Regulatory Stock Review Plan: 2024 to 2026

Enabling Act

Canada Lands Surveyors Act

Rationale

The regulatory review is necessary to maintain professional practicing standards for the Canada Lands Surveying profession for the continued protection of the public.

Narrative

The Council of the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors is the Regulatory authority for making regulations, subject to the approval of the Minister. Natural Resources Canada is working with the Council in reviewing the Complaints and Discipline process to ensure the public interest is served. These reviews will likely lead to changes to the Act and the regulations.

Date of last review or amendment

Last amended on October 12, 2016.

Targeted start for review

2023

Departmental contact

Martin Gingras
Deputy Surveyor General and Regional Director
(613) 899-6611
Martin.Gingras@canada.ca

Enabling Acts

• Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act (COGOA)
• Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act
• Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act

Rationale

A regulatory review of the entire regulation is not required this fiscal year, but the Schedule will be amended (via a consequential amendment) when the Framework Regulations are brought into force (2023).

Narrative

A partial review of the Schedule to the following regulations will be undertaken as part of the Frontier and Offshore Regulatory Renewal Initiative (FORRI) Framework Regulations project:

• Canada Oil and Gas Operations Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations
• Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations
• Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations

The Schedule currently references regulations that will be repealed once the Framework Regulations are brought into force.

Date of last review or amendment

These regulations were brought into force on February 26, 2016, and have not been reviewed since that time.

Targeted start for review

The review began in early 2020 and is underway.

For further information

• Frontier and Offshore Regulatory Renewal Initiative

Departmental contact

Cheryl McNeil
Deputy Director, Offshore Management Division
Analysis and Operations Branch
Cheryl.Mcneil@canada.ca

Enabling Acts

• Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act (COGOA)
• Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act
• Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act

Rationale

The regulations below are outdated and have been the subject of reviews/recommendations by the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations. International jurisdictional reviews have indicated the need to modernize these regulations.

Narrative

Through the Frontier and Offshore Regulatory Renewal Initiative, Natural Resources Canada and its partners are currently working to modernize and amalgamate the following regulations into one set of operational requirements, known as the 'Framework Regulations':

• Newfoundland Offshore Area Oil and Gas Operations Regulations
• Newfoundland Offshore Area Petroleum Geophysical Operations Regulations
• Newfoundland Offshore Certificate of Fitness Regulations
• Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Drilling and Production Regulations
• Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Installations Regulations
• Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Installations Regulations
• Nova Scotia Offshore Area Petroleum Diving Regulations
• Nova Scotia Offshore Area Petroleum Geophysical Operations Regulations
• Nova Scotia Offshore Certificate of Fitness Regulations
• Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Drilling and Production Regulations

Priority has been placed on the Accord Act regulations, listed above, for now.

The following regulations from the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act will come at a later date.

• Canada Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Regulations
• Canada Oil and Gas Geophysical Operations Regulations
• Canada Oil and Gas Installations Regulations
• Canada Oil and Gas Operations Regulations
• Canada Oil and Gas Certificate of Fitness Regulations
• Canada Oil and Gas Diving Regulations

There will be federal and provincial mirror Framework Regulations to ensure coherence between federal and provincial regulations in each Accord Area, and coherence amongst regulations for each of the four offshore areas.

FORRI is an intergovernmental partnership between Natural Resources Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and the Provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, and the Canada Energy Regulator are also participants in this initiative.

The Framework Regulations will:

• Update safety and environmental protection requirements to ensure our regulations remain world-class
• Reduce multi-regulation redundancy
• Shift to a hybrid regulatory approach with a balance of prescriptive and performance-based requirements
• Support consistency across jurisdictions
• Ensure an effective and efficient regulatory regime

Date of last review or amendment

The Drilling and Production Regulations were modernized in 2009. Other regulations have not had a comprehensive review since they were brought into force.

Targeted start for review

The review of the above referenced regulations began in 2014.

Stakeholder Feedback

The draft Regulations were published in Canada Gazette, Part I in June 2022. Governments are working to incorporate technical and other feedback received.

For further information

• Frontier and Offshore Regulatory Renewal Initiative

Departmental contact

Cheryl McNeil
Deputy Director
Offshore Management Division
Analysis and Operations Branch

Enabling Act(s)

• Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act

Rationale

A partial review is planned for the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Cost Recovery Regulations to align it with the carbon pricing amendments made to the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act.

Narrative

In December 2018, legislative amendments that allow for the incorporation by reference of Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial carbon pricing regime into the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and its application to the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador offshore area received Royal Assent. These amendments came into force in May 2019.

To ensure consistency between recent legislative amendments and the existing Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Cost Recovery Regulations, regulatory amendments will be required to allow the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board to recover the costs of administering the provincial carbon-pricing regime via the regulations.

Date of last review or amendment

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Cost Recovery Regulations came into force in February 2016 and have not been reviewed since then.

Targeted start for review

2024 to 2026

For further information

• Newfoundland and Labrador Management of Greenhouse Gas Act

Departmental or agency contact

Franco Bello
Policy Analyst
Offshore Management Division
Analysis and Operations Branch

Enabling Act(s)

• Explosives Act

Rationale

The purpose of the Regulatory Review of the Explosives Regulations, 2013 is to further modernize the Regulations according to the Government of Canada’s Regulatory Modernization agenda.

