Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 — C-15.31 3
Definitions 3 (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this Act. aboriginal government means a governing body that is established by or under or operating under an agreement between Her Majesty in right of Canada and aboriginal people and that is empowered to enact laws respecting (a) the protection of the environment; or (b) for the purposes of Division 5 of Part 7, the registration of vehicles or engines. ( gouvernement autochtone ) aboriginal land means (a) reserves, surrendered lands and any other lands that are set apart for the use and benefit of a band and that are subject to the Indian Act ; (b) land, including any water, that is subject to a comprehensive or specific claim agreement, or a self-government agreement, between the Government of Canada and aboriginal people where title remains with Her Majesty in right of Canada; and (c) air and all layers of the atmosphere above and the subsurface below land mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b). ( terres autochtones ) air pollution means a condition of the air, arising wholly or partly from the presence in the air of any substance, that directly or indirectly (a) endangers the health, safety or welfare of humans; (b) interferes with the normal enjoyment of life or property; (c) endangers the health of animal life; (d) causes damage to plant life or to property; or (e) degrades or alters, or forms part of a process of degradation or alteration of, an ecosystem to an extent that is detrimental to its use by humans, animals or plants. ( pollution atmosphérique ) analyst means a person or a member of a class of persons designated as an analyst under subsection 217(1). ( analyste ) biological diversity means the variability among living organisms from all sources, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, terrestrial and marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they form a part and includes the diversity within and between species and of ecosystems. ( diversité biologique ) biotechnology means the application of science and engineering in the direct or indirect use of living organisms or parts or products of living organisms in their natural or modified forms. ( biotechnologie ) class of substances means any two or more substances that (a) contain the same portion of chemical structure; (b) have similar physico-chemical or toxicological properties; or (c) for the purposes of sections 68, 70 and 71, have similar types of use. ( catégorie de substances ) Committee means the National Advisory Committee established under section 6. ( comité ) ecosystem means a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit. ( écosystème ) enforcement officer means a person or a member of a class of persons designated as an enforcement officer under section 217. ( agent de l’autorité ) environment means the components of the Earth and includes (a) air, land and water; (b) all layers of the atmosphere; (c) all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms; and (d) the interacting natural systems that include components referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c). ( environnement ) environmental emergency has the meaning given that expression in Part 8. ( urgence environnementale ) environmental quality includes the health of ecosystems. ( qualité de l’environnement ) Environmental Registry means the registry established under section 12. ( Registre ) federal land means (a) land, including any water, that belongs to Her Majesty in right of Canada, or that Her Majesty in right of Canada has the right to dispose of, and the air and all layers of the atmosphere above and the subsurface below that land; and (b) the following land and areas, namely, (i) the internal waters of Canada as determined under the Oceans Act , including the seabed and subsoil below and the airspace above those waters, and (ii) the territorial sea of Canada as determined under the Oceans Act , inc