Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015, S.O. 2015, c. 24

• Jurisdiction: Ontario

Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015

S.o. 2015, chapter 24

Consolidation Period: From June 1, 2021 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: 2021, c. 4, Sched. 6, s. 50.

CONTENTS

_________________

Preamble

Ontarians are fortunate to live in a province that benefits from one of the largest freshwater ecosystems on earth. The health of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin is critical to present and future generations.

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin provides for the health and well-being of Ontarians. It provides drinking water and supports a variety of fish and other wildlife. Aboriginal communities within the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin have important connections to the Basin: First Nations maintain a spiritual and cultural relationship with water and the Basin is a historic location where Métis identity emerged in Ontario. Ontario’s economy relies upon the water for electricity generation, agriculture, manufacturing and shipping. Ontarians and visitors enjoy the Great Lakes, Ontario’s defining natural features, for the recreational opportunities they provide and natural attractions, such as Niagara Falls.

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and in the face of additional cumulative pressures such as development, population growth, loss and degradation of natural features, pollution and invasive species, three of Ontario’s four Great Lakes are in decline. Co-ordinated action in and monitoring and reporting with respect to the watersheds, lakes, rivers and coastal areas of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin are needed to respond to the impacts of and improve resilience to those pressures. While many partners are working together to protect and restore the ecological health of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin to ensure that it provides Ontarians with a source of water that is drinkable, swimmable and fishable, more needs to be done.

All Ontarians have an interest in the ecological health of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin. The Government of Ontario seeks to involve individuals and communities in its protection and restoration.

Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Part i
Purposes and Interpretation

Purposes

1 (1) The purposes of this Act are,

(a) to protect and restore the ecological health of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin; and

(b) to create opportunities for individuals and communities to become involved in the protection and restoration of the ecological health of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin.

Same

(2) The purposes set out in subsection (1) include the following:

1. To protect human health and well-being through the protection and restoration of water quality, hydrologic functions and the ecological health of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin, including through the elimination or reduction of harmful pollutants.

2. To protect and restore watersheds, wetlands, beaches, shorelines and coastal areas of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin.

3. To protect and restore the natural habitats and biodiversity of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin.

4. To protect and improve the capacity of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin to respond to the impacts and causes of climate change.

5. To improve understanding and management of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin by advancing science and promoting the consideration of traditional ecological knowledge relating to existing and emerging stressors and by establishing and maintaining monitoring and reporting programs or other actions with respect to the ecological conditions of the Basin.

6. To enrich the quality of life in communities in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin through support of environmentally sustainable economic opportunities, innovation and environmentally sustainable use of natural resources.

Existing aboriginal or treaty rights

2 For greater certainty, nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to abrogate or derogate from the protection provided for the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada as recognized and affirmed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Interpretation

3 In this Act,

“designated policy” means a policy described in Schedule 1 that has been designated in an initiative under subsection 19 (4); (“politique désignée”)

“Great Lakes ministers” means the ministers responsible for the ministries that were involved in the development of the Strategy or that are involved in the implementation of the Strategy; (“ministres responsables des Grands Lacs”)

“Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin” means,

(a) the part of Ontario, the water of which drains into the Great Lakes or the St. Lawrence River, including the parts of the Great Lakes and of the St. Lawrence River that are within Ontario, or

(b) if the boundaries of the area described by clause (a) are described more specifically by the regulations, the area within those boundaries; (“bassin des Grands Lacs et du fleuve Saint-Laurent”)

“instrument” means any document of legal effect, including a permit, licence, approval, authorization, direction or order, that is issued or otherwise created under an Act, but does not include,

(a) a regulation within the meaning of Part III (Regulations) of the Legislation Act, 2006, or

(b) a by-law of a municipality or local board; (“acte”)

“local board” has the same meaning as in the Municipal Affairs Act; (“conseil local”)

“Minister” means, except where otherwise indicated, the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change or any other member of the Executive Council to whom responsibility for the administration of this Act is assigned or transferred under the Executive Council Act; (“ministre”)

“Ministry” means the ministry of the Minister; (“ministère”)

“municipal planning authority” means a municipal planning authority established under section 14.1 of the Planning Act; (“office d’aménagement municipal”)

“planning board” means a planning board established under section 9 or 10 of the Planning Act; (“conseil d’aménagement”)

“prescribed instrument” means an instrument that is prescribed by the regulations made under clause 38 (1) (a); (“acte prescrit”)

“public body” means,

(a) a municipality, local board or conservation authority,

(b) a ministry, board, commission, agency or official of the Government of Ontario, or

(c) a body that has been prescribed by the regulations or an official of such a body; (“organisme public”)

“regulations” means the regulations made under this Act; (“règlements”)

“Strategy” means the document entitled “Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy” that is published by the Government of Ontario, dated December 2012 and available to the public on a website of the Government of Ontario, as amended under section 5. (“Stratégie”)

Part iI
Great Lakes Guardians’ Council

Great Lakes Guardians’ Council

4 (1) A council known in English as the Great Lakes Guardians’ Council and in French as Conseil de protection des Grands Lacs is established.

Meetings of Council

(2) The Minister shall ensure that at least one meeting of the Council is held before the first anniversary of the day subsection (1) comes into force and that at least one meeting is held in every subsequent calendar year.

Invitations to meetings

(3) Before a meeting of the Council is held, the Minister shall, as he or she considers advisable, extend written invitations to individuals to attend and participate in the meeting, including,

(a) the other Great Lakes ministers;

(b) representatives of the interests of municipalities located in whole or in part in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin;

(c) representatives of the interests of First Nations and Métis communities that have a historic relationship with the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin;

(d) representatives of the interests of environmental organizations, the scientific community and the industrial, agricultural, recreational and tourism sectors in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin and of conservation authorities that have jurisdiction under the Conservation Authorities Act over areas located in whole or in part in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin; and

(e) representatives of any other interests that the Minister considers should be represented at the meeting.

Council to provide forum

(4) The Council shall provide a forum to,

(a) identify priorities for actions to achieve the purposes of this Act;

(b) identify, in respect of projects to achieve the purposes of this Act, potential funding measures and partnerships;

(c) facilitate information sharing to achieve the purposes of this Act; and

(d) give the Minister an opportunity to obtain input from individuals participating in meetings of the Council through discussion of any matters relating to the purposes of this Act, including,

(i) the establishment of targets under Part IV,

(ii) the criteria the Minister may use to select and prioritize the geographic areas for which proposals for initiatives will be developed,

(iii) the development of proposals for initiatives under Part V,

(iv) the development and implementation of initiatives under Part VI, and

(v) the development and implementation of interjurisdictional agreements in respect of the protection or restoration of the ecological health of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin.

Meeting re particular watershed or geographic area

(5) The Minister may convene one or more meetings of the Council for the purpose of focusing on one of the Great Lakes watersheds in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin, or on a particular geographic area of the Basin.

Part III
Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy

Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy maintained

5 (1) The Minister shall maintain Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy.

...