Rouge National Urban Park Act

This Act may be cited as the Rouge National Urban Park Act.

The following definitions apply in this Act.

ecological integrity means, with respect to the Park, a condition that is determined to be characteristic of its natural region and likely to persist, including abiotic components and the composition and abundance of native species and biological communities, rates of change and supporting processes. (intégrité écologique)

enforcement officer means any person designated under section 24 or belonging to a class of persons so designated. (agent de l’autorité)

Minister means the Minister responsible for the Parks Canada Agency. (ministre)

national historic site means a site, building or other place of national historic interest or significance that is commemorated under section 3 of the Historic Sites and Monuments Act. (lieu historique national)

Park means the Rouge National Urban Park, established by section 4. (parc)

park warden means a person designated under section 23. (garde de parc)

public lands means lands, including submerged lands, belonging to Her Majesty in right of Canada or of which the Government of Canada has the power to dispose, regardless of whether that disposal is subject to any agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. (terres domaniales)

superintendent means a person appointed under subsection 13(1) of the Parks Canada Agency Act who holds the office of superintendent of the Park, and includes any other person appointed under that Act who is authorized by the superintendent to act on his or her behalf. (directeur)

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

Rouge National Urban Park, which is described in the schedule, is established for the purposes of protecting and presenting, for current and future generations, the natural and cultural heritage of the Park and its diverse landscapes, promoting a vibrant farming community and encouraging Canadians to discover and connect with their national protected heritage areas.

The Minister is responsible for the administration, management and control of the Park, including the administration of public lands in the Park and, for that purpose, the Minister may use and occupy those lands.

Maintenance or restoration of ecological integrity, through the protection of natural resources and natural processes, must be the first priority of the Minister when considering all aspects of the management of the Park.

For greater certainty, subsection (1) does not prevent the carrying out of agricultural activities as provided for in this Act.

The Minister must, in relation to any national historic site in the Park, ensure

that cultural resources are not impaired or under threat;

that cultural resources are maintained in a manner that will prevent or slow their deterioration and that any intervention carried out is in accordance with national conservation standards; and

that he or she does not take any action, including the making of a payment or the granting of any financial assistance or any authorization, that would have an adverse effect on cultural resources or on the communication to the public of the reasons for the commemoration of the national historic site.

The Minister may establish a committee to advise the Minister on the management of the Park. The advisory committee may include representatives from local governments, Aboriginal or regional organizations and other organizations that the Minister considers appropriate.

Within five years after the establishment of the Park, the Minister must prepare a management plan that sets out a long-term vision for the Park and provides for management objectives and performance evaluation. The Minister must cause the management plan to be tabled in each House of Parliament.

The management plan must set out a management approach, by area, that includes the following:

the protection and presentation of natural and cultural heritage;

the presentation of agricultural heritage and the encouragement of sustainable farming practices; and

the installation and maintenance of infrastructure, buildings and other improvements.

The Minister must review the management plan at least every 10 years and must cause any amendments to the plan to be tabled in each House of Parliament.

The Minister must provide opportunities for public participation, including by Aboriginal organizations, in the development of the management plan and in relation to any other matters that the Minister considers relevant.

The Minister may, for the purposes of the management of the Park, enter into agreements with federal and provincial ministers and agencies, local governments, Aboriginal organizations and other persons and organizations.

The superintendent may issue, amend, suspend and revoke any permit or other authorization for the clearing of public lands in the Park for the purpose of installing or maintaining public infrastructure, including public utilities or transportation corridors.

The Minister may, in respect of public lands in the Park, enter into leases, grant easements and issue licences of occupation.

Public lands in the Park in which a right or interest is held for any purpose under this Act remain part of the Park and that right or interest reverts to Her Majesty in right of Canada if those lands cease to be used for that purpose.

The Minister may, in respect of public lands in the Park, terminate or accept the surrender of a lease and terminate or accept the relinquishment of an easement or a licence of occupation.

The Expropriation Act applies in respect of the acquisition of an interest in public lands in the Park for the purposes of this Act if the holder of the interest does not consent and there is no cause for termination under subsection (3).

For the purposes of subsection (4), the Minister is deemed to be a Minister referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition Minister in subsection 2(1) of the Expropriation Act and the Parks Canada Agency is deemed to be a department named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act.

Despite the Expropriation Act, no interest in land may be acquired by expropriation by Her Majesty in right of Canada for the purpose of enlarging the Park.

For the purpose of enlarging the Park, the Governor in Council may, by order, amend the schedule by altering the description of the Park, if the Governor in Council is satisfied that Her Majesty in right of Canada has title to the lands that are to be included in the Park, regardless of whether there are any charges on title.

If a court of competent jurisdiction finds that Her Majesty in right of Canada does not have title to lands in the Park, the Governor in Council may, by order, amend the schedule by altering the description of the Park to remove those lands from the Park.

It is prohibited to dispose of public lands or a right or interest in public lands in the Park, except as permitted under this Act.

Public lands or a right or interest in public lands in the Park may be disposed of to a federal or provincial authority, including the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, or to a municipal authority, if the disposal is required for the purposes of the installation or maintenance of public infrastructure, including public utilities or transportation corridors.

Subsection (1) ceases to apply in respect of the transfer of the fee simple in the public lands when the total amount of lands in which fee simple has been transferred under that subsection reaches an area of 200 hectares.

The Governor in Council may, by order, amend the schedule by altering the description of the Park to remove the lands that have been disposed of.

Lands disposed of under subsection (1) revert to Her Majesty in right of Canada if those lands cease to be used for the purposes for which they were disposed of.

If a substance that is capable of degrading the natural environment, injuring natural or cultural resources or endangering human health is discharged or deposited in the Park, any person who has charge, management or control of the substance and any person who caused or contributed to the discharge or deposit must take reasonable measures to prevent any degradation of the natural environment and any danger to natural or cultural resources or to human health that may result from the discharge or deposit.

If the superintendent is of the opinion that a person is not taking the required measures, the superintendent may order the person to take those measures and, if the person fails to do so, the Minister may take those measures on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada.

A person who fails to comply with an order given by the superintendent is liable for the expenses reasonably incurred by Her Majesty in right of Canada in taking the measures, and those expenses may be recovered from that person, with costs, in proceedings brought in the name of Her Majesty in any court of competent jurisdiction.

The following definitions apply in this section.

hunt means to kill, injure, seize, capture or trap a wild animal, or to attempt to do so, and includes to pursue, stalk, track, search for, lie in wait for or shoot at a wild animal for any of those purposes. (chasser)

possess includes, in relation to any person, knowingly having any thing in any place, whether or not that place belongs to or is occupied by the person, for his or her own use or benefit or for that of another person. (possession)

traffic means to sell, offer for sale, buy, offer to buy, exchange, give, send, transport or deliver. (trafic)

wild animal means any individual of the animal kingdom that is not — or is no longer — domesticated, whether living or dead, at any developmental stage — including any egg or embryo — and any part or any derivative of such an individual. (animal sauvage)

Except as permitted under this Act, it is prohibited to

traffic in a wild animal, a plant, a part of a plant, any other naturally occurring object or product of natural phenomena or a cultural, historical or archaeological resource, whether it is in the Park or has been removed from it;

hunt a wild animal in the Park;

remove a wild animal, a plant, a part of a plant or any other naturally occurring object or product of natural phenomena from the Park;

possess a wild animal, a plant, a part of a plant or any other naturally occurring object or product of natural phenomena that is in the Park or that has been removed from it;

disturb, harm or destroy a wild animal or disturb, damage or destroy a plant, a part of a plant or any other naturally occurring object or product of natural phenomena that is in the Park or that has been removed from it;

harvest timber in the Park;

explore for minerals, oil or gas, or conduct an extractive activity, including mining, in the Park;

dump or dispose of any substance in the Park;

disturb a cultural, historical or archaeological resource in the Park, remove one from it or, whether it is in the Park or has been removed from it, damage, alter, destroy or possess one; or

remove a park facility or other park property from the Park or, whether it is in the Park or has been removed from it, damage, alter or destroy a park facility or other park property.

