Regulations Amending the Wildlife Area Regulations: SOR/2024-229

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 158, Number 25

Registration
SOR/2024-229 November 22, 2024

CANADA WILDLIFE ACT

P.C. 2024-1234 November 22, 2024

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Wildlife Area Regulations under section 12footnote a of the Canada Wildlife Act footnote b.

Regulations Amending the Wildlife Area Regulations

Amendments

1 Item 7 of Part I of Schedule I to the Wildlife Area Regulations footnote 1 is replaced by the following:

7 Big Glace Bay Lake National Wildlife Area

All that certain lot, piece or parcel of land, situated at Donkin-Morien Highway, Glace Bay, Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Province of Nova Scotia.

Being “Big Glace Bay Lake National Wildlife Area” as shown on Public Services and Procurement Canada Plan S-6665, titled “Plan of Survey Showing Big Glace Bay Lake National Wildlife Area, Being Lands of H.M. in Right of Canada”, dated December 21, 2020, as signed by Dennis Prendergast, Nova Scotia Land Surveyor, said plan S-6665 being registered August 29, 2023 as plan number 122984553 in the Land Registration Office for the County of Cape Breton.

Said “Big Glace Bay Lake National Wildlife Area” contains an area of 395.38 hectares (977 acres), more or less, and includes Parcel E, Parcel 2016-1, Parcel 2016-2, and a portion of PID 15890957 (and excludes Beach Road), as shown on the above-mentioned plan.

All azimuths are grid-referenced to longitude 61°30′W, the central meridian of MTM Zone 4, NAD83(CSRS) at Epoch 2010.0, metric values.

2 Subitem 1(1) of Part II of Schedule I to the Regulations is replaced by the following:

(1) Jolicure Unit

All that certain lot, piece or parcel of land and land covered by water situated at Big Jolicure Lake, Parishes of Sackville and Westmorland, County of Westmorland, Province of New Brunswick, and being more particularly described as follows:

Being Parcel 2012-1 as shown on a Plan of Survey S-5725 titled “PLAN of SURVEY Showing Parcel 2012-1, Being a Consolidation of PID 827162, PID 70141692, PID 70141684 and PID 70141700, Lands of H.M. in Right of Canada (Environment Canada – Canada Wildlife Service), Tintamarre National Wildlife Area, Big Jolicure Lake, Parishes of Sackville and Westmorland County, Westmorland County, Province of New Brunswick”, as signed by Michael J. Gould, New Brunswick Land Surveyor, dated February 27, 2012, registered March 19, 2012 as plan number 31265045 in the Westmorland County Registry Office.

The above described Parcel 2012-1 contains an area of 1 600 hectares, more or less.

3 (1) The last paragraph of subitem 1(1) of Part IV of Schedule I to the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Less those parts of the parcels described under "Firstly” and “Fifthly” above lying within the lands shown as Parts 1, 2 and 3 on a plan deposited in the Registry Office for the County of Norfolk as Deposited Plan Number 37R-11347, such lands containing together 0.06828 hectares.

Less that part of the reserve described under “Fourthly” above, lying within a parcel vested in the Dominion of Canada by Order in Council dated February 22, 1902.

The parcels described under “Firstly” and “Fifthly” above, containing together 606.96 hectares, more or less, and the parcels described under “Secondly”, “Thirdly” and “Fourthly” above containing together 32.37 hectares, more or less.

(2) Subitem 1(2) of Part IV of Schedule I to the Regulations is replaced by the following:

(2) Hahn Marsh Unit

Being all that parcel of land, in the regional municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk, in the township of Norfolk, formerly in the geographic township of South Walsingham, County of Norfolk, shown as Part 1 on a plan of survey deposited in the Land Registry Office for the Registry Division of Norfolk (Number 37) as Plan 37R 264, together with a right-of-way over Part 2 shown on said plan, said Part 1 containing 162.76 hectares, more or less, and said Part 2 containing 0.06 hectares, more or less.

Coming into Force

4 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

The proposed amendments to the Wildlife Area Regulations (the Regulations) address management issues in three National Wildlife Areas (NWAs):

A bridge replacement over Big Creek on the sole access road for the community of Long Point required encroachment onto narrow, roadside sections of Big Creek NWA land. An agreement between the Department of the Environment (the Department) and the County allowing the encroachment expires on December 31, 2024. Transferring title to the County requires that the lands be delisted from the Regulations.

