In February 2018, the Government of Canada introduced an Act to enact the Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, to amend the Navigation Protection Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (Bill C-69). Proposed changes to the Navigation Protection Act in Bill C-69 would deliver on the Government’s promise to restore protections and put in place modern safeguards to protect the public right of navigation. The new Canadian Navigable Waters Act would introduce navigation protections on all navigable waters in Canada. For more information on the status of Bill C-69, please visit the Parliament of Canada website.
While Bill C-69 undergoes review by the Senate, Transport Canada is proactively consulting on the development of regulatory instruments (Ministerial Orders) that will be critical to the effective implementation of the proposed Canadian Navigable Waters Act, should it become law.
The first two discussion papers are now available and seek your feedback on the:
1. categories of works that could be included in the Major Works Order
2. new process for adding navigable waters to the Schedule of the Act
Please note that the deadline for providing your input on these two discussion papers is January 15, 2019.
In addition to these two discussion papers, Transport Canada also plans to launch a discussion paper on potential amendments to the Minor Works Order, and continue to engage on other proposed regulatory, policy, and program changes for navigation protection.
For more information, and to access the discussion papers, please visit https://letstalktransportation.ca/CNWA.