Bill S-207 explained in plain English
An Act to require the Minister of the Environment to establish, in co-operation with the provinces, an agency with the power to identify and protect Canada's watersheds that will constitute sources of drinking water in the future
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 1st Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill S-207 requires the Minister of the Environment to establish a federal-provincial agency with the power to identify and protect Canada's future drinking water sources by regulating land use in key watersheds.
Bill S-207 requires the federal Minister of the Environment to work with provincial ministers to create and establish an agreement for a joint federal-provincial agency. This agency would have the power to identify, protect, and regulate the use of land in watersheds that are expected to supply drinking water to Canadian municipalities now and into the future (up to the year 2050). The bill sets specific timelines: the Minister must conclude the federal-provincial agreement by December 31 of the year following royal assent, or must explain to Parliament why it has not been concluded and when it will be. Within 90 days of the agreement being finalized, the Minister must introduce legislation in Parliament to formally establish the agency and implement the agreement's requirements. The agreement itself would need to address how protected watersheds are defined, how the agency will regulate land use within those watersheds, how permits will be issued, how future drinking water needs will be assessed, and what new laws would be required at federal and provincial levels to make this work.
- Requires the Minister of Environment to consult with provincial ministers and conclude a federal-provincial agreement to establish an agency for protecting drinking water watersheds
- Sets a deadline of December 31 of the year following royal assent for the agreement to be concluded, or for the Minister to report to Parliament on why it has not been concluded
- Requires the Minister to introduce legislation in Parliament within 90 days of the agreement being concluded to formally establish the agency
- The proposed agreement must establish a process for defining protected watersheds by agreement between federal and provincial governments
- The agreement must specify how the agency will regulate existing or proposed land use within protected watersheds
- The agreement must authorize the agency to issue permits governing land use in protected watersheds and to enforce federal and provincial laws
- The agreement must establish a process to assess drinking water needs of Canadian municipalities up to the year 2050 and identify watersheds that will supply those needs
- The agreement must outline what new legislation will be needed at federal and provincial levels to authorize protection orders for identified watersheds
- Requires consultation with the Minister of Health and Minister of Natural Resources on the principles governing the agreement
- The federal Minister of Environment
- Provincial ministers responsible for public lands and drinking water quality
- Canadian municipalities that depend on drinking water from identified watersheds
- Property owners and developers with land within protected watersheds (who would be subject to the agency's permit and land-use regulations)
- Canadian residents who rely on drinking water from protected watersheds
- The Minister of Environment must consult with every provincial minister to conclude the federal-provincial agreement
- The Minister must consult with the Minister of Health and Minister of Natural Resources on principles for the agreement
- The Minister must either conclude the agreement or report to Parliament by December 31 of the year following royal assent
- The Minister must introduce legislation in Parliament within 90 days of the agreement being finalized
- The federal-provincial agency (once established) will have the authority to issue permits governing land use in protected watersheds
- The federal-provincial agency will have the authority to enforce federal and provincial laws in protected watersheds
- The agency will have the power to identify watersheds that constitute sources of drinking water for the future
- The bill sets December 31 of the year following royal assent as the deadline for concluding the federal-provincial agreement (or reporting to Parliament on the reasons and timeline)
- Within 90 days of the agreement being concluded, the Minister must introduce legislation in Parliament to establish the agency
- The proposed process must assess Canadian municipalities' drinking water needs until the year 2050
- The bill does not specify which watersheds will be identified or protected; this will be determined through the federal-provincial agreement process
- The bill does not specify what criteria or standards the agency will use to regulate land use in protected watersheds
- The bill does not detail what the new federal or provincial legislation will contain
- The bill does not specify penalties or enforcement mechanisms for violations of the agency's permits or regulations
- The bill does not specify funding mechanisms for the agency or how costs will be shared between federal and provincial governments
- The bill does not provide details on the agency's governance structure, staffing, or decision-making processes
- It is not clear whether the bill provides mechanisms to resolve disagreements between federal and provincial governments on watershed protection
- The bill's status is at second reading in the Senate as of the provided information, so it has not yet been enacted
The new agency will have authority to enforce existing federal and provincial laws related to land use and water quality in protected watersheds
Source: Section 3(d)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
Bill S-207, an act concerning the identification and protection of future drinking water sources through a proposed agency, received its first reading in the Senate on November 20, 2008.
This record describes the first reading of Bill S-207 in the Senate on November 20, 2008. This procedural step formally introduces the bill to the Senate. The bill's long title indicates its purpose is to require the Minister of the Environment to establish an agency, in collaboration with the provinces, to identify and safeguard future drinking water sources within Canada's watersheds. The record also notes similar bills (S-208) introduced in a previous Parliament.
In a Senate sitting on November 20, 2008, Bill S-207, concerning the protection of future drinking water sources through watershed identification and protection, received its first reading as part of routine proceedings.
On November 20, 2008, the Senate held its first reading for Bill S-207, an act to establish an agency for the identification and protection of Canadian watersheds that will serve as future drinking water sources. This event was part of the 'Routine Proceedings' section of the sitting, where various bills are introduced and given their first reading. The sitting also included other procedural matters such as notices of motions, and discussions during Question Period on economic conditions and government spending. The first reading of Bill S-207 means it has been formally introduced to the Senate and will be placed on the Order Paper for second reading at a later date.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced