Doing Business in Canada

Doing Business in Canada

Environmental Law

Because regulation of the natural environment has both civil and criminal aspects, and is an area regulated by all three levels of government (federal, provincial and municipal), environmental issues can be complex. One marked difference between Canadian environmental law and American environmental law is that Canadian law does not embrace the “Superfund” theory of liability found in the United States. For the most part, a corporation operating under a permit which allows it to transfer its hazardous waste to a licensed third party waste disposal corporation / site will not have continuing liability for any damage to the environment caused by that waste.

A. Environmental Regulation

The Canadian regulatory regime in the area of environmental law has a number of different elements. However, the main focus is on the following: • prohibition on discharges into the environment; • licence and permit requirements; • reporting requirements for spills and other emissions; • contaminated site clean-up; • ministerial compliance orders; and • environmental assessment and review procedures. The principal federal environmental statutes are the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (regulating among other things, the use, import and disposal of toxic substances), the recently enacted Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (under which certain “designated projects”, as defined in accompanying regulations, may require a federal environmental assessment) and the Fisheries Act (regulating discharges to water bodies). Canada has yet to establish federal requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All provinces have enacted environmental assessment and environmental protection legislation as well. Traditionally, the provinces have been more proactive in monitoring environmental compliance and enforcing environmental legislation. More recently, municipalities have sought to enact local legislation on environmental matters...