Bill C-72 · 41th Parliament · Stephen Harper
Qausuittuq National Park of Canada Act
An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedJune 15, 2015
- Debated in principleJune 19, 2015
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberJune 19, 2015
- Passed the second chamberJune 22, 2015
- Became lawJune 22, 2015
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
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 15 June 2015, the Minister of the Environment, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Minister for the Arctic Council introduced Bill C-72, An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act (Qausuittuq National Park of Canada Act), in the House of Commons and it was given first reading. Qausuittuq (pronounced: Kow-soo-ee-took) means “place where the sun doesn't rise” in Inuktitut, in reference to the fact that the sun stays below the horizon for several months in the winter at this latitude. The approximately 11,000 square kilometres of Arctic lands and waters protected in Qausuittuq National Park include the northern part of Bathurst Island as well as the Governor General Islands to the west, and smaller islands west and north of Bathurst Island. Seymour Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary is to the north, while the southern boundary of Qausuittuq National Park borders on Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area. Bill C-72 amends the Canada National Parks Act to add Qausuittuq National Park of Canada to Schedule 1 to that Act.
Summary by the Library of Parliament.
Where members stand
Votes and debate for this bill have not been read yet.
How it changed on the way
74% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (939 words introduced, 888 passed).
minor changeintent kept
The bill passed with only formal updates to its header and enactment details. The full legal description of the park boundaries stayed exactly the same.
- Header changed from bill introduction to statute chapter with assent date.
Before: “BILL C-72 An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act FIRST READING, JUNE 15, 2015”
After: “STATUTES OF CANADA 2015 CHAPTER 40 An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act ASSENTED TO 23rd JUNE, 2015”
How precisely it is written
preciseChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Hard
The bill adds a national park by means of an exhaustive geographic description using fixed coordinates, named maps, and objective lines. No subjective standards or discretionary language appear in the operative text.
Clear-cut
“All coordinates are referred to the 1983 North American Datum (NAD83) and any references to straight lines mean points joined directly on NAD83 Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection plane surface.”
Fixes the exact datum and projection so boundary points are mathematically determinate.“Commencing at the northwest corner of Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area (SOR/86-985, 18 September, 1986);”
Anchors the description to a pre-existing, publicly registered legal boundary rather than an open-ended area.“Including all mines and minerals, including hydrocarbons, whether solid, liquid or gaseous, and rights to work the same.”
Uses an exhaustive list of substances to close off interpretive disputes about subsurface rights.
Discretion. No power is delegated to ministers, officials or regulations; the park boundaries are fixed by the statute itself.
Challenging the law itself. The provision contains no prohibition or standard that could engage Charter vagueness or overbreadth doctrines.
Disputing a charge under it. Any dispute would turn on measurable geographic facts rather than subjective judgment.
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?
no evaluation found
Who lobbied on it
No lobbying registration naming this bill is loaded.
Stages and dates from LEGISinfo.