An Act to amend the Oceans Act and the Canada Petroleum Resources Act

This enactment amends the Oceans Act to, among other things, (a) clarify the responsibility of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to establish a national network of protected areas; (b) empower the Minister to designate marine protected areas by order and prohibit certain activities in those areas; (c) provide that, within five years after the day on which the order of the Minister designating a marine protected area comes into force, the Minister is to make a recommendation to the Governor in Council to make regulations to replace that order or is to repeal it; (d) provide that the Governor in Council and Minister cannot use the lack of scientific certainty regarding the risks posed by any activity as a reason to postpone or refrain from exercising their powers or performing their duties and functions under subsection 35(3) or 35.1(2); (e) update and strengthen the powers of enforcement officers; (f) update the Act’s offence provisions, in particular to increase the amount of fines and to provide that ships may be subject to the offence provisions; and (g) create new offences for a person or ship that engages in prohibited activities within a marine protected area designated by an order or that contravenes certain orders. This enactment also makes amendments to the Canada Petroleum Resources Act to, among other things, (a) expand the Governor in Council’s authority to prohibit an interest owner from commencing or continuing a work or activity in a marine protected area that is designated under the Oceans Act; (b) empower the competent Minister under the Canada Petroleum Resources Act to cancel an interest that is located in a marine protected area that is designated under the Oceans Act or in an area of the sea that may be so designated; and (c) provide for compensation to the interest owner for the cancellation or surrender of such an interest.