BACKGROUND In 2019, Parliament passed the Impact Assessment Act, SC 2019, c. 28, s. 1(the “Act”), intended to create more protections for the environment, restore public trust and advance reconciliation efforts with Indigenous peoples. The Act replaced the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, SC 2012, c. 19, s. 52(“CEAA”),which was intended to expedite the approval of major resource development projects and resulted in many legal challenges. Many Indigenous peoples supported the Act as it included provisions that required Indigenous consultation, environmental impact assessments, integrated ..read more

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 deemed toxic. In 2021, PMIs were added to Schedule 1 via the Order Adding a Toxic Substance to Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (the “Order”). A number of chemical and plastics resin manufacturing companies br ..read more

The Court of Appeal in 0694841 B.C. Ltd. v. Alara Environmental Health and Safety Limited clarified the environmental due diligence requirements when assigning a purchase agreement to another party. BACKGROUND 0694841 B.C. Ltd. (“069”) entered into a purchase agreement for commercial property. As part of its due diligence, 069 hired Alara Environmental Health and Safety Limited (Alara) to conduct environmental assessments. Alara found that the property was free from environmental contamination. In its report, Alara included a disclaimer extinguishing itself from liability to third parties if t ..read more

Planning to move soil for an upcoming project? You may be impacted by recent changes to BC’s soil relocation process. The province has officially moved away from ‘soil relocation agreements’, introducing new amendments to the Contaminated Sites Regulation which came into effect on March 1, 2023. A few of the major changes are explored below. SOIL TESTING Soil testing must now be conducted whenever 30 or more cubic meters of soil is relocated from a site where “commercial or industrial uses” have occurred. This testing will determine whether the soil is contaminated or uncontaminated, and depen ..read more

Back in 2021, we posted about the significant changes to BC’s site profile system that came into effect that year. At the time, the “old” site profile system was replaced with the new site disclosure system. You can check out that blog post here. On March 1, 2023, new amendments to the Contaminated Sites Regulation (CSR) were introduced. Most of these amendments addressed changes to the soil relocation regime, but there were a few important tweaks to the CSR dealing with site identification. This blog post will explain these changes and their potential significance. New and Improved Site Discl ..read more

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 project either prevents greenhouses gases from being emitted or removes greenhouses gases beyond normal business practices and legal requirements. For every tonne of CO2 equivalent reduced, a project is awarded one offset credit. Companies regu ..read more

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 engineering firm whose allegedly negligent work contributed to a spill. Section 218 of the Act permits a judge to extend a limitation period where the basis for the proceeding may be an adverse effect resulting from the alleged release of a substance into the ..read more

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, which includes setting a net-zero target for 2050 or earlier with at least two interim emissions reduction targets. If a company fails to meet the minimum targets or deadlines, they risk getting boot ..read more

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 Virk, also assisted with the research and update process of this latest edition. The Halsbury’s Environment title is a longstanding research volume t ..read more

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 facility in Delta. One of the purposes of this permit was to ensure the facility would not make the surrounding area too smelly. To accomplish this, the permit put limits on odorous emissions through the use of a “Sniff Test”, whereby an “Approved Pers ..read more