Antarctic Environmental Protection Act

Act: Antarctic Environmental Protection Act

To Whom Does This Apply?

Canadians, Canadian aircraft and Canadian vessels as defined in the Act.
(Canadians include Canadian citizens, permanent residents and Canadian corporations as defined in the Act.)

The Act also applies to anyone who is part of a Canadian expedition in the Antarctic. (A Canadian expedition is one that is organized in and from Canada or for which the final place of departure is Canada.)

Summary

The goal of the Antartic Environmental Protection Act (AEPA) is to protect the Antarctic environment, particularly by implementing the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. Canada ratified this Protocol, also called the Madrid Protocol after the city in which it was adopted. The AEPA provides the legislative basis that Canada needs to oversee Canadian activities in the Antarctic and fulfill its obligations. The Minister of the Environment is the Minister for the purposes of this Act.

Prohibitions

The general prohibitions of the AEPA require that people on Canadian expeditions and Canadian vessels get a permit from the Minister of the Environment to be in the Antarctic. Permits are also needed to operate Canadian aircraft in the Antarctic. If a Canadian research station is established in the Antarctic in the future, the Act requires that people obtain permits to be there.

The Act specifically prohibits Canadians, and Canadian vessels where applicable, from undertaking the following activities in the Antarctic under any circumstance:

• damage of historic sites or monuments;
• open air burning of waste;
• disposal of waste in ice-free areas or freshwater systems;
• discharge into the sea any products or substances that are harmful to the marine environment except under the conditions established for the disposal of domestic liquid waste under Section 43 of the Regulations;
• introduction of prohibited substances into the Antarctic; and
• possession, sale or transport of anything that has been obtained in contravention of the Act or its Regulations.

The Act prohibits Canadians, and Canadian vessels where applicable, from undertaking the following activities, except where a permit has been granted or under circumstances described in the Act:

• activities related to mineral resources other than for scientific purposes;
• interference with wildlife indigenous to the Antarctic;
• introduction of animal or plant species that are not indigenous to the Antarctic;
• any activity related to waste disposal; and
• any activity in a specially protected area.

Permits

A permit or equivalent written authorization from another country that is a Party to the Madrid Protocol is an adequate substitute under AEPA.

The permit holder, for example an expedition leader, is responsible for the actions of every person and vessel covered by that permit.

Permit applications must include waste management plans and emergency plans. In some cases, the Minister of Environment may require that a permit applicant provide and maintain a security to cover potential costs needed to prevent, mitigate or remedy any adverse environmental impacts caused by the permit holder while in the Antarctic.

Penalties

On conviction on indictment:

• first offence - a fine of not more than $1 000 000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than three years, or to both.
• second offence - a fine of not more than $2 000 000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both.

On summary conviction:

• first offence - a fine of not more than $300 000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.
• second offence - a fine of not more than $600 000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both.

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this section is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific fact situation. For particular questions, the users are invited to contact their lawyer. For additional information, see contact(s) listed below.

New Brunswick Contact(s):
See National Contact.

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National Contact(s):
Ms. Rona Ambrose
Minister of the Environment
Environment Canada
28th Floor
Terrasses de la Chaudière
10 Wellington Street
Gatineau, Quebec  K1A 0H3
Telephone: (819) 997-1441
Fax: (819) 953-3457
E-mail: Rona.Ambrose@ec.gc.ca
Web site: http://www.ec.gc.ca/envhome.html