I will share an experience where the tower was built, people and businesses were ready to move in, but the client, a developer, faced a last minute hold up: No Occupancy Permit. I know, this would never happen, right? How could a tower in a big city get all the way to move-in day without ...
We know land development is complicated – especially when dealing with environmental issues. The process is long, complex and can be unpredictable. Environmental issues on your site can put a roadblock in your development pathway while you navigate frequently-changing regulations and potentially lengthy review processes. We get it. We’ve been there and found the way ...
The Supreme Court of Canada recently released its decision in Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, where a 6-3 majority upheld the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (the “Act”) as ‘constitutional’, which means the government can enact such legislation. Based on this decision, the federal GHG emission pricing standards are here to stay, ...
Teck Coal, a Canadian mining company, is facing $60 million in fines after pleading guilty to two charges of contaminating rivers in southeast British Columbia. This is the highest penalty ever assessed under the Fisheries Act and breaks down to $80,000 per offence per day. The majority of this fine, $58 million, will go towards ...
The suspension of limitation periods has almost been in effect for one year (which oddly feels like it was just yesterday, but also feels like ages ago, blame the “pandemic time warp”). On March 26, 2020, the government initiated a suspension of limitation periods. Previously, the suspension was tied to the provincial state of emergencies; ...
Back in January 2020, we posted about the proposed changes to BC’s site profile system to address the perceived gaps and weaknesses in the current site identification process. Well the time has come – those changes are about to become reality. The amendments to the Environmental Management Act (“EMA”) and the Contaminated Sites Regulation (“CSR”) ...
We recently posted about Bill C-12, the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. On December 11, 2020, the federal government announced a plan that help build a foundation to achieving this goal. The $15-billion plan entitled “A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy” aims to meet Canada’s climate change commitments and includes consistent increases to its ...
Joining hundreds of countries around the world, Canada has declared its intention to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. In an effort to make this a reality, Bill C-12, the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, was recently introduced into Parliament by Canada’s Environment and Climate Change Minister. Before we dive into the new law, let’s start ...
On December 6, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada held two former owners of an Ontario pulp and paper mill liable for the costs of remediating and maintaining a waste disposal site located on the property. The two former owners, Resolute and Weyerhaeuser, are successors of the companies that abandoned the waste site decades prior. ...
The Department of National Defence was recently fined $175,000 under the federal Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 for failing to comply with the Storage Tank Systems for Petroleum Products and Allied Petroleum Products Regulations. This regulation came into force in 2008 to help reduce the risk of soil and groundwater contamination due to spills and ...