Subsection (2) does not apply to the superintendent when he or she is performing his or her functions related to the management of the Park or to any other person authorized by the superintendent when they are performing those functions on the superintendent’s behalf.

Subsection (2) does not apply to activities carried out by an organization whose purpose is the rescue and rehabilitation of wild animals if that organization has been authorized by the Minister to carry out those activities.

Recreational fishing is permitted in the Park, subject to any regulations that may be made under paragraph 20(1)(f).

For greater certainty, subsections 17(1) and 18(2) do not prevent the carrying out of agricultural activities by a lessee of public lands in the Park in accordance with their lease.

The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting

the preservation, control and management of the Park;

the protection of flora, fauna, soil, waters, fossils, natural features and air quality;

the protection, management, acquisition, disposition, disturbance, altering, removal or destruction of cultural, historical or archaeological resources;

the taking of specimens of flora or fauna for scientific or propagation purposes, and the destruction or removal of dangerous or superabundant flora or fauna;

the authorization of the use of lands in the Park, and the use or removal of flora and other natural objects, by Aboriginal people for traditional spiritual or ceremonial purposes;

the management and regulation of fishing;

the prevention and remedying of any pollution of land or water or any obstruction of waterways;

the prevention and extinguishment of fires in the Park or threatening the Park;

the issuance, amendment and termination of leases, licences of occupation and easements or servitudes, and the acceptance of the surrender of leases and the relinquishment of licences of occupation and easements or servitudes, of or over public lands in the Park;

the restriction or prohibition of activities in the Park and the control of the use of resources and facilities in the Park;

the establishment, operation, maintenance and administration and use of works and services of a public character, such as water, sewage, electricity, telephone, gas, fire protection and garbage removal and disposal;

the establishment, maintenance, administration and use of roads, streets, highways, parking areas, sidewalks, streetworks, trails, wharves, docks, bridges and other improvements, and the circumstances under which they must be open or may be closed to public traffic or use;

the control of traffic on roads, streets and highways and elsewhere in the Park, including the regulation of the speed, operation and parking of vehicles;

the control of the location, standards, design, materials, construction, maintenance, removal and demolition of buildings, structures, facilities, signs and other improvements and the establishment of zones governing uses of land and buildings;

the control of agriculture, businesses, trades, occupations, amusements, sports and other activities or undertakings, and the places where those activities or undertakings may be carried on;

the preservation of public health and the prevention of disease;

the inspection of buildings, structures, facilities and other improvements for the purpose of the enforcement of regulations made under paragraphs (n) to (p);

the abatement and prevention of nuisances;

the use, transportation and storage of pesticides and other toxic substances;

public safety, including the control of firearms;

the control of domestic animals, including the impounding or destruction of such animals found at large;

the control of access to the Park by aircraft;

the summary removal from the Park, by park wardens or enforcement officers, of persons found contravening specified provisions of this Act, the regulations or the Criminal Code, and the exclusion from the Park for prescribed periods of those persons or persons convicted of offences under those provisions;

the acquisition or the sale of souvenirs, consumer articles and publications; and

the removal of private property and the disposal of abandoned property.

Regulations made under this section may authorize the superintendent, in the circumstances and subject to the limits that may be specified in the regulations,

to vary any requirement of the regulations for purposes of public safety or the protection of natural, cultural, historical or archaeological resources in the Park;

to issue, amend, suspend and revoke permits, licences and other authorizations in relation to any matter that is the subject of the regulations and to set their terms and conditions; and

to order the taking of any action to counter any threat to public health or to remedy the consequences of any breach of the regulations.

The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the carrying on of traditional renewable resource harvesting activities in any area of the Park in the case where an agreement for the settlement of an Aboriginal land claim entered into by the Government of Canada makes provision for those activities in that area or where Aboriginal people have existing Aboriginal or treaty rights to those activities in that area.

