Bill S-14: An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act, the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act, the Rouge National Urban Park Act, and the National Parks of Canada Fishing Regulations

Tabled in the Senate, November 8, 2023

Explanatory Note

Section 4.2 of the Department of Justice Act requires the Minister of Justice to prepare a Charter Statement for every government bill to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on government bills. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for inconsistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed.

A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms. Section 1 of the Charter provides that rights and freedoms may be subject to reasonable limits if those limits are prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. This means that Parliament may enact laws that limit Charter rights and freedoms. The Charter will be violated only where a limit is not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.

A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill’s potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. It is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all conceivable Charter considerations. Additional considerations relevant to the constitutionality of a bill may also arise in the course of Parliamentary study and amendment of a bill. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill.

Charter Considerations

The Minister of Justice has examined Bill S-14, An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act, the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act, the Rouge National Urban Park Act and the National Parks of Canada Fishing Regulations, for any inconsistency with the Charter. This review involved consideration of the objectives and features of the Bill.

What follows is a non-exhaustive discussion of the ways in which Bill S-14 potentially engages the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter. It is presented to assist in informing the public and Parliamentary debate on the Bill. It does not include an exhaustive description of the entire bill, but rather focuses on those elements relevant for the purposes of a Charter Statement.

Overview

The purpose of the bill is, among other objectives, to amend the Canada National Parks Act (the “Act”) to establish the Akami-Uapishkᵁ–KakKasuak–Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve of Canada and enact provisions for its operation and administration.

The bill allows a “traditional land user” with documentation confirming their status to carry on “traditional activities” on public lands in Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve, provided they comply with the Act and its regulations and any conditions or restrictions imposed by the superintendent of the park reserve. To this effect, the bill provides for certain exemptions from provisions in national parks regulations with respect to traditional activities carried on by traditional land users in Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve.

The bill also provides that certain beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit land claims agreement may carry out harvesting activities permitted by the agreement in the portion of Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve that overlaps the area set out in the Map Atlas referred to in the agreement, so long as those activities are done in accordance with the agreement and the laws of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The bill provides a list of activities that fall within the definition of “traditional activity” for the purposes of Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve. These activities include the use of an over-snow vehicle to access cabins or support other traditional activities, fishing, berry picking, motor boating, gathering medicinal plants, using fire to heat food or beverages, hunting ducks, geese, ptarmigan, grouse and porcupine, trapping, snaring snowshoe hare and ptarmigan, cutting wood for personal use, camping, and transporting and using firearm and ammunition for personal safety, hunting and trapping.

The bill also contains a definition of “traditional land user” for the purposes of that section of the Act relating to Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve. Traditional land users include: a beneficiary of the Labrador Inuit land claims agreement, a member of NunatuKavut Community Council Inc., an individual born in the “designated area”  (as defined in that proposed subsection), an individual born to a biological parent who was ordinarily resident in the designated area or legally adopted by a parent who was ordinarily resident in the designated area when the adoption took effect, or an individual who was or has been ordinarily resident in the designated area for at least 10 consecutive years. Children, spouses or common-law partners of such individuals are also included in this definition of traditional land user.

Section 15 of the Charter

Subsection 15(1) Charter protects equality rights. It provides that every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination, including on the basis of race or ethnic origin. Equality entails the promotion of a society in which all are secure in the knowledge that they are recognized at law as human beings equally deserving of concern, respect, and consideration. Subsection 15(2) of the Charter clarifies that subsection 15(1) does not preclude laws, programs or activities that have as their object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups, including those that are disadvantaged because of race or ethnic origin.

Bill S-14 allows traditional land users, which include Indigenous peoples, to carry on traditional activities under specific conditions in Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve. The bill also permits certain beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit land claims agreement to carry on harvesting activities under specified conditions. To the extent that aspects of these provisions could potentially engage subsection 15(1) of the Charter by creating distinctions based on race or ethnic origin, the following considerations support the consistency of Bill S-14 with s. 15 of the Charter.

Supporting Indigenous peoples in efforts to continue their traditional activities promotes their substantive equality and is consistent with the core values that underpin the right to equality. Bill S-14 reflects the Government of Canada’s commitments under multiple negotiated agreements to permit certain traditional land use activities to continue in specified areas. These agreements were the result of extensive negotiations between the Government and certain groups, including the Inuit of Labrador. Through this Bill, the Government of Canada is taking specific measures to foster reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, including by meeting its commitments under relevant agreements.

Indeed, achieving substantive equality for disadvantaged groups often requires making distinctions. Importantly, Bill S-14 considers the circumstances of all traditional land users and of beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit land claims agreement, and it does not have the effect of reinforcing, perpetuating, or exacerbating any group’s disadvantage.