Worldwide: Environment

This comprehensive legislative update compiles recent bills, regulations, proclamations, and notices from federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions across Canada. How do these diverse legislative changes across multiple jurisdictions impact regulatory compliance and legal practice in areas ranging from environmental protection to securities regulation?

Developing AI data centres in Canada requires navigating complex corporate structuring, financing arrangements, regulatory approvals, energy supply agreements, real estate considerations, environmental permitting, and stakeholder engagement across multiple jurisdictions. This comprehensive guide examines the legal and regulatory frameworks governing the physical infrastructure side of data centre development, from site selection and power procurement to Indigenous consultation and municipal approvals.

On May 12, 2026, the Government of Canada (Government) released the Getting Major Projects Built in Canada - Discussion Paper on Proposed Legislative, Regulatory, and Policy Reforms (Discussion Paper). The Discussion Paper outlines proposed legislative, regulatory and policy reforms to reduce the regulatory burden facing proponents of major projects, ensure federal decisions are made in a timely manner and ultimately attract investments in large-scale projects in Canada.

Québec's government has introduced a comprehensive draft regulation to modernize its hazardous materials management framework, marking the first major overhaul since the late 1990s. The reform introduces five key focus areas including enhanced traceability systems, new disposal charges, clearer rules for accidental releases, refined regulatory standards, and more stringent requirements for disposal sites. These changes aim to strengthen accountability across the hazardous materials management chain whi

Environmental laws impose strict obligations to prevent, report, and control discharges and releases, appropriately manage and dispose of waste, and protect wildlife.

Ontario's Ministry of the Environment has proposed significant amendments to its extended producer responsibility regulations that would impose stricter collection timelines, expand call-in requirements...

Green Rise Foods Inc. v. N.V. Hagelunie, 2026 ONCA 334, is a recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal about insurance coverage for a business loss caused by a series of related events.

On May 15, 2026, the Prime Minister of Canada and the Premier of Alberta announced an agreement to implement the Canada-Alberta Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) announced in November 2025. This implementation agreement (Agreement) is the latest announcement on intergovernmental cooperation and formalizes the draft cooperation agreement announced in April and discussed in our March 25, 2026 Update: “Canada and Alberta sign draft cooperation agreement on impact assessment after historic MOU”.

Sustainable living does not have to end with your lifetime. In today’s increasingly eco-conscious world, more and more individuals are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint and leave things “greener” for future generations. Eco-friendly estate planning can integrate those values into practical decisions that reduce your environmental impact while caring for loved ones after your death.

Dans une affaire sans précédent, un tribunal de la Caroline du Nord a rejeté une poursuite concernant le climat, intentée par la Ville de Carrboro contre une société de services publics, constatant que les justifications de la réclamation n’étaient pas « justiciables » (en d’autres mots, elles ne relevaient pas de la compétence des tribunaux).

In a case of first impression, a North Carolina court has dismissed a climate lawsuit brought by the town of Carrboro against a public utility company, finding that the matters raised in the claim were not justiciable or, in other words, inappropriate for determination by a court.

Developments in mining-related investment arbitration in 2025 reflected the ongoing evolution in environmental, social, and governance considerations affecting sovereign risk, project viability, and dispute outcomes. Issues of social licence to operate and host State regulatory responses to environmental and social concerns continued to feature prominently.