Regulations made under this section may authorize the superintendent, in the circumstances and subject to the limits that may be specified in the regulations, to vary any requirement of the regulations for purposes of public safety or the protection of natural, cultural, historical or archaeological resources in the Park.

Regulations made under this Act may incorporate by reference any documents produced by a person or body other than the Minister or the superintendent.

Regulations made under this Act may incorporate by reference documents that the Minister or the superintendent reproduces or translates from documents produced by a body or person other than the Minister or the superintendent

with any adaptations of form and reference that will facilitate their incorporation into the regulations; or

in a form that sets out only the parts of them that apply for the purposes of the regulations.

Regulations made under this Act may incorporate by reference documents that the Minister or the superintendent produces jointly with another government for the purpose of harmonizing the regulations with other laws.

Regulations made under this Act may incorporate by reference technical or explanatory documents that the Minister or the superintendent produces, including

specifications, classifications, illustrations, graphs or other information of a technical nature; and

test methods, procedures, operational standards, safety standards or performance standards of a technical nature.

Documents may be incorporated by reference as amended from time to time.

Subsections (1) to (5) are for greater certainty and do not limit any authority to make regulations incorporating material by reference that exists apart from those subsections.

The Minister must ensure that any document that is incorporated by reference in the regulations is accessible.

A person is not liable to be found guilty of an offence or subjected to an administrative sanction for any contravention in respect of which a document that is incorporated by reference in the regulations is relevant unless, at the time of the alleged contravention, the document was accessible as required by subsection (7) or it was otherwise accessible to the person.

For greater certainty, a document that is incorporated by reference in the regulations is not required to be transmitted for registration or published in the Canada Gazette by reason only that it is incorporated by reference.

The Minister may designate persons appointed under the Parks Canada Agency Act whose duties include law enforcement to be park wardens for the enforcement of the provisions of this Act and the regulations and for the preservation and maintenance of the public peace in the Park, and for those purposes park wardens are peace officers within the meaning of the Criminal Code.

The Minister may designate persons or classes of persons who are employed in the federal public administration or by a provincial, municipal or local authority or an Aboriginal government and whose duties include law enforcement to be enforcement officers for the purposes of the enforcement of specified provisions of this Act or the regulations, and for those purposes enforcement officers have the powers of, and are entitled to the protection provided by law to, peace officers within the meaning of the Criminal Code.

The Minister may designate persons or classes of persons employed in the federal public administration or by a provincial, municipal or local authority or an Aboriginal government for the purpose of the enforcement of the provisions of this Act and the regulations that relate to offences that have been designated as contraventions under the Contraventions Act.

The Minister may specify that a designation is in respect of all or specified offences under this Act that have been designated as contraventions under the Contraventions Act.

Every park warden and enforcement officer and every person designated under section 25 must be provided with a certificate of designation in a form approved by the Minister and must take and subscribe an oath prescribed by the Minister.

The certificate must specify the limitations, if any, to which the designation is subject.

In the discharge of their duties, park wardens and enforcement officers and any persons accompanying them may enter on and pass through or over private property without being liable for doing so and without any person having the right to object to that use of the property.

Park wardens and enforcement officers are not personally liable for any thing done or omitted to be done in good faith in the exercise or performance of their powers, duties or functions under this Act.

A park warden or enforcement officer may, in accordance with the Criminal Code, arrest without warrant any person

whom the warden or officer finds committing an offence under this Act; or

who the warden or officer believes, on reasonable grounds, has committed or is about to commit an offence under this Act.

A park warden or enforcement officer may

enter and search any place and open and examine any package or receptacle in accordance with a warrant issued under subsection (2) at any time during the day or, if so specified in the warrant, during the night; and

seize any thing that the warden or officer believes on reasonable grounds is a thing described in subsection (2).

A justice of the peace may, on ex parte application, issue a warrant authorizing a park warden or enforcement officer named in the warrant to, subject to any conditions specified in it, enter and search any place, including any building or any vehicle, vessel or other conveyance, or open and examine any package or receptacle, if the justice of the peace is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is in the place, package or receptacle

any thing in relation to which there are reasonable grounds to believe an offence under this Act has been committed; or

any thing that there are reasonable grounds to believe will afford evidence with respect to the commission of such an offence.

