any program described in paragraph 5(d) or (e);
    • (b) with respect to any inter-jurisdictional waters where there is a significant national interest in the water resource management thereof, any program described in paragraph 5(d) or (e); and
    • (c) with respect to any international or boundary waters where there is a significant national interest in the water resource management thereof, any program described in paragraph 5(d) or (e) and the implementation of any such program.
    • R.S., c. 5(1st Supp.), s. 5

    Marginal note: Research, data collection and inventory establishment

    7 The Minister may conduct research, collect data and establish inventories respecting any aspect of water resource management or the management of any specific water resources or provide for the conduct of any such research, data collection or inventory establishment by or in cooperation with any government, institution or person.

    • R.S., c. 5(1st Supp.), s. 6

    Marginal note: Matters to be specified in agreements

    • 8 (1) Where, pursuant to section 5, the Minister enters into an agreement with one or more provincial governments, the agreement shall, where applicable, in respect of each program that is the subject of the agreement, specify
      • (a) the respective parts of the program to be undertaken by the Minister and the provincial government or governments and the times at which and the manner in which those parts of the program are to be carried out;
      • (b) the proportions of the cost of the respective parts of the program that are to be paid by the Minister and the provincial government or governments and the times at which amounts representing those proportions are to be paid;
      • (c) the labour, land and materials that are to be supplied in relation to the respective parts of the program by the Minister and the provincial government or governments;
      • (d) the proportions in which any compensation awarded or agreed to be paid to any body or person suffering loss as a result of the program is to be paid by the Minister and the provincial government or governments;
      • (e) the amount of any loan or grant, constituting part or all of the cost of the program to be paid by the Minister, that is to be made or paid by the Minister to the provincial government or governments, and the manner in which the terms and conditions of the loan or grant are to be determined;
      • (f) the authority or authorities, whether an agent or agents of Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province or otherwise as may be agreed to be appropriate, that will be responsible for the undertaking, operation or maintenance of projects that form part of the program;
      • (g) the respective proportions of the revenues from the program that are to be paid to the Minister and the provincial government or governments; and
      • (h) the terms and conditions relating to the undertaking, operation and maintenance of the program.
      • (a) the constitution thereof, the members thereof that are to be appointed by the Minister and the provincial government or governments that are parties to the agreement and the terms and conditions of the appointments;
      • (b) the staff thereof that is to be supplied by the Minister and the provincial government or governments;
      • (c) the duties of the body and the powers that it may exercise in directing, supervising and coordinating the program;
      • (d) the keeping of accounts and records by the body;
      • (e) the annual submission by the body to the Minister and the provincial government or governments of operating and capital budgets in connection with the programs directed, supervised and coordinated by the body for the next following fiscal year for approval by the Governor in Council and such persons on behalf of the provincial government or governments as are designated in the agreement; and
      • (f) the submission by the body to the Minister and the provincial government or governments, within three months after the termination of each fiscal year, of an annual report containing such information as is specified in the agreement.
      • R.S., c. 5(1st Supp.), s. 7

      PART II Water Quality Management

      Pollution of Waters

      Marginal note: Prohibition

      9 Except in quantities and under conditions prescribed with respect to waste disposal in the water quality management area in question, including the payment of any effluent discharge fee prescribed therefor, no person shall deposit or permit the deposit of waste of any type in any waters composing a water quality management area designated pursuant to section 11 or 13, or in any place under any conditions where the waste or any other waste that results from the deposit of the waste may enter any such waters.

      • R.S., c. 5(1st Supp.), s. 8

      Marginal note: Application of section 9

      10 Section 9 is not applicable in respect of a water quality management area designated pursuant to section 11 or 13 until a proclamation has been issued declaring it to be applicable in respect of that area.

      • R.S., c. 5(1st Supp.), s. 39

      Federal-Provincial Water Quality Management

      Marginal note: Federal-provincial agreements

      • 11 (1) The Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into agreements with one or more provincial governments that have an interest in the water quality management of
        • (a) any federal waters; or
        • (b) any waters, other than federal waters, the water quality management of which has become a matter of urgent national concern.
        • (a) designate the waters to which the agreement relates as a water quality management area;
        • (b) provide for water quality management programs in respect of those waters; and
        • (c) authorize the Minister, jointly with such one or more provincial governments, to procure the incorporation of a corporation without share capital, or to name an existing corporation that is an agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province or that performs any function or duty on behalf of the Government of Canada or the government of a province, as a water quality management agency to plan, initiate and carry out, in conjunction with the Minister and the provincial government or governments referred to in subsection (1), programs described in section 15 in respect of the waters described in that subsection.
        • R.S., c. 5(1st Supp.), s. 9

        Marginal note: Matters to be specified in agreements

        • 12 (1) Where, pursuant to section 11, the Minister enters into an agreement with one or more provincial governments, the agreement shall, where applicable, in respect of each water quality management program that is the subject of the agreement, specify
          • (a) the responsibilities of the Minister and the provincial government or governments and the times at which and the manner in which those responsibilities are to be undertaken;
          • (b) the proportions of the capital cost of the respective parts of the program that are to be paid by the Minister and the provincial government or governments and the times at which amounts representing those proportions are to be paid;
          • (c) the loans or contributions to be made or paid by the Minister and the provincial government or governments in respect of the cost of incorporation and operating expenses of the agency that is to undertake the program, the loans to be made by the Minister and that government or those governments in respect of capital costs incurred by that agency and the times at which those loans or contributions are to be made or paid;
          • (d) the labour, land and materials that are to be supplied by the Minister and the provincial government or governments to the agency referred to in paragraph (c);
          • (e) the proportions in which any compensation awarded or agreed to be paid to any body or person suffering loss as a result of the program is to be paid by the Minister and the provincial government or governments; and
          • (f) the terms and conditions relating to the undertaking, operation and maintenance of the program by the agency referred to in paragraph (c).
          • (a) the proposed corporate name of the agency;
          • (b) the place within the water quality management area designated in the agreement where the head office of the agency is to be situated;
          • (c) the members of the agency that are to be appointed by the Minister and the provincial government or governments that are parties to the agreement and the terms and conditions of the appointments;
          • (d) the proposed by-laws of the agency; and
          • (e) the matters set out in paragraphs 8(2)(b) and (d) to (f).
          • R.S., c. 5(1st Supp.), s. 10