June 2007 Issue
readings
Guide Available on Canada’s Offshore
Legislation and Practices
BY BRUCE CALDERBANK, P.ENG.
PEGG Contributor
Canada’s Offshore: Jurisdiction, Rights and Management is available from the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors. This book brings together the current issues raised by international agreements, Canadian legislation and court decisions, which have been discussed in isolation before, but never in a systematic and comprehensive fashion in relations to Canada’s offshore.
For the surveyors’ association and the Canadian Hydrographic Association, the objective of the book is to be the source of information about Canada’s offshore, not only for surveyors but also for everyone with any interest in Canada’s offshore.
The book has been endorsed by the Canadian Dominion Hydrographer and has received favourable reviews.
If you have a question about Canada’s offshore or about international or Canadian laws and legislation concerning the offshore, then you should start your search here. If this book does not contain the full answer, it will direct you to other relevant resources. Most important, this book supplies the context and relationships that are vital to getting the most out of this information.
This book covers
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International practices, customs, laws, an
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Canada’s responses to international ocean-related events through Canadian legislation, regulations and practices
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International treaties and conventions, Canadian court decisions, and the result of arbitration decisions concerning Canada, with specific emphasis on the resulting ocean boundary delimitations
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The mechanics of describing and determining ocean boundaries, and interpreting ocean-related Canadian legislation
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Practical issues related to Canada’s offshore oil and gas industry.
When discussing Canadian issues, the material is organized from the Pacific Coast, to the Atlantic Coast and then to the Arctic Coast. This book features 64 colour figures explaining international law of the sea issues and Canada’s offshore. Extensive footnotes have been included to provide references and further information.
The Association of Canada Lands Surveyors and the Canadian Hydrographic Association saw the need for the book as result of their continuing promotion of an offshore cadastre, and surveying and mapping matters in the offshore, as well as a requirement for one of the ACLS professional examinations. Previously, there has not been a publication that provided a big picture of Canada’s offshore that brought into the picture the practical applications that offshore surveyors deal with.
On Nov. 7, 2003, Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, which, among other things, established the basis for national interests and sovereign rights beyond the traditional three nautical mile territorial sea. Through the 1997 Oceans Act, Canada has also consolidated various pieces of legislation to provide a more cohesive statement on Canada’s offshore interests, including the juridical continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone.
In the 2005 Canada’s Oceans Action Plan, Canada has identified issues such as sovereignty, integrated ocean management, and health of the oceans as priorities, and identified ocean science and technology as one of the tools to meet these priorities. In 2006 these efforts have been reinforced by the Canadian government’s continued efforts to promote Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic.
Bruce Calderbank, P.Eng., is a co-author and editor-in-chief of the guide. He has carried out assignments in more than 25 countries while providing offshore geomatic and quality control consulting services to Canadian and other international oil companies. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a commissioned Canada Lands Surveyor.
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Association of Canada
Lands Surveyors
www.acls-aatc.ca
Trafford Publishing
www.trafford.com
Profits will go towards paying for translation into French