A park warden or enforcement officer may exercise any powers under subsection (1) without a warrant if the conditions for obtaining a warrant exist but by reason of exigent circumstances it would not be practical to obtain one.

Subject to subsections (2) and (3) and sections 43 and 44, if a park warden or enforcement officer seizes a thing under this Act or under a warrant issued under the Criminal Code,

sections 489.1 and 490 of the Criminal Code apply; and

the warden or officer, or any person that the warden or officer designates, must retain custody of the thing, subject to any order made under section 490 of the Criminal Code.

If the lawful ownership of or entitlement to a seized thing cannot be ascertained within 30 days after its seizure, the thing or any proceeds of its disposition are forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada, if the thing was seized by a park warden or by an enforcement officer employed in the federal public administration, or to Her Majesty in right of a province, if the thing was seized by an enforcement officer employed by a provincial, municipal or local authority or an Aboriginal government.

If a seized thing is perishable, the park warden or enforcement officer may dispose of it or destroy it, and any proceeds of its disposition must be paid to the lawful owner or person lawfully entitled to possession of the thing, unless proceedings under this Act are commenced within 90 days after its seizure, in which case they must be retained by the warden or officer pending the outcome of those proceedings.

If a thing is seized under this Act, the person who owned the thing at the time that it was seized, the person who had charge or control of the thing immediately before it was seized and the person who possessed it immediately before it was seized are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable for all the costs of seizure, detention, maintenance and forfeiture, including any destruction or disposal costs, incurred by Her Majesty in right of Canada in relation to the thing in excess of any proceeds of its disposition.

Every person who contravenes subsection 17(1) is guilty of an offence and liable

on conviction on indictment,

in the case of an individual,

for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $15,000 and not more than $1,000,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $30,000 and not more than $2,000,000,

in the case of a corporation, other than one referred to in subparagraph (iii),

for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $500,000 and not more than $6,000,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $1,000,000 and not more than $12,000,000, and

in the case of a corporation that the court has determined under section 36 to be a small revenue corporation,

for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $75,000 and not more than $4,000,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $150,000 and not more than $8,000,000; or

on summary conviction,

in the case of an individual,

for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $300,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $600,000,

in the case of a corporation, other than one referred to in subparagraph (iii),

for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $100,000 and not more than $4,000,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $200,000 and not more than $8,000,000, and

in the case of a corporation that the court has determined under section 36 to be a small revenue corporation,

for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $25,000 and not more than $2,000,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $50,000 and not more than $4,000,000.

Every person who contravenes paragraph 18(2)(a) is guilty of an offence and liable

on conviction on indictment,

in the case of an individual,

for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $7,500 and not more than $500,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $15,000 and not more than $1,000,000,

in the case of a corporation, other than one referred to in subparagraph (iii),

for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $400,000 and not more than $5,000,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $800,000 and not more than $10,000,000, and

in the case of a corporation that the court has determined under section 36 to be a small revenue corporation,

for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $25,000 and not more than $3,000,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $50,000 and not more than $6,000,000; or

on summary conviction,

in the case of an individual,

for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $4,000 and not more than $225,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $8,000 and not more than $450,000,

in the case of a corporation, other than one referred to in subparagraph (iii),

for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $50,000 and not more than $3,000,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $100,000 and not more than $6,000,000, and

in the case of a corporation that the court has determined under section 36 to be a small revenue corporation,

for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $15,000 and not more than $1,250,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $30,000 and not more than $2,500,000.

Every person who contravenes any of paragraphs 18(2)(b) to (j), any provision of the regulations or any condition of a permit, licence or other authorization issued under the regulations or under section 12 is guilty of an offence and liable

on conviction on indictment,

in the case of an individual,

for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $100,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $200,000,

in the case of a corporation, other than one referred to in subparagraph (iii),

for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $500,000, and

for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $1,000,000, and

in the case of a corporation that the court has determined under section 36 to be a small revenue corporation,