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Bill S-216

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First Session, Forty-fifth Parliament,

3 Charles III, 2025

SENATE OF CANADA

BILL S-216
An Act to declare the Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System and related works to be for the general advantage of Canada
FIRST READING, May 28, 2025

THE HONOURABLE SENATOR QUINN
4512316


SUMMARY

This enactment declares the Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System and related works to be works for the general advantage of Canada.

Available on the Senate of Canada website at the following address:
www.sencanada.ca/en


1st Session, 45th Parliament,

3 Charles III, 2025

SENATE OF CANADA

BILL S-216

An Act to declare the Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System and related works to be for the general advantage of Canada

Preamble

Whereas the Chignecto Isthmus, located in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, is an interprovincial surface and rail trade corridor of national importance;

Whereas the Intercolonial Railway constructed along the Chignecto Isthmus, in accordance with section 145 of the Constitution Act, 1867, physically united the Canadian federation by linking the province of Nova Scotia with the provinces of Ontario and Quebec;

Whereas Parliament passed, in 1948, the Maritime Marshland Rehabilitation Act, which provided for the Government of Canada to construct and reconstruct dykes, aboiteaux and breakwaters;

Whereas the Chignecto Isthmus is of critical cultural and historical significance to the Mi’kmaq and Acadian peoples;

Whereas the Chignecto Isthmus is currently vulnerable to the effects of rising sea levels and increasingly intense severe weather events that threaten this interprovincial surface and rail trade corridor of national importance;

And whereas the Governments of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have undertaken the Chignecto Isthmus Climate Change Adaptation Comprehensive Engineering and Feasibility Study to expeditiously mitigate impacts of climate change on the communities and farmlands located within the Chignecto Isthmus;

Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short Title

Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System Act.

Interpretation

Definitions

2 The following definitions apply in this Act.

Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System means

  • (a) a dyke system intended for water management wholly situated in the Nova Scotia portion of the Chignecto Isthmus trade corridor; and

  • (b) a dyke system intended for water management wholly situated in the New Brunswick portion of the Chignecto Isthmus trade corridor. (réseau de digues de l’isthme de Chignecto)

construction, in relation to a dyke or a related work, includes the demolition of existing structures and any other work or activity related to the dyke’s or related work’s construction. (construction)

dyke means a dyke, aboiteau or breakwater associated with the Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System. (digue)

Indigenous governing body means a council, government or other entity that is authorized to act on behalf of an Indigenous group, community or people that holds rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. (corps dirigeant autochtone)

Indigenous organization means an Indigenous governing body or any other entity that represents the interests of an Indigenous group and its members. (organisation autochtone)

Indigenous peoples has the meaning assigned by the definition aboriginal peoples of Canada in subsection 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982. (peuples autochtones)

Minister means the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. (ministre)

person means an individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, Indigenous governing body or Indigenous organization.‍ (personne)

related work means any of the following:

  • (a) a water level control structure;

  • (b) a steel sheet pile wall; and

  • (c) any work that is useful for the maintenance or operation of a dyke or water level control structure. (ouvrage connexe)

Application

Role of Minister

3 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Minister is responsible for the administration of this Act, and the Minister’s powers, duties and functions include all matters relating to the Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System and related works.

Declaration

4 The Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System and related works are declared to be works for the general advantage of Canada.

Agreements

Minister of Public Works and Government Services

5 (1) The Minister of Public Works and Government Services may enter into an agreement with any person for any purpose relating to the design, construction or operation of the Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System or any related work.

Authority to carry out agreement

(2) The Minister of Public Works and Government Services may take any measures that the minister considers appropriate to carry out the agreement or to protect the interests or enforce the rights of His Majesty in right of Canada under the agreement, including accepting and holding on behalf of His Majesty any security granted under the agreement or releasing or realizing on that security.

Not agent of His Majesty

(3) A person who enters into an agreement with the Minister of Public Works and Government Services under this section is not an agent of His Majesty in right of Canada.

Implementation

6 The Minister may enter into any agreement that relates to the Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System or related works, or any agreement that is necessary for the implementation of an agreement entered into under section 4, with any person or with the Government of Nova Scotia or the Government of New Brunswick or any municipality or agency of either province.

Order in Council

Other exemptions

7 (1) In response to an emergency, the Governor in Council may, by order, exempt any person, on any condition that the Governor in Council considers to be in the interest of preventing damage to the environment or in the interest of public health or safety, from any requirement under any federal Act to obtain a permit, licence, approval or other authorization in relation to the construction of the Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System or any related work.

Exemption from Statutory Instruments Act

(2) The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply to an order made under subsection (1), but the order must be published in the Canada Gazette.

Authorizations deemed issued

(3) After completion of the construction of the Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System or of a related work, as the case may be, any authorization that would have been required in relation to its construction, if not for an exemption granted under subsection (1), is deemed to have been issued for the purpose of the application of the federal Act for which the exemption was granted.

Published under authority of the Senate of Canada

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