Vol. 150, No. 6 — March 23, 2016

Registration

SOR/2016-34 March 10, 2016

CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT, 1999

Rules Amending the Rules of Procedure for Boards of Review

Whereas, pursuant to subsection 332(1) (see footnote a) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (see footnote b), the Minister of the Environment published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on April 18, 2015, a copy of the proposed Rules Amending the Rules of Procedure for Boards of Review, substantially in the annexed form, and interested persons were given an opportunity to file comments with respect to the proposed Rules or to file a notice of objection requesting that a board of review be established and stating the reasons for the objection;

Therefore, the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to section 341 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (see footnote c), makes the annexed Rules Amending the Rules of Procedure for Boards of Review.

Gatineau, March 9, 2016

Catherine McKenna
Minister of the Environment

Rules Amending the Rules of Procedure for Boards of Review

Amendments

1 (1) The portion of subsection 18(1) of the English version of the Rules of Procedure for Boards of Review (see footnote 1) before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

18 (1) After the hearing, the Minister or a party may make a written application for costs. The application shall be accompanied by a bill of costs and supporting receipts and set out

(2) Subsections 18(2) and (3) of the Rules are replaced by the following:

(2) Within 10 days after the last day of the hearing, the application, accompanied by the bill of costs and receipts, shall be served on the person from whom costs are claimed and filed with the Board.

(3) Within 10 days after service of the application, accompanied by the bill of costs and receipts, the person from whom costs are claimed and who wishes to contest the application, bill of costs or receipts shall serve a response on the person who filed the application and file the response with the Board.

Coming into Force

2 These Rules come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Rules.)

Issues

The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations (SJCSR) identified a minor inconsistency between the English and French text of section 18 of the Rules of Procedure for Boards of Review (the Rules) and made recommendations to the Department of the Environment to address this issue. The Department of the Environment committed to amend the Rules in order to improve their clarity and consistency.

Background

Pursuant to section 333 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (the Act), a board of review may, and in some cases, must be established by either the Minister of the Environment alone, or by the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health jointly, to inquire into specified matters in response to a notice of objection filed under the Act.

The Rules, made by the Minister of the Environment pursuant to section 341 of the Act, establish general rules that govern the conduct of reviews, such as quorum, prehearing conference, notice of hearing, witnesses and experts, and form and service of evidence, and, in particular, address issues on the awarding of costs related to a proceeding before a board of review. These rules are required so that persons know, in sufficient detail, the procedures that are to be followed when appearing before a board of review. There has only been one board of review since 1999.

Following publication of the Rules in the Canada Gazette, Part II, in 2011, the SJCSR recommended that the Department of the Environment address inconsistencies between the English and French regulatory texts and improve the clarity of the Rules.

Objectives

The objective of the Rules Amending the Rules of Procedure for Boards of Review (hereinafter referred to as the Amendments) is to improve the clarity and consistency of the Rules by better aligning the English and French versions.

Description

The Amendments make several non-substantive changes to clarify the Rules.

  1. Subsection 18(1)
    • The portion of the text before paragraph (a) in the English version of the Regulations is amended to clarify that an application to the board of review shall include the bill of costs and “supporting” receipts.
    • The current English version states:
      • After the hearing, the Minister or a party may make a written application for costs and the application shall be accompanied by a bill of costs and receipts and set out
    • The amended version will be:
      • After the hearing, the Minister or a party may make a written application for costs. The application shall be accompanied by a bill of costs and supporting receipts and set out
  2. Subsection 18(2)
    • The text is amended to clarify that an application to the board of review shall be accompanied by the bill of costs and receipts.
    • The current English version states:
      • Within 10 days after the last day of the hearing, the application and the bill of costs with the receipts shall be served on the person from whom costs are claimed and filed with the Board.
    • The amended version will be:
      • Within 10 days after the last day of the hearing, the application, accompanied by the bill of costs and receipts, shall be served on the person from whom costs are claimed and filed with the Board.
    • The current French version states:
      • Dans les dix jours suivant le dernier jour de l’audience, la demande pour frais et le mémoire de frais ainsi que les reçus à l’appui sont signifiés à l’intéressé et déposés auprès de la commission.
    • The amended version will be:
      • Dans les dix jours suivant le dernier jour de l’audience, la demande pour frais, accompagnée du mémoire de frais et des reçus, est signifiée à l’intéressé et déposée auprès de la commission.
  3. Subsection 18(3)
    • The text is amended to clarify that an application to the board of review shall be accompanied by the bill of costs and receipts.
    • The current English version states:
      • Within 10 days after service of the application, the person from whom costs are claimed who wishes to contest the application and the bill of costs shall serve a response on the person who filed the application and file the response with the Board.
    • The amended version will be:
      • Within 10 days after service of the application, accompanied by the bill of costs and receipts, the person from whom costs are claimed and who wishes to contest the application, bill of costs or receipts shall serve a response on the person who filed the application and file the response with the Board.
    • The current French version states:
      • Dans les dix jours suivant la signification de la demande et du mémoire de frais, l’intéressé qui souhaite les contester signifie sa réponse au déposant et la dépose auprès de la commission.
    • The amended version will be:
      • Dans les dix jours suivant la signification de la demande, accompagnée du mémoire de frais et des reçus, l’intéressé qui souhaite les contester signifie sa réponse au déposant et la dépose auprès de la commission.

The Amendments are not substantive in nature and will not change the purpose, intent or obligations of the Rules. The Amendments will come into force on the day on which they are registered.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to the Amendments, as they do not increase the administrative burden for business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to the Amendments, as they do not impose any costs on a small business.

Rationale

The Amendments are required in order to align the English and French versions of the Rules, thus improving their clarity. Amending the Rules was selected as the most efficient and appropriate means to improve the clarity and consistency between the English and French versions.

Amending the Rules contributes to the reduction of unnecessary risk due to potential interpretational differences between the English and French versions. In the one and only board of review since 1999, no costs were awarded. No stakeholders are expected to be impacted by the Amendments to the Rules.

As required by the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, a preliminary scan was conducted which concluded there would be no expected important environmental effects, either positive or negative. Therefore, a strategic environmental assessment is not required.

The Amendments were prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on April 18, 2015, for a 60-day public comment period. No comments were received.

Contacts

Stewart Lindale
Director
Regulatory Innovation and Management Systems
Department of the Environment
351 Saint-Joseph Boulevard
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
Telephone: 819-420-7792
Fax: 819-420-7386
Email: Stewart.Lindale@canada.ca

Yves Bourassa
Director
Regulatory Analysis and Valuation Division
Department of the Environment
200 Sacré-Cœur Boulevard
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
Email: DARV-RAVD@canada.ca