Narrative

In spring 2021, NRCan’s Explosives Program initiated a comprehensive review of the Regulations to modernize the explosives regulatory regime in line with the Government of Canada’s regulatory modernization agenda. The Explosives Regulatory Review engaged in extensive research, carried out targeted national and international comparisons to identify best practices, and conducted stakeholder and expert outreach to seek sector views on regulatory challenges.

NRCan collected over 280 regulatory irritants from internal and external stakeholders and experts. The following five key themes emerged from this outreach; The safety and security requirements in the Regulations need to better align with the risk; the licensing and fee scheme in the Regulations is overly complex and outdated; administrative burden in the Regulations needs to be reduced; the inaccuracies and “clean-up” of the Regulations need to be addressed; and the regulatory regime requires modernization to allow for new requirements.

To address the regulatory irritants, two consecutive omnibus regulatory amendment packages are planned to be brought forward. The goal of the first regulatory package is to modernize the explosives regulatory regime by enhancing safety and security and increasing regulatory efficiency. The goal of the second regulatory package is to update the permissions e.g. licensing, and cost recovery regime.

Date of last review or amendment

NRCan conducted a comprehensive review of the Explosives Regulations in 2012 that resulted in the Explosives Regulations, 2013.

In November 2018 a set of amendments came into force that enhanced the safety and security of handling explosives at Canadian ports and wharves, as well as miscellaneous minor amendments.

NRCan brought forward an amendments package focused on strengthening Canada’s security regime by updating the list of regulated explosives precursor chemicals, otherwise known as restricted components. These proposed amendments were published in the Canada Gazette Part II in June 2022 and came into force on June 3, 2023.

Targeted start for review

The Regulatory Review of the Explosives Regulations, 2013 was launched in spring 2021. It is expected that the first set of amendments would be published in Canada Gazette, Part II by the end of spring 2024 and the second set of amendments published in Canada Gazette Part II by late spring 2025, with a staggered coming into force for some elements.

Stakeholder Feedback

Following the launch of the Regulatory Review of the Explosives Regulations, 2013, NRCan conducted outreach with stakeholders to announce the Review and the plan going forward, and to seek views on current regulatory irritants. In the feedback received, stakeholders expressed support for the Review and its modernization goals and identified areas of the Regulations that required update or renewal. NRCan conducted an extensive consultation with stakeholders on the first set of proposed amendments in spring 2022 which was generally positive. NRCan launched another stakeholder consultation in spring 2023 on the final set of regulatory amendments, and stakeholder feedback was generally positive, although stakeholders recommended a delayed coming into force for some proposed amendments in the package.

Outcomes

The Regulations will be amended to meet modernization goals.

For further information

For further information, please contact NRCan’s Explosives Program at ERDmms@nrcan.gc.ca.

Departmental or agency contact:

For further information, please contact NRCan’s Explosives Program at ERDmms@nrcan.gc.ca.

Enabling Act

• Canada Lands Surveys Act

Rationale

The current regulation on Lands Surveys Tariff is outdated and no longer in use. It was identified as a regulation that can be repealed. It was recommended that NRCan maintain it until the department has a requirement to meet the “One-for-One” requirement.

Narrative

The Canada Lands Surveys Act dates back to 1960 with minor amendments along the way to reflect policy changes. The Act affects land management in Canada’s Northern Territories, on Indigenous lands and in Canada’s Oceans. Territorial devolution, reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, Canada’s extended territory over its Continental Shelf, and digitization have considerably changed the landscape since 1960. The Department started a review of the Act in 2020-2021 that will likely lead to changes in Regulations.

Date of last review or amendment

Not reviewed.

Targeted start for review

2022 to 2023

Departmental contact

Jean Gagnon
Surveyor General/International Boundary Commission
(343) 292-6642

Enabling Act

• Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act

Rationale

Section 26(1) of the Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act requires that the Minister review the limit of liability, referred to in subsection 24(1), on a regular basis and at least once every 5 years.

Narrative

The Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act, an Act respecting civil liability and compensation for damage in case of a nuclear incident, establishes liability limits for nuclear installations in Canada.
Subsection 26(2) of the Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act requires that the Minister, in carrying out the review, must have regard to:

• changes in the Consumer Price Index, as published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act;
• financial security requirements under international agreements respecting nuclear liability; and
• any other considerations that the Minister considers relevant.

As was done prior to the establishment of the Act and Regulations, Natural Resources Canada will engage with operators, insurers, and technical experts as required in the review of the Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act and Nuclear Liability and Compensation Regulations. NRCan will also consult with international nuclear liability experts and consider treaty commitments and other international standards/precedents when reviewing the liability limit.

Date of last review or amendment

2015 (pre-assent)

Targeted start for review

February 2021 and currently under review.

For further information

• NRCan Nuclear Liability Webpage
• Text of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage

Departmental contact

Jamie Fairchild, Advisor
Uranium and Radioactive Waste Division
343-292-6210
Jamie.Fairchild@canada.ca