The regulation of construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of dams in Canada is a provincial/territorial responsibility and is similar to other areas of provincial jurisdiction such as health and education. Unlike some other countries (e.g. France, Portugal, Mexico, South Africa, etc… ), Canada does not have a federal regulatory agency or over-arching program to guide the development of requirements for the safe management of dams.
However, the Federal Government has regulatory requirement over some aspects such as approval of dams to be constructed in navigable waters and dams located on boundary waters with the US (via International Joint Commissions), and dams constructed and operated by the Canadian’s nuclear industry (via Nuclear Safety Commission). The Federal Government also has regulatory interests through the Fisheries Act, Species at Risk Act, the Environmental Protection Act, and the Nuclear Safety and Control Act. The federal government manages its own dams, which are exempt from provincial regulation (e.g. Parks Canada Dams).
Provincial and territorial jurisdictions generally have their own regulatory framework and guidelines to inform the dam owners/operators about roles and responsibilities, regulatory requirements, processes and procedures as well as methodologies for compliance assurance. The provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Québec have varying degrees of specific regulatory requirements. Some jurisdictions may rely on legislation related to management of water resources and make reference to industry best practices as published by the Canadian Dam Association.
The Canadian Dam Association (CDA) is a volunteer organization that was formed in the 1980s to provide dam owners, operators, consultants, suppliers and government agencies with a national forum to discuss issues of dam safety in Canada. The CDA Guidance Documents can provide regulators with a basis for evaluating the safety of dams within their respective jurisdictions.
Before any water retaining structure is constructed or modified, the dam owner requires authorization according to the requirement of to the related jurisdiction and its regulatory authority. There are often different ministries/agencies in each province or territory that are responsible for water dams and mine tailings dams. The regulatory framework that governs dams (water and mining) in each of the Canadian provinces and territories is described in the following.
Links to the governing Acts or Regulation and to appropriate contacts are provided it in the summary table that follows.
Province/ |
Ministry/ |
Contact |
Legislation/ |
Regulation |
Guidelines |
~ Number of Dams |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
British Columbia |
Mike Noseworthy |
Inspection and Maintenance of Dams Consequence of Failure Classification Guidelines Compliance and Enforcement Policy Legislative Dam Safety Review in BC-APEGBC Guidelines Site Characterization for Dam Foundations in BC-APEGBC Guidelines |
1,814 Regulated Dams |
||||
British Columbia |
Heather Narynski |
Dam Safety Inspection Guidelines |
118 |
||||
Alberta |
Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation |
dam.safety@gov.ab.ca |
1250 Regulated dams |
||||
Alberta |
Kristine Haug Manager Dam Safety damsafety@aer.ca 780-427-4037 |
256 Regulated dams |
|||||
Saskatchewan |
Allison Ruecker |
Water Security Agency Act (1) | Water Security Agency Act |
No |
1,300 (2) |
||
Saskatchewan |
Tim Moulding |
No |
No |
29 |
|||
David Hay, Director |
The Water Rights Act - C.C.S.M. c. W80 |
No |
No |
600 |
|||
Ontario |
Ministry of Natural Resources |
Joanna Samson |
LRIA Administrative Guide, Technical Bulletins and Best Management Practices |
3,300+ |
|||
Ontario |
Rob Schryburt |
No |
No |
N/A |
|||
Ministère de l'Environnement, et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques |
Maxine Lacroix |
Règlement sur la sécurité des barrages |
Guides, Forms and Maps (French only/Français seulement) |
6200+ (11) |
|||
Ressources naturelles |
Isabelle Lévesque, Ingénieure experte en géotechnique 418-802-5780 |
La Loi sur |
No |
No |
N/A |
||
|
No (4) |
No |
240 |
||||
|
No |
No (5) |
200 |
||||
Deneen Spracklin |
Water Ressources Act(6) |
|
No |
>700 |
|||
(7) |
No |
No |
No |
N/A |
|||
Philippe Thibert-Leduc |
Waters Act (Yukon) |
No |
No |
21 |
|||
Yukon Territory Mining Dams |
Energy, Mines and Resources | Major Mines Licencing emr-qml@yukon.ca |
Waters Regulation (yukon.ca) |
Guidelines for mine waste management facilities | Government of Yukon |
|||
Kassandra DeFrancis Technical Advisor 867-765-4581 |
Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act |
No |
approximately 100
|
||||
Karen Kharatyan, |
No |
No |
Unknown |
||||
Dr. Grant Su |
No |
Various |
Over 100 |
||||
André Roy |
Internal Directive |
No |
Various |
Over 225 |
Notes: