The Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications has the honour to present its

NINTH REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill S-273, An Act to declare the Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System and related works to be for the general advantage of Canada, has, in obedience to the order of reference of April 17, 2024, examined the said bill and now reports the same with the following amendments:

1.Clause 2, page 2:

(a)Replace line 18 with the following:

“Indigenous governing body means a council, government or other entity that is authorized to act on behalf of an Indigenous group, community or people that holds rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. (corps dirigeant autochtone)

Indigenous organization means an Indigenous governing body or any other entity that represents the interests of an Indigenous group and its members. (organisation autochtone)

Indigenous peoples has the meaning assigned by the definition aboriginal peoples of Canada in subsection 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982. (peuples autochtones)

Minister means the Minister of Infrastructure”; and

(b)replace lines 20 and 21 with the following:

“person means an individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, Indigenous governing body or Indigenous organization. (personne)”.

2.New clause 2.1, page 2: Add the following after line 27:

“2.1 For greater certainty, this Act is to be construed as upholding the Aboriginal and treaty rights of Indigenous peoples recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, and not as abrogating or derogating from them.”.

3.Clause 7, page 3:

(a)Replace line 30 with the following:

“7 (1) In response to an emergency, the Governor in Council may, by order, exempt”; and

(b)replace line 32 with the following:

“cil considers to be in the interest of preventing damage to the environment or in the interest of public health or safety, from any re-”.

4.Delete clause 8, page 4.

5.New clause 9, page 4: Add the following after line 16:

“Coordinating Amendment

9 If Bill S-13, introduced in the 1st session of the 44th Parliament and entitled An Act to amend the Interpretation Act and to make related amendments to other Acts, receives royal assent, then on the first day on which both this Act and section 1 of that Act are in force, section 2.1 of this Act is repealed.”.

Respectfully submitted,