The current boundary descriptions for Big Glace Bay Lake NWA and the Jolicure Unit of Tintamarre NWA in the Regulations are long, complex, and difficult to understand, presenting challenges for compliance and enforcement. Updated land surveys have been completed to provide simplified, cohesive boundary descriptions. Amendments to the Regulations are needed to replace the current boundary descriptions with the new simplified boundary descriptions.

Background

The Canada Wildlife Act (the Act), and the Regulations, allow for the establishment, management and protection of NWAs for research, conservation and interpretation purposes. The creation of NWAs using high conservation value lands and the effective management of such NWAs serve to protect and conserve wildlife and wildlife habitat.

The Government of Canada (GoC) may take measures to maximize NWA management efficiency and to facilitate enforcement and wildlife protection activities, such as by delisting and disposing land if it is deemed compatible with wildlife conservation, and by clarifying the descriptions of NWA boundaries.

Delisting of lands in Big Creek NWA (Ontario)

The Long Point Causeway, owned by the County, is the sole access road to the community of Long Point, abuts Big Creek NWA and includes a bridge over Big Creek that was in need of replacement. To ensure security of access to the community of Long Point (and to Big Creek NWA, Long Point Provincial Park, and Long Point NWA), the bridge was replaced in 2022. To maintain access to local laneways, to gain a raised road elevation for flood mitigation, and to incorporate the necessary wildlife barriers to protect species at risk (required by the federal Species at Risk Act and the provincial Endangered Species Act, 2007 permitting), the road alignment at the bridge was shifted to the west into Big Creek NWA by approximately 7 m. Consequently, the construction resulted in the encroachment of three narrow, roadside parcels of Big Creek NWA land (totalling 682.8 m2 of the NWA’s 7 700 000 m2, less than 0.0001% of the NWA area). Most of the encroachment occurred to accommodate the wildlife barriers. An agreement between the Department and the County, allowing the encroachment, was negotiated and expires on December 31, 2024. Given the necessary encroachment, the Department was granted authority to dispose of these lands in order to transfer title to the County. Transferring title to the County first requires that the lands be delisted from the Regulations.

Under subsection 9(3) of the Act, the Governor in Council (GIC) may authorize the Minister of the Environment (the Minister) to dispose of lands acquired for conservation purposes if, in the opinion of the GIC, the disposition of such lands is compatible with conservation objectives. The disposition of the encroached-upon Big Creek NWA lands was authorized by Order in Council PC 2023-0676, June 23, 2023.

Figure 1: Approximate location of the encroached-upon Big Creek NWA lands to be delisted

Figure 1: Approximate location of the encroached-upon Big Creek NWA lands to be delisted – Text version below the image

Figure 1: Approximate location of the encroached-upon Big Creek NWA lands to be delisted - Text version

Figure 1 is a map showing the approximate location of the three narrow, roadside parcels of Big Creek NWA land that were encroached upon and that will be delisted.

Administrative updates to boundary descriptions for Big Glace Bay Lake NWA (Nova Scotia) and Tintamarre NWA (New Brunswick)

Over the years, additional parcels of land were added to Big Glace Bay Lake and Tintamarre NWAs, creating complex and disjointed boundary descriptions made up of a series of different land parcels, each with its own boundary description. The complexity of the boundary descriptions has resulted in challenges for both enforcement and compliance. To address these challenges, survey plans were completed to create updated, cohesive and simplified boundary descriptions.

Objective

Delisting the lands from Big Creek NWA will allow the Department to effectively manage the NWA by enabling a title transfer to the County and removing the need to renew the encroachment extension agreement. Simplifying the boundary descriptions for Big Glace Bay Lake NWA and the Jolicure Unit of Tintamarre NWA will help ensure the Regulations are clear, understandable and enforceable.

Description

The Regulations Amending the Wildlife Area Regulations (the Amendments) will remove three narrow parcels of roadside land (totalling 682.8 m2) from Big Creek NWA by delisting these lands from Item 1 of Part IV (Ontario) of Schedule I to the Regulations.

The Amendments will also replace the current boundary description of Big Glace Bay Lake NWA in item 7 of Part I (Nova Scotia) of Schedule I to the Regulations with a simplified description that includes the total area of the NWA and refers to a registered plan number deposited in the Land Registration Office for the County of Cape Breton.

