Worldwide: Environmental Law

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.

As Canada faces unprecedented wildfire seasons with millions of hectares burned and major communities destroyed, legal liability pathways are rapidly evolving.

Canada's federal government, British Columbia, and Alberta have announced coordinated plans for a new interprovincial oil pipeline from Alberta to BC's south coast, marking a major development in Canadian energy infrastructure policy. The proposed West Coast Oil Pipeline Project would transport one million barrels of heavy crude daily from Bruderheim, Alberta to Roberts Bank, crossing the traditional territories of approximately 90-125 Indigenous communities. This analysis examines the legal and practical i

British Columbia is consolidating natural-resource compliance and enforcement functions from multiple ministries into a single agency. The BC Compliance and Enforcement Agency launches July 1, 2026, bringing together over 400 staff under the Ministry of Environment and Parks to deliver more consistent oversight across the province's resource sector.

Parliament has enacted Bill C-30, introducing significant amendments to Canada's Pest Control Products Act and Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act that grant Cabinet unprecedented authority to issue emergency orders overriding pesticide safety decisions. These new powers allow the government to temporarily authorize pesticide use or reinstate cancelled registrations based on national economic security and food security considerations, even when environmental risks are deemed unacceptable. The legislative ch

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.

La Cour suprême de la Colombie-Britannique a confirmé que les engagements convenus en matière de consultation peuvent déterminer la portée requise d’une consultation.

Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) has launched a major projects identification committee (MPIC) process for identifying large (10 megawatt or greater) projects. The MPIC is designed to support the provincial government’s latest integrated energy plan, which forecasts significant growth in electricity demand up to 2050. The MPIC webpage can be found here. The IESO will schedule a follow-up webinar in Q3 to provide relevant updates on the MPIC process and discuss progress to date.