1997, c. 9

[Assented to March 20, 1997]

An Act to establish the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and to make consequential amendments to other Acts

WHEREAS it is essential in the national and international interests to regulate the development, production and use of nuclear energy and the production, possession and use of nuclear substances, prescribed equipment and prescribed information;

AND WHEREAS it is essential in the national interest that consistent national and international standards be applied to the development, production and use of nuclear energy;

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

1. This Act may be cited as the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.

2. The definitions in this section apply in this Act.

“analyst” means a person designated as an analyst under section 28.

“Commission” means the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission established by section 8.

“designated officer” means a person designated as a designated officer under section 37.

“dosimetry service” means a prescribed facility for the measurement and monitoring of doses of radiation.

“inspector” means a person designated as an inspector under section 29.

“licence” means a licence issued under section 24.

“Minister” means the Minister of Natural Resources or such member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada as the Governor in Council may designate as the Minister for the purposes of this Act.

“nuclear energy” means any form of energy released in the course of nuclear fission or nuclear fusion or of any other nuclear transmutation.

“nuclear energy worker” means a person who is required, in the course of the person’s business or occupation in connection with a nuclear substance or nuclear facility, to perform duties in such circumstances that there is a reasonable probability that the person may receive a dose of radiation that is greater than the prescribed limit for the general public.

“nuclear facility” means any of the following facilities, namely,

(a) a nuclear fission or fusion reactor or subcritical nuclear assembly,

(b) a particle accelerator,

(c) a uranium or thorium mine or mill,

(d) a plant for the processing, reprocessing or separation of an isotope of uranium, thorium or plutonium,

(e) a plant for the manufacture of a product from uranium, thorium or plutonium,

(f) a plant for the processing or use, in a quantity greater than 1015 Bq per calendar year, of nuclear substances other than uranium, thorium or plutonium,

(g) a facility for the disposal of a nuclear substance generated at another nuclear facility,

(h) a vehicle that is equipped with a nuclear reactor, and

(i) any other facility that is prescribed for the development, production or use of nuclear energy or the production, possession or use of a nuclear substance, prescribed equipment or prescribed information,

and includes, where applicable, the land on which the facility is located, a building that forms part of, or equipment used in conjunction with, the facility and any system for the management, storage or disposal of a nuclear substance.

“nuclear substance” means

(a) deuterium, thorium, uranium or an element with an atomic number greater than 92;

(b) a derivative or compound of deuterium, thorium, uranium or of an element with an atomic number greater than 92;

(c) a radioactive nuclide;

(d) a substance that is prescribed as being capable of releasing nuclear energy or as being required for the production or use of nuclear energy;

(e) a radioactive by-product of the development, production or use of nuclear energy; and

(f) a radioactive substance or radioactive thing that was used for the development or production, or in connection with the use, of nuclear energy.

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulation of the Commission.

“radiation” means the emission by a nuclear substance, the production using a nuclear substance, or the production at a nuclear facility of, an atomic or subatomic particle or electromagnetic wave with sufficient energy for ionization.

“record” has the meaning assigned to that word by section 3 of the Access to Information Act.

“vehicle” means any means of air, water or land transport, and includes railway equipment within the meaning assigned to that expression by subsection 4(1) of the Railway Safety Act.

3. The purpose of this Act is to provide for

(a) the limitation, to a reasonable level and in a manner that is consistent with Canada’s international obligations, of the risks to national security, the health and safety of persons and the environment that are associated with the development, production and use of nuclear energy and the production, possession and use of nuclear substances, prescribed equipment and prescribed information; and

(b) the implementation in Canada of measures to which Canada has agreed respecting international control of the development, production and use of nuclear energy, including the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear explosive devices.

4. Subject to any order made pursuant to section 5, this Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

5. The Governor in Council may, by order, exclude the Department of National Defence or the Canadian Forces from the application of this Act or any regulations made pursuant to this Act, to the extent and under the conditions specified in the order.

6. This Act does not apply to a nuclear-powered or nuclear-capable naval vessel of a foreign state that is invited into Canada by Her Majesty in right of Canada.

7. The Commission may, in accordance with the regulations, exempt any activity, person, class of person or quantity of a nuclear substance, temporarily or permanently, from the application of this Act or the regulations or any provision thereof.