Worldwide: Environmental Law

Osler's Legislative Update is a bi-weekly listing of new legislation. This issue covers legislation for the period 04/23 to 05/06.

The federal government has introduced ambitious proposals to streamline infrastructure project approvals, building on last year's Building Canada Act. These reforms aim to reduce federal decision timelines to one year and consolidate Indigenous consultations through a new Crown Consultation Hub. The proposals include creating Federal Economic Zones that would exempt certain projects from individual impact assessments and granting Cabinet new authorities to expedite major infrastructure development.

Quebec has published comprehensive amendments to its environmental impact assessment and review procedure, introducing more detailed upfront requirements, expanded public consultation roles, and new ministerial authorities. The changes aim to streamline decision-making while requiring proponents to provide substantially more information at earlier stages of the process.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently confirmed that company executives can be personally liable for environmental infractions.

On April 16, 2026, the province of British Columbia passed Bill 15, the Environmental Assessment Amendment Act, 2026 (Bill 15), to amend the dispute resolution processes in the Environmental Assessment Act (EA Act).

Ad Standards Advisory has issued new guidance to help Canadian advertisers navigate environmental claims and avoid greenwashing.

On April 2, 2026, the Government of Alberta (Alberta) and the Government of Canada (Canada) announced the execution of a finalized Co-operation Agreement on Environmental and Impact Assessment (Co-operation Agreement).

Ontario's Ministry of the Environment has proposed significant amendments to producer responsibility regulations that would expand tire collection requirements, delay recycling efficiency rates for certain hazardous products...

In November of 2025, the federal government introduced Bill C-15, otherwise known as the Budget Implementation Act, 2025, No. 1, to implement certain provisions of the 2025 federal budget, which included proposed...