Bill C-38 · 40th Parliament · Stephen Harper
An Act Creating One of the World's Largest National Park Reserves
An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act to enlarge Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedJune 9, 2009
- Debated in principleJune 17, 2009
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberJune 17, 2009
- Passed the second chamberJune 17, 2009
- Became lawJune 18, 2009
Leading supporters
Ranked by the part each played: who is responsible for the bill, who carried it, and who spoke for it most.
- Stephen HarperPrime Minister
- Consiglio Di NinoSenate · Sponsor in the Senate
- Grant MitchellSenate · SenatorThe bill creates a huge national park area through extensive consultations and preserves ecosystems and habitat.
- Jim PrenticeThe member calls the bill a landmark conservation achievement and expresses pride in speaking to it.
- Bernard BigrasThe member describes the bill positively as showing cooperation to protect ecosystems.
- The Acting SpeakerThe motion to pass the bill without amendment was agreed to.
- Dennis BevingtonThe member states pride in supporting the bill and thanks all members for moving it forward quickly.
- David McGuintyThe member calls the bill an honour and a spectacular legacy for Canada.
Who carries this bill
Arrows run from the person responsible to those who answer to them on this bill. The critic leads the Senate’s scrutiny and answers to no one on it.
What it set out to do
On 9 June 2009, the Minister of the Environment introduced Bill C-38, An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act to enlarge Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada (An Act Creating One of the World’s Largest National Park Reserves), in the House of Commons and it was given first reading. Bill C-38 amends the Canada National Parks Act to enlarge Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada Nahanni to over 30,000 square kilometres (six times its current size). Third party mining rights would still be subject to existing regulatory processes.
Summary by the Library of Parliament.
Where members stand
How it changed on the way
29% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (6,896 words introduced, 6,564 passed).
moderate changeintent mostly kept
The bill passed with its core purpose and most provisions intact after only 9 days. One new subsection was added to clarify how certain land and water instruments apply in the expansion area.
- Added a new subsection (9) on the application of prior subsections to leases and licences.
After: “(9) For the purposes of subsections 5(1) and 6(2), leases, licences of occupation, easements, land use permits and authorizations and water licences relating to public lands in the”
How precisely it is written
mixedChallenging the law: ModerateDisputing a charge: Moderate
The bill mixes exact dollar amounts, imprisonment terms, and a defined expansion area with repeated phrases allowing adaptations and broad ministerial discretion. Offence rules cross-reference other statutes and future regulations, leaving room for argument over what conduct is covered.
Open to argument
“with any adaptations that may be necessary”
This phrase appears multiple times and lets officials rewrite rules without clear limits.
Clear-cut
“to a fine not exceeding $15,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both”
Specific maximum penalties are stated for land-use permit offences.“"expansion area" means the lands described in Parts II and III of the description of Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada in Schedule 2”
Geographic scope is tied to a fixed schedule rather than a general standard.
Discretion. The Minister may issue, amend, renew, suspend, cancel and approve assignment of permits, licences and authorizations, and the Governor in Council may make regulations on hunting limits, area closures and equipment removal.
Challenging the law itself. Broad incorporation of external statutes with adaptations and undefined conservation purposes could support a vagueness or overbreadth argument under section 7 of the Charter.
Disputing a charge under it. A person charged could dispute whether an order or adapted condition from another Act actually applied, given the repeated adaptation language and cross-references.
Read by a language model from the royal assent text; every quoted phrase appears in the bill. A reading of the drafting, not legal advice.
Did it work?
effective
The 2009 legislation directly amended the Canada National Parks Act to expand Nahanni National Park Reserve from ~4,766 km² to over 30,000 km², and this enlargement was implemented as enacted. Parks Canada’s 2021 management plan and other official sources confirm the park now measures approximately 30,050 km² with ongoing cooperative management.
- Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada Management Plan, 2021evaluationConfirms the 2009 expansion to approximately 30,050 km², making it the third largest national park in Canada, with protection of key ecological features.
- IUCN World Heritage Outlook: Nahanni National Park - 2025 Conservation Outlook AssessmentreviewNotes the 2009 boundary expansion occurred but states it does not fully encompass all key ecological areas.
- Parks Canada Protected Area Establishment pageevaluationDetails pre-enactment planning and confirms the expansion to about 30,000 km² under the Canada National Parks Act.
Who lobbied on it
No lobbying registration naming this bill is loaded.
Stages and dates from LEGISinfo.