Antarctic Environmental Protection Regulations (SOR/2003-363)

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definition

1 In these Regulations, Act means the Antarctic Environmental Protection Act.

Application for Permits

Marginal note:Who may apply

2 Any person may apply for a permit.

Marginal note:Application form

3 An application for a permit must be in the form determined by the Minister and must contain the information and documents set out in the schedule.

Marginal note:Content of application

4 An application for a permit must be signed by the applicant and must include, in addition to the information required by the application form,

• (a) a preliminary environmental evaluation in relation to the activities to which the permit is to relate that indicates the expected environmental impacts of those activities with sufficient detail to allow the Minister to assess whether they are likely to have less than a minor or transitory impact on the environment;

• (b) a description of the procedures to be put into place by the applicant, including any monitoring, to assess and verify the environmental impact of the activities to which the permit is to relate;

• (c) [Repealed, SOR/2025-195, s. 2]

• (d) a waste management plan that meets the requirements of sections 34, 35 and 37 to 42;

• (e) an emergency plan that meets the requirements of section 48; and

• (f) a description of anything that the applicant intends to remove from the Antarctic.

Marginal note:Acknowledgment of application

5 The Minister must, within 30 days after the day on which an application for a permit is received, acknowledge its receipt.

Marginal note:Minister’s decision

6 The Minister must provide to the applicant a written notice of the Minister’s decision concerning the application within 90 days after the application is received if

• (a) the applicant has provided the Minister with all of the information that is required by these Regulations or requested by the Minister under subsection 21(3) of the Act; and

• (b) the Minister, after considering the preliminary environmental evaluation in relation to the activities to which the permit is to relate, is of the opinion that the activities will likely have less than a minor or transitory impact on the environment.

Marginal note:Initial or comprehensive environmental evaluation

• 7 (1) If, after considering the preliminary environmental evaluation in relation to the activities to which the permit is to relate, the Minister is of the opinion that those activities are likely to have at least a minor or transitory impact on the environment, the Minister must, within 90 days after the day on which an application is received, provide to the applicant a written notice that they must have an initial environmental evaluation or a comprehensive environmental evaluation conducted.

• Marginal note:Evaluation to Minister

  (2) The applicant must provide the evaluation to the Minister after it is completed.

Marginal note:Contents of initial environmental evaluation

7.1 An initial environmental evaluation must include

• (a) a description of each proposed activity that includes the purpose, nature, location, duration and frequency of the activity;

• (b) a consideration of alternatives to the proposed activities, including the alternative of not proceeding, and the consequences of those alternatives; and

• (c) a description of any environmental impacts that the proposed activities may have, including a description of the potential cumulative impacts of the proposed activities and any other existing and planned activities.

Marginal note:Decision following initial environmental evaluation

• 7.2 (1) Within 90 days after the day on which an initial environmental evaluation is received, the Minister must

  • (a) if the Minister is of the opinion that the activities to which the permit is to relate are likely to have more than a minor or transitory impact on the environment, provide to the applicant a written notice that the applicant must have a comprehensive environmental evaluation conducted; or

  • (b) provide to the applicant a written notice of the Minister’s decision concerning the application.

• Marginal note:Evaluation to Minister

  (2) The applicant must provide the comprehensive environmental evaluation to the Minister after it is completed.

Marginal note:Contents of comprehensive environmental evaluation

7.3 A comprehensive environmental evaluation must include

• (a) the elements referred to in section 7.1;

• (b) a description of the initial environmental reference state with which potential changes are to be compared and a prediction of the potential future environmental reference states if the proposed activities are not conducted;

• (c) a description of the methods and data used to predict the potential environmental impacts of the proposed activities;

• (d) an estimation of the nature, extent, duration and intensity of the likely direct environmental impacts of the proposed activities;

• (e) a consideration of possible indirect or secondary environmental impacts of the proposed activities;

• (f) an identification of measures, including monitoring programs, that could be taken to

  • (i) minimize or mitigate the environmental impacts of the proposed activities and to detect unforeseen impacts, and

  • (ii) provide an early warning of any adverse effects of the proposed activities and a prompt and effective response to any accidents;

• (g) an identification of the unavoidable environmental impacts of the proposed activities;

• (h) a consideration of the effects of the proposed activities on the conduct of scientific research and on other existing uses and values;

• (i) a description of gaps in knowledge and uncertainties encountered in compiling the information for the evaluation;

• (j) a non-technical summary of the information provided;

• (k) the name and address of the person who prepared the evaluation and, if the evaluation was prepared by an organization, the name and address of the organization’s representative; and

• (l) any other information relevant to the proposed activities.

Marginal note:Decision following comprehensive environmental evaluation

7.4 The Minister must, within 19 months after the day on which a comprehensive environmental evaluation is received, provide to the applicant a written notice of the Minister’s decision concerning the application.

Security

Marginal note:When security to be provided

• 8 (1) If the Minister requires security to be provided by an applicant for a permit, the security must be provided to the Minister at the time the permit is issued.

• Marginal note:Amount of security

  (2) The amount of security that may be required is $2,000,000.

• Marginal note:Time security to be maintained

  (3) The time during which the security must be maintained may not be longer than two years after the expiry date of the permit.

Permits

Marginal note:Content of permit

9 Each permit must set out

• (a) the name of the permit holder;

• (b) the name of the persons authorized to conduct activities in the Antarctic;

• (c) the names of the vessels authorized to conduct activities in the Antarctic;

• (d) a description of the authorized activities, including where those activities are to be conducted;

• (e) a description of anything that the permit holder is allowed to remove from the Antarctic;

• (f) the date of issuance of the permit;

• (g) the date of expiry of the permit; and

• (h) the conditions of the permit.

Marginal note:Condition

10 The Minister may include in a permit the condition that the permit is not valid if the application for the permit contained any false or misleading information or failed to include any relevant information that might reasonably have affected the Minister’s decision to issue the permit.

Marginal note:Condition — waste management plan

10.1 The Minister must include in a permit the condition that the persons to whom the permit applies comply with the waste management plan.

Marginal note:Permit not transferable

11 A permit is not transferable.

Obligations

Marginal note:Obligations

• 12 (1) The permit holder must

  • (a) ensure that all persons to whom the permit applies receive training designed to limit the impact of their activities on the Antarctic environment;

  • (b) inform all persons to whom the permit applies of the requirements of the permit and these Regulations, including the requirements relating to the waste management plan and the emergency plan;

  • (c) within the time required in the permit, provide the Minister with a written summary report on the activities conducted within the Antarctic;

  • (d) unless subsection (2) applies, declare in the written summary report that all of the conditions of the permit have been fully adhered to;

  • (e) provide the Minister with an itinerary for the activities, including the route to be followed;

  • (f) notify the Minister in advance about any significant changes to the itinerary, including changes to the route to be followed; and

  • (g) provide any additional information that is requested by the Minister, within 30 days after the day on which the request is made.

• Marginal note:Failure to comply with condition

  (2) If the permit holder or any other person to whom the permit applies fails to comply with a condition of the permit, the permit holder must give the Minister

  • (a) notice of that failure without delay and in any event within 30 days after the day on which the failure to comply occurs; and

  • (b) a written report, within 60 days after the day on which the failure to comply occurs, that identifies the condition and explains the failure to comply.

• Marginal note:Possession and production of permits

  (3) Every permit holder and every other person to whom the permit applies must

  • (a) either be in possession of the permit, or a numbered copy of the permit, or have ready access to it at all times while in the Antarctic; and

  • (b) produce the permit, or a numbered copy of the permit, on request to the Minister, an inspector designated by the Minister under subsection 45(1) of the Act or an observer designated under Article VII of the Treaty.

• Marginal note:Permit on vessel

  (4) A permit issued for a vessel must be kept on board the vessel.

Suspension or Cancellation of Permit

Marginal note:Surrender of permit

13 Any person having possession or custody of a permit that has been suspended or cancelled by the Minister must surrender the permit, and any numbered copies of it, to the Minister by the date specified in the notice of suspension or cancellation.

14 [Repealed, SOR/2025-195, s. 6]

Historic Sites and Monuments

Marginal note:Designation

15 The historic sites and monuments in the Antarctic that are designated for the purpose of section 16 of the Act are the ones set out in the Revised List of Historic Sites and Monuments, published by the Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty on its website, as amended from time to time.

Native and Non-native Species

Native Species

Marginal note:Limitation on authority to issue permit

16 The Minister may issue a permit for the purpose of an activity to which section 12 of the Act applies only if that purpose is

• (a) to provide specimens for scientific study or scientific information;

• (b) to provide specimens for museums, herbaria, zoological or botanical gardens or other educational or cultural institutions or uses; or

• (c) to provide for unavoidable consequences of other scientific activities or the construction and operation of scientific support facilities.

Marginal note:Manner of taking

17 The Minister may include in a permit for the taking of native mammals or native birds the condition that the taking of the mammals or birds must be done in the manner that involves the least degree of pain and suffering practicable being inflicted on them.

Marginal note:Factors to be considered

18 In considering whether to issue a permit referred to in section 12 of the Act, the Minister may take into account the permits issued by all other Parties to the Protocol to ensure that

• (a) only small numbers of native mammals or native birds are killed and the number of native mammals or native birds that are killed during a season from a local population, considered along with the number of native mammals or native birds from that local population that are taken or to be taken under other permits, is not so great that the total number of native mammals or native birds taken from the local population could not be replaced by normal natural reproduction during the following season; and

• (b) the diversity of species, as well as the habitats essential to their existence, and the balance of the ecological systems existing within the Antarctic are maintained.

Specially Protected Species

Marginal note:Limitation on issuance of permit

19 The Minister may issue a permit for the purpose of section 12 of the Act for the taking of a specially protected species set out in Appendix A of Annex II to the Protocol only if the taking

• (a) is for a compelling scientific purpose;

• (b) will not jeopardize the survival or recovery of that species or the local population of that species; and

• (c) is done using non-lethal techniques, if practicable.