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The Arctic Water Pollution Prevention Act - Coggle Diagram

- - - - The intended purpose has not changed because this is still a major ongoing issue that has affected climate change profoundly. According to this act " no person or ship shall deposit, permit the waste of any type in the Arctic Waters". The outcomes of doing otherwise are detrimental to health of humans and aquatic organisms living in these affected water bodies.
  - - - The Arctic Shipping pollution regulation is lead in coastal waters within the north Canadian jurisdiction. This deals with the construction of ships which is meeting the requirements for different navigation zones. This requires that all ships planning to use the Arctic Ice Regime must have a qualified ice navigator on board. In order for a ship to to be approved it needs to have enough fuel and water before entering any zone. Also the ship must avoid any sewage or oil deposit at any time. Therefore these regulations are put in place to ensure ship safety and make sure unnecessary pollution is not happening.
      - Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act
        
        The Arctic Waters Pollution prevention Act regulates the deposit of waste in the Arctic Waters. This explains prohibitions and exceptions.The main prohibition is that individuals and ships are not allowed to deposit waste at any time. The exception to this is that this does not apply to the deposit of waste that forms part of a water quality management area. This would be an exception because of knowledge reasons to learn more about the development and utilization of water resources.
        
        Are the fundamental principles of justice upheld with this law?
        
        Fairness
        
        Fairness is evident in this law because this was created to provide fairness to all humans, aquatic organisms and animals who have been affected by the worsening of climate change. The affects of climate change have been detrimental to health in many ways such as respiratory infections, heart diease and lung cancer. This can be easily prevented so the government has outlined various consequences for whose who go against the law. It is not fair for the polluters to get away with this while there are many people and animals suffering from their actions. This is why the law is in place to encourage people to be fair with their actions.
        
        Equality
        
        Equality is evident In this law because the government looks out for the best interest of their citizens. As being known this law strives to prevent pollution to create equality for everyone. Every single person without a doubt deserves to live in environmentally friendly conditions, therefore this law being in place wants to provide equality to all.
        
        Rule of Law
        
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- - - - Health issues/ Human development issues
        
        Health issues have played a huge role in the creation of this law because the numbers were increasing a lot. The weather conditions in the Arctic are why the toxic materials resulted in health issues. During winter the ice bound traps the toxins in the ground where degrading happens at a slow pace. When summer comes the ice melts and unfortunately the toxins get washed into the waters. This right here results in human development issues such as weakening of the immune system, reproduction and hormone function. Overall all these health issues are preventable and by not having laws in place this issue would continue to get worse.
        
        Canada doing their part to regulate the issue
        
        In this act Canada recognized the transportation of natural resources to the Arctic by the ships and how it's important. The natural resources were significant and still are to Canada's economy. The main natural resources are natural gas and oils. With this being said Canada wants to make sure nothing that's being sent over results in adding harm to the Arctic Waters. Overall Canada has taken initiative by putting this law in place for people to make smart decisions in relation to waste and transportation.
- - - - Another change made to this law was the NORDREG system. This is a system that keeps track of marine traffic. This system notifies the public of any ice conditions and recommended routes. According to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, the purpose of the strategy is to “strengthen Canada’s sovereignty, protect our environmental heritage, promote economic and social development and improve Northern governance.”
    - - What process was used to enact this law?
        
        This law was introduced on April 8th, 1970 and was approved by the House of Commons on June 9th, 1970. This was then approved by the senate on June 17th, 1970. Then on June 26th 1970 this law given royal assent. Fast forwarding to mid September of that year this law had not been announced to the public but was still considered the law under the statute books.
        
        Is this law generally effective?
        
        This law is effective because this law represents determination and effort to fix this problem. However climate change is still a huge problem in the Arctic. Canada has a responsibility as a country to monitor what is going on in the Arctic waters. In order for society to function there needs to be order and this law is providing that. If Canada did not have this law in place this problem would just progressively get worse because there would be no regulations, consequences outlined and no explanation of law enforcement's powers. On the other hand Climate change has escalated quickly in the Arctic and the problems seem to be getting worse but as long as that strict rules are continuing to be enforced there's a huge chance this issue can be reduced significantly.
        
        Are there certain people or events we need to know to understand the law?
        
