Withdrawal from Disposal of Certain Tracts of Territorial Lands in Nunavut (Bathurst Island) Order: SI/2022-10

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 156, Number 5

Registration
SI/2022-10 March 2, 2022

TERRITORIAL LANDS ACT

P.C. 2022-102 February 10, 2022

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Northern Affairs, pursuant to paragraph 23(a) of the Territorial Lands Act footnote a, makes the annexed Withdrawal from Disposal of Certain Tracts of Territorial Lands in Nunavut (Bathurst Island) Order.

Withdrawal from Disposal of Certain Tracts of Territorial Lands in Nunavut (Bathurst Island) Order

Purpose

1 The purpose of this Order is to withdraw certain tracts of territorial lands in Nunavut from disposal in order to ensure the protection of those lands until the approval of the Nunavut Land Use Plan.

Lands withdrawn from disposal

2 The tracts of territorial lands set out in the schedule, including the surface and subsurface rights to the lands, are withdrawn from disposal for a period of 10 years beginning on the day on which this Order is made.

Exception — disposal of material

3 Section 2 does not apply in respect of the disposal of any material under the Territorial Quarrying Regulations.

Exception — existing rights and interests

4 For greater certainty, section 2 does not apply in respect of

SCHEDULE

(Section 2)

Tracts of Territorial Lands Withdrawn from Disposal (Bathurst Island)

In Nunavut, all those lands situated on the northerly portion of Bathurst Island, adjacent to Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area, Qausuittuq National Park of Canada and Parcel RB-34 as shown on a plan recorded in the Canada Lands Surveys Records in Ottawa under number 92661, a copy of which is filed in the Land Titles Office at Iqaluit as Plan 4048, and more particularly described as follows:

Commencing at the northeastern corner of Qausuittuq National Park of Canada, said point being on the ordinary low water mark of Cracroft Sound at approximate latitude 76°37′57″ North and longitude 98°30′00″ West;

Thence generally, northerly, easterly and southerly along the ordinary low water mark of Cracroft Sound, Cape Lady Franklin, Kew Bay and Carey Harbour to a point on the ordinary low water mark of Carey Harbour where the projection of the western boundary of Parcel RB-34 meets the same;

Thence southeasterly in a straight line to a point on the ordinary high water mark of Carey Harbour where northwestern corner of Parcel RB-34 meets the same at approximate latitude 76°32′32″ North and approximate longitude 98°09′19″ West;

Thence southerly along the western boundary of Parcel RB-34 to the ordinary high water mark of Queens Channel at approximate latitude 76°02′50″ North and approximate longitude 97°33′56″ West;

Thence southerly along the prolongation of the western boundary of Parcel RB-34 to a point on the ordinary low water mark of Queens Channel;

Thence southerly along the ordinary low water mark of Queens Channel to a point on the northern boundary of Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area at approximate latitude 75°51′59″ North and approximate longitude 97°33′57″ West;

Thence westerly along the northern boundary of Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area to a point where Qausuittuq National Park of Canada meets the same at approximate latitude 75°46′35″ North and longitude 99°00′00″ West;

Thence northerly, easterly and northerly along the eastern boundary of Qausuittuq National Park of Canada to the point of commencement.

Containing an area of approximately 2000 square kilometres as measured on the Albers Equal Area Projection.

All topographic features are according to edition 9 of the CanVec dataset.

All coordinates are geodetic and referenced to the 1983 North American Datum, Canadian Spatial Reference System (NAD83, CSRS).

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

To make an order respecting the withdrawal from disposal of certain tracts of territorial lands, located in Nunavut (Bathurst Island), for a period of 10 years, pursuant to paragraph 23(a) of the Territorial Lands Act.

Objective

The purpose of the Withdrawal from Disposal of Certain Tracts of Territorial Lands in Nunavut (Bathurst Island) Order (the Order) is to withdraw from disposal certain lands (approximately 2 000 square kilometres), for a period of 10 years in order to ensure the protection of the land until the approval of a territory-wide land use plan for Nunavut.

Background

In support of Parks Canada’s initiative to create a national park on Bathurst Island, Nunavut (to be now called Qausuittuq National Park), the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs received approval for an interim land withdrawal for the proposed national park area in 1996 to prevent the establishment of either surface or subsurface rights by third parties. To support the ongoing work required to establish the Qausuittuq National Park (the Park), the interim land withdrawal was subsequently renewed in 2004, 2009 and 2014. The last interim land withdrawal expired on December 12, 2019.

During the process of establishing the final Park boundaries, it was decided that a portion of the initial Park boundaries protected by the interim land withdrawal area should not be included within the final boundaries of the Park because of its high economic potential. This excluded area, while high in economic potential, was also an important calving habitat for the Peary Caribou, which is listed as endangered under the Species at Risk Act. A decision was made to retain the interim land withdrawal until a suitable land management tool could be found to manage the land while the caribou herd size rebounded.

Qausuittuq National Park was established on September 1, 2015. Pursuant to section 4.2.5 of the Qausuittuq National Park Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement, the Government of Canada, the Government of Nunavut and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association reached an agreement that the Nunavut Land Use Plan (the Plan) is the preferred land management tool for the area that has since been excluded from the Park and the subject of this Order.

The Nunavut Land Use Plan is a legal requirement under article 11.5 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. It encourages conservation planning, the building of healthier communities, and sustainable economic development. The primary purpose of the Plan is to protect and promote the existing and future social, cultural and economic well-being of Nunavut’s residents and communities.

Interim land withdrawals are a widely used tool to facilitate successful land management negotiations between parties involving federal Crown land. They are intended to protect lands while negotiations are ongoing by preventing Canada from disposing of land under the Territorial Lands Act for a specified period of time.

Implications

This interim land withdrawal prohibits the prospecting or staking of a claim on the lands identified in the Order, thereby protecting the identified lands until such time as the Nunavut Land Use Plan is agreed to and comes into effect.

Consultation

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association was consulted on the proposed interim land withdrawal and no concerns were raised.

Contact

Glen Stephens
Manager
Land and Water Management
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Gatineau, Quebec
Telephone: 819‑994‑7483
Email: Glen.Stephens@canada.ca