When the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 S.C. 1999, c. 33 (“CEPA”) came into force, the intent of the bill was to promote sustainable development by curbing pollution, environmental emergencies, and ocean disposal. Pursuant to Section 90(1) of the CEPA, the Ministers recommended that Plastic Manufactured Items (“PMIs”) be added to the list of substances ...
The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench has provided clarity on the application of Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act to limitation periods for contamination claims. In Paramount Resources Ltd v Grey Owl Engineering Ltd, 2022 ABQB 333, the Court found that s. 218 of the Act could not save a pipeline owner’s claim against an ...
On June 8, 2022, the Canadian Government enacted the Canadian Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System Regulations which enables certain federal projects to generate and sell carbon credits. The goal of the program is to incentivize reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Once a project is eligible to participate in the program, credits are generated when the ...
We are excited to announce that Harper Grey partners, Richard Bereti and Una Radoja have co-authored the newly revised and thoroughly updated Halsbury’s Laws of Canada – Environment (2022 Reissue). Published by LexisNexis, this volume provides a clear and straightforward understanding of the maze of laws, regulations and legal issues that frame the subject area of environmental law. Harper Grey associate, Nicola ...
Time to get your running shoes out…just kidding, it’s not that type of challenge. The federal government recently announced a voluntary Net-Zero Challenge to encourage businesses to develop and implement credible and effective plans to transition their facilities and operations to net-zero emissions by 2050. For companies to participate, they must commit to meet the minimum requirements, ...
In a recent decision, the Alberta Court of Appeal examined the constitutionality of the Impact Assessment Act (the “IAA”) and found it to be an “example of legislative creep” and an unconstitutional exercise of the federal government’s power. The IAA was introduced in 2019 as a mechanism to allow the federal government to regulate major ...
The Environmental Appeal Board (EAB) has clarified that limits and restrictions on activities under permits related to air contaminants cannot be used as a backdoor to target what are really the effects of air contaminants, i.e., odours. In 2018, GFL Environmental Inc. was issued an air quality management permit for the operation of a composting ...
Owners and operators of facilities that meet the National Pollutant Release Inventory (“NPRI”) reporting requirements must submit their reports by June 1, 2022. The NPRI is a publicly accessible inventory of pollutant releases, disposal and recycling governed by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 and managed by Environment and Climate Change Canada. The NPRI is ...
The BC Supreme Court has provided some guidance on injunctive relief available in environmental contamination cases. In Ward v. Cariboo Regional District, the plaintiffs owned a rural residential property near Williams Lake that used a gravity sewage system operated by the Cariboo Regional District. The property suffered from two floods in 2015 and 2020, which ...
The focus on climate-related issues in Canada and internationally has grown rapidly in recent years with climate-related risks having become a mainstream business issue. In the fall of 2021, the Canadian Securities Administrators (the “CSA”) issued a request for comments on the proposed National Instrument 51-107: Disclosure of Climate-related Matters (NI 51-107). NI 51-107 expands ...
