Just because your company has environmental insurance, doesn’t necessarily mean that ‘you’ do. Are you a director or officer of a company that buys or develops land? Well, you are not the company, and the law is different for you. If the company attracts liability, you can be on the hook separately, personally, and for ...
While the process is far from simple, there is money to be made in the purchase of polluted land. Contaminated sites are often offered at a discount, after all. That spells opportunity. But unseen, unexpected costs can eat into your profits. Groundwater, for example, may be the site’s real problem, and it may have moved ...
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 ...