        Climate Change
        
        In order to understand this law having prior knowledge on climate change and how it correlates with the Arctic is crucial. Climate change has been a huge problem in the Arctic for melting ice, the rising of sea levels and the oil in the Arctic. The temperatures dropping have caused the ice to melt as well as making the sea levels rise. A huge amount of waste made its way over to the Arctic and has turned the waters toxic. The cold weather in winter makes the oil harder to break down resulting in the oil to be trapped under the sea. Therefore the oil is dangerous to the local wildlife animals that are there.
        
        Sovereignty
        
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        Prime Minister Stephen Harper
        
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        Are there emerging concerns with this law?
        
        This law being in force has provoked disagreements between Canada and the United States because of different perspectives. There are natural resources that hold great importance in the Arctic such as energy, oil and gas. The demand of these resources is expected to go up in the future and is an emerging concern because of uncertainty of having enough resources. This concern has lead to sovereignty issues on who has rights to natural resources. "For example, because Canada and the United States do not agree on where the international maritime boundary between Yukon and Alaska lies, rights to any resources existing in the western Beaufort Sea are at stake". Therefore this proves that different perspectives on sovereignty are making these issues harder to deal with.
        
        Different Perpectives
        
        The allowance of cheap and dirty oil
        
        In the newest version of this act there is not any mention of heavy fuel oil or heavy fuel oil pollutants. This is because Transport Canada has communicated with Arctic shipping operators by informing that they don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money to comply with the act's regulations. This means that they won't have to stop using cheap and dirty heavy fuel oils. This is extremely concerning because heavy fuel oil produce's soot that negatively impact's the Arctic. There are black particles that come from this are known to soak and intensify heat. Basically the heavy fuel oil is responsible for 30 percent of global warming in the Arctic. However according to research it " has shown that reducing soot emissions could cool the Arctic faster and more economically than any other quick fix".
        
        Will this law be sufficient in years to come?
        
        Despite the emerging concerns this law has, The likelihood of this being sufficient in many years to come is high. This is because the whole issue of climate change has been going on for awhile and majority of individuals understand the causes of this. This law has made it more of a reality for the improvement of climate change. For example there has been many protests all around the world. Last year on September 24th 2021, there was a national climate strike day where many dedicated their day to advocate for change. This right here proves that awareness is evident and shows a glimpse into how the future is heading. If individuals continue to show dedication by doing their part, the future of climate change is looking bright.
        
        Would I change anything about this law?
        
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        What cases illustrate the application of this law?
        
        R.v. Crown Zellerbach Ltd
        
        The case of R.v. Crown Zellerbach took place at the British Columbia Supreme Court. To sum this case up Crown Zellerbach was a forest production company that got charged for dumping in the deeper waters of the Beaver Cove. The waste wood that they dumped "consisted of waterlogged logging debris such as bark, wood and slab". Therefore because they did this without having a permit this resulted in them getting charged with two counts of dumping waste. They violated the Ocean Dumping Control Act unintentionally because they had a permit but it wasn't acceptable in this area. The BC provincial court ended up dismissing the charges but still wanted to investigate if this act was constitutional in relation to prohibited dumping other than in fresh water's within a province. The concern of dumping substances in the waters correlates with affecting marine pollution, Marine pollution is serious and destroys many habitats. This is mainly important for "finding that all matters related to polluting the ocean are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government owing to the national concern branch of the "peace, order, and good government". Overall this case relates to this law because it highlights the controversies that pollution has on the environment and sovereignty rights.
        
        The Northwest Passage controversy
        
        The Northwest passage controversy is exactly why this law has been created in the first place. A US ice breaking oil tanker as known as the Manhattan made its ways through the Northwest passage in 1969 without asking for the Canada's permission. Canada took this seriously and wanted to prevent this from happening because it was a direct threat to sovereignty rights.Within the year of this occurring Canada came out with the Arctic Water Pollution Prevention Act which enforced all the expectations other countries need to follow in order to prevent controversies.
        
        Is this law effective and will it meet the challenges of the future?
        
        All things considered, As being being known pollution causing climate change has been the root cause of this law. Every single regulation of this law is in place to steer away climate change from destroying our future. Throughout my research of this law I have found many positive aspects as well as some negative aspects. This law does a sufficient job in covering all information that is necessary to fully understand the law. overall this law has taken all precautions in order to make sure the rule of law is evident.