Much of the world seems to have come to a complete standstill. We all share a singular priority – stop the spread of COVID-19. For nearly everyone, this means there is no business as usual. Some are working at home, some are experiencing layoffs, and everyone has experienced drastic changes to every imaginable aspect of life. While we continue to work on projects, we do so with a great deal more caution to protect everyone from this pandemic. While we don’t know when...
Read MoreMore Environmental Regulatory Changes in Ontario
In our December 20, 2019, blog we discussed some of the changes to the (Ontario) Environmental Protection Act. Most notably, we provided information with respect to excess soils management; however, the government of Ontario revealed other changes at the end of 2019. In the Backgrounder titled, “Regulations and Statues in Force as of January 1, 2020,” a list of changes (across several ministries) were shared. With respect to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation,...
Read MoreEnforcement of Environmental Laws in Canada
It was about ten months ago in our first blog of 2019 that we shared news of two environmental fines: A pulp and paper company was ordered to pay $3.5 million for violations of the Fisheries Act. A seafood company was fined $115,000 for contravening the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. It was just the next month in our February 28th blog where we again shared more enforcement news: Syncrude paid $3 million for violating the Migratory Birds Act, and Green For Life...
Read MoreThe MECP Issues Their Environmental Protection Plans
According to Rod Phillips, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), the “Preserving and Protecting our Environment for Future Generation, A Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan,” is a “…clean break from the status quo.” According to Mr. Phillips, “We understand the pressure Ontarians feel with rising costs of living as well as skyrocketing energy costs that have hurt our economy and our competitiveness. They are understandably frustrated to see their...
Read MoreEnvironmental Enforcement News Across Canada
We are taking a break from news regarding vapour intrusion, managing excess soils, and the hot button issue of PFAS to provide a brief update on environmental enforcement activity. Below are just a few of our environmental enforcement observations. Pipeline Release How we move natural resources from their point of extraction to refinement and then to actual distribution is an important issue. Mishandling these products can affect human health and the environment. We move a...
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