2. Regulatory Framework

• 2.1 Vehicles and Engines Subject to the Planned Regulations
• 2.2 Persons Affected by the Planned Regulations

The planned Marine Spark-Ignition Engine and Off-Road Recreational Vehicle Emission Regulations (hereinafter referred to as "the planned regulations") will establish, under the authority of CEPA 1999, emission standards aligned with those of the EPA.

The planned regulations will be modeled on the Off-Road Small Spark-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations. Throughout the discussion document, footnotes will be used to guide interested readers to the specific provisions of the Off-Road Small Spark-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations that will serve as a model for the planned regulations. However the discussion document can be read without consulting the model regulations.

The planned regulations will apply to marine spark-ignition engines and recreational vehicles manufactured in Canada and "transported within Canada" (i.e., transported between provinces and/or territories) and to marine engines and recreational vehicles imported into Canada. The definitions of the engines and vehicles to be covered by the planned regulations (given in Appendix A) will be based on those found in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations¹⁰.

The following vehicles or engines will not be subject to the planned regulations:

1. vehicles and engines designed exclusively for competition and with features not easily removed and with characteristics that render their use other than in competition unsafe, impractical or unlikely;
2. vehicles and engines regulated by the On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations;
3. vehicles that are powered by compression-ignition engines;
4. engines that are designed to be used in military vehicles and vehicles designed for use in military combat or combat support; and
5. vehicles and engines that are being exported and that are accompanied by a written statement establishing that they will not be sold or used in Canada.

A few special cases described in section 9 of this document will be subject only to portions of the planned regulations.

The planned emission standards will apply to vehicles and engines of the 2007 and later model years. Model year is the year determined by the manufacturer to designate the period of production of a particular model of vehicle or engine. The model year can span a period of up to two calendar years less one day but can include only one January 1. The model year corresponds to the calendar year during which production occurred or during which January 1 fell.

The planned regulations will come into force on January 1, 2007, except for the sections related to the national emissions mark which will come into effect on the date the planned regulations will be registered.

The planned regulations will apply mainly to "companies", as defined in CEPA 1999: "company means a person who

1. is engaged in the business of manufacturing vehicles, engines or equipment in Canada;
2. is engaged in the business of selling to other persons, for the purpose of resale by those persons, vehicles, engines or equipment obtained directly from a person described in paragraph (a) or the agent of such person; or
3. imports any vehicle, engine or equipment into Canada for the purpose of sale."

In CEPA 1999, the term "manufacture" includes any process of assembling or altering any vehicle, engine or equipment before its sale to the first retail purchaser and the expression "to sell" includes to offer for sale or lease, have in possession for sale or lease or deliver for sale or lease.

To highlight that "company" under CEPA 1999 means only specific types of commercial entities, the word will be italicized throughout the rest of this document.

Four different types of persons are potentially affected by the regulations: the three categories listed under the definition of company and a person who is not a company importing a vehicle or engine. Table 1 provides a summary of the requirements for these four different categories of persons. Foreign vehicle or engine manufacturers are not directly subject to CEPA 1999 or to the planned regulations. However, engines imported into Canada must conform to applicable Canadian emissions standards.

¹⁰ The definition of "personal watercraft" will be based on the one provided in the Small Vessel Regulations.