The Amendments will also replace the current boundary description of the Jolicure Unit of Tintamarre NWA in subitem 1(1) of Part II (New Brunswick) of Schedule I to the Regulations with a simplified description that includes the total area of the NWA and refers to a registered plan number deposited in the Westmorland County Registry Office.

Regulatory development

Consultation

Delisting of lands in Big Creek NWA

Big Creek NWA is within the Between the Lakes Treaty No. 3 (1792) lands. Both the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation reserves are within Between the Lakes Treaty No. 3 (1792) lands. The Between the Lakes Treaty No. 3 (1792) is one of many treaties signed between 1764 and 1862, collectively referred to as the Southern Ontario Treaties.

In October 2022, the Department sent a letter seeking input on the proposed delisting and subsequent divestiture of 682.8 m2 from Big Creek NWA to the County to the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation as well as eight other First Nations within the Southern Ontario Treaties (1764–1862) lands:

At that time, the Department also sent a letter to neighbouring landowners. No responses to the letters were received. The Department also sent follow-up letters with a reminder about the delisting and divestiture of the lands to the County in June 2024.

Administrative updates to boundary descriptions for Big Glace Bay Lake NWA and Tintamarre NWA

No consultation was necessary for the boundary description changes for Big Glace Bay Lake NWA and the Jolicure Unit of Tintamarre NWA because it is strictly an administrative amendment — only the boundary descriptions, not the boundaries, will change.

Prepublication

The amendment to delist the encroached-upon Big Creek NWA land results in very minor boundary changes to reflect current usage, and the administrative updates to the boundary descriptions of Big Glace Bay Lake NWA and the Jolicure Unit of Tintamarre NWA are administrative in nature. Therefore, these amendments were not prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part I.

Modern treaty obligations and Indigenous engagement and consultation

To ensure that the Amendments are developed and are implemented in a way that respects and complies with modern treaties and the rights of modern treaty partners, an Assessment of Modern Treaty Implications (AMTI) was conducted. The AMTI did not identify any potential treaty implications. The Amendments do not apply to or take effect in any modern treaty area and/or result in any new restrictions or prohibitions that affect the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of local Indigenous communities that are recognized and affirmed under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. As a result, a detailed assessment was not required.

A United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration) Consistency Analysis (Annex A) was completed. The analysis examined whether the proposal intersects with the rights and interests set out in the Declaration. The analysis revealed that the delisting of the encroached-upon Big Creek NWA lands potentially intersects with rights and interests set out in the Declaration, such as Treaty recognition rights, rights pertaining to lands, territories and resources, including environmental protection of lands, and rights to participate in decision-making. In order to consult with the First Nations whose rights and interests may intersect with the proposal, the Department sent a letter to 10 First Nations within the Southern Ontario Treaties (1764–1862) lands in October 2022. This letter provided information about the encroachment and sought input on the proposed delisting and subsequent divestiture of 682.8 m2 of Big Creek NWA land to the County. The Department also sent follow-up letters with a reminder about the delisting and divestiture of the lands to the County in June 2024. None of the First Nations replied, and consequently none expressed any view that the proposal is inconsistent with the Declaration. Given that the Big Creek NWA boundary changes are minor and reflect current usage (for the bridge to ensure security of access and its wildlife barriers to protect sensitive species), and that previous consultations led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Infrastructure Canada during the bridge’s impact assessment did not highlight any concerns about the NWA boundaries, the Department finds that the Regulations are consistent with the Declaration.

Instrument choice

Once a parcel of land has been designated as an NWA under the Regulations, it can only be removed or have the description of its boundaries amended by regulation. Other instruments were therefore not considered.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

Benefits

The delisting and divestiture of the lands to the County will negate the need to renegotiate an encroachment extension agreement.

Furthermore, the wildlife barriers associated with the bridge are expected to help protect sensitive wildlife found within Big Creek NWA. The lands, already encroached upon and with infrastructure on them, are deemed to have low conservation value. Thus, the delisting has no anticipated negative impacts to the environment.

The administrative updates to the boundary descriptions of Big Glace Bay Lake NWA and the Jolicure Unit of Tintamarre NWA replace lengthy, complex statutory language with short, simplified descriptions and align with the overarching Policy on Regulatory Development principle of making regulations understandable. The updated boundary descriptions are anticipated to benefit NWA users who may be planning a visit/activity, as well as enforcement agents and NWA managers with their regular activities.

Costs

The Amendments will not result in any new costs to businesses, consumers, or the Canadian public.

The delisting of the encroached-upon, low conservation value lands from Big Creek NWA constitutes less than 0.0001% of the total area of the NWA and is therefore not expected to have any impact on potential permit application submissions or costs to the GoC to review these applications. The updates to the boundary descriptions of Big Glace Bay NWA and the Jolicure Unit of Tintamarre NWA will also not impact any costs related to the administration, management, compliance promotion and enforcement of the NWAs. Furthermore, there are no anticipated new costs to the GoC due to the Amendments, as all associated costs (for example land surveys) have already been completed prior to regulatory development.

Small business lens

Analysis under the small business lens concluded that the Amendments will not impact Canadian small businesses.

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply to this proposal, as there is no anticipated incremental impact on business.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The Amendments are not related to a work plan or commitment under a formal regulatory cooperation forum. However, wildlife conservation is a shared responsibility between the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, as well as globally with other nations. As the Amendments work to maximize NWA management efficiency, contribute to ensured security of access to the NWA (as well as to the community of Long Point, Long Point Provincial Park, and Long Point NWA) and the protection of species at risk, and facilitate compliance and enforcement, they support commitments made by Canada under the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative, the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk, and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity as adopted in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada conducted an impact assessment for the end-of-life Big Creek bridge replacement project under the Impact Assessment Act prior to the encroachment of the lands. As required by the federal Species at Risk Act and the provincial Endangered Species Act, 2007 permitting, wildlife barriers to help protect species at risk that occur in the NWA were included in the bridge design. The County, as part of the requirements to obtain a Species at Risk Act permit, developed a wetland compensation plan. The County also developed a habitat offsetting plan and completed additional restoration work, as required by a Fisheries Act authorization.

The amendments to the descriptions of the boundaries of Big Glace Bay Lake NWA and the Jolicure Unit of Tintamarre NWA align with the overarching Policy on Regulatory Development principle of making regulations understandable, since they will replace lengthy, complex and difficult to understand statutory descriptions with simplified ones.

Effects on the environment

The preliminary screening questions of the Climate, Nature and Economy Lens analysis identified that a detailed assessment was not required. The Amendments do not have important impacts on greenhouse gas emissions and/or Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction plans or targets, nature and/or biodiversity or climate change resiliency, nor are its objectives at risk due to current or projected climate change impacts. The Amendments will not result in important environmental effects.

The lands to be delisted from Big Creek NWA have already been encroached upon by the bridge replacement and its associated wildlife barriers and are needed long-term by the County to ensure security of access to the community. The 682.8 m2 represents less than 0.0001% of the NWA land area. Delisting the lands from Big Creek NWA will allow the Department to effectively manage the NWA by enabling the title transfer to the County and removing the need to renew the encroachment extension agreement.

The administrative amendments to the descriptions of the boundaries of Big Glace Bay Lake NWA and the Jolicure Unit of Tintamarre NWA do not change the boundaries, only make them easier to understand. Simplifying the boundary descriptions for the NWAs will help ensure the Regulations are clear, understandable and enforceable.

Gender-based analysis plus

A gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) has been performed for the Amendments, and no negative GBA+ impacts have been identified.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

The Amendments will come into force upon registration.

Prohibitions under the Regulations will no longer apply to the delisted Big Creek NWA lands. The lands will remain under the Department’s administration until the title is transferred to the County.

Given that the Amendments result in very minor boundary changes in the case of Big Creek NWA to reflect current usage, do not change existing boundaries of Big Glace Bay Lake and Tintamarre NWAs, and do not impose any new requirements in these NWAs, it has been determined that proactive compliance promotion efforts are not required. Updated boundary descriptions in the Regulations are anticipated to be sufficient to decrease risks of compliance or enforcement issues. The Department will inform stakeholders of the amendments and will respond to any inquiries received.

Contact

Caroline Ladanowski
Director
Wildlife Management and Regulatory Affairs Division
Canadian Wildlife Service
Environment and Climate Change Canada
351 Saint-Joseph Boulevard, 15th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
Email: ReglementsFaune-WildlifeRegulations@ec.gc.ca