Canada: Environmental Law

The Government of Canada has amended the Physical Activities Regulations, removing certain intraprovincial energy projects and facilities regulated by the Canada Energy Regulator from the federal Impact Assessment Act's Project List. This regulatory change eliminates automatic federal oversight for fossil fuel-fired power plants and specific oil sands facilities, while transferring assessment responsibilities for interprovincial pipelines and transmission lines to the Canada Energy Regulator, potentially re

On September 3, the Government of Canada published amendments removing seven types of energy projects from the Physical Activities Regulations (the Project List) under the Impact Assessment Act (IAA). As a result, these types of projects will no longer be subject to the IAA but will continue to be regulated by the Canada Energy Regulator Act (CER Act) or applicable provincial environmental assessment regimes.

On July 18, 2026, Environment and Climate Change Canada (“ECCC”) published a Notice of Intent to develop a new regulation under the Species at Risk Act (“SARA”) for the protection of the critical...

This comprehensive legislative update covers recent regulatory changes, proclamations, and notices across Canadian federal and provincial jurisdictions. The bulletin tracks amendments to legislation spanning healthcare, environmental protection, securities regulation, insurance, taxation, and professional standards, providing legal professionals with essential information about newly enacted rules and compliance requirements.

Effective August 13, 2026, organizations carrying out certain industrial activities in Québec may face minimum environmental fines up to 10 times higher for violations of the Environment Quality Act (EQA).

Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks has proposed a significant shift in environmental permitting rules that could save industrial facility operators tens of thousands of dollars and help them avoid penalties. The proposal would replace the fixed January 31, 2027 deadline for transitioning from Environmental Compliance Approvals to the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry with a change-based approach, allowing facilities to defer registration until operational modifications ar

La popularité croissante des produits de soins personnels durables et conformes à une philosophie de beauté saine s’accompagne d’une hausse des risques liés à la publicité trompeuse et à l’écoblanchiment.

Le gouvernement fédéral canadien propose des réformes majeures visant à réduire les délais d'approbation des grands projets à un an maximum, en permettant des évaluations d'impact et examens de permis simultanés. Ces changements s'inscrivent dans une tendance plus large observée dans l'ensemble du Canada de simplifier les processus réglementaires pour attirer les investissements dans des projets d'infrastructure à grande échelle.

The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal in a Quebec greenwashing class action against major retailers over "recyclable" bag labels. The case challenges whether products made of theoretically recyclable material can be marketed as recyclable when Quebec recycling facilities don't accept them, with implications for environmental marketing claims across Canada.