On February 6, 2018, the federal government introduced Bill C-68, An Act to amend the Fisheries Act and other Acts in consequence. Bill C-68 is part of an overhaul of environmental legislation, as promised by the federal Liberal Party as part of its election platform.
In November 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau published mandate letters to his cabinet ministers ...
Over the past 14 months, the Federal Government has been working to review environmental and regulatory processes and to rebuild public trust in these systems. Our posts of June 26, 2016 and April 7, 2017 discuss the Federal Government’s proposed scope of the review and highlight the recommendations provided by an expert panel with respect to the review. The review ...
In 2016, the Government of Canada began reviews of federal environmental legislation and the National Energy Board (NEB). At the same time, Parliamentary standing committees undertook reviews of changes to federal fisheries and navigable waters laws. Reports from those four processes were released earlier in 2017.[1]
The Government of Canada has now released a ...
On June 20, 2016 the Government of Canada announced its review of several environmental and regulatory processes. The review will focus on three areas:
- the federal Environmental Assessment process, which was revised in 2012 by the Conservative government,
- modernization of the National Energy Board, and
- the federal Fisheries Act and Navigation Protection Act, both of ...
On November 25, 2013, significant amendments to the fish protection provisions in the federal Fisheries Act came into force. For more information, please see our earlier blog post here.
Authorizations issued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) prior to November 25, 2013 continue to be valid, but holders can apply for a review of their authorization to confirm whether it ...
On November 25, 2013, significant changes to the Fisheries Act come into force. The most significant, and most controversial, change in the legislation is the shift away from “habitat” protection to “fisheries” protection. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (“DFO”) has published a policy, the Fisheries Protection Policy Statement, 2013, and an operational ...
This is the first of two blog posts on the statutory powers of investigation and inspection granted under the federal Fisheries Act, examined through the lens of a recent series of cases beginning with R v Mission Western Developments Ltd., 2010 BCPC 274, involving a property developer charged with harmful alteration of fish habitat contrary to section 35 of the Fisheries ...
On April 26, 2012, the Federal Government introduced Bill C-38, which implements various components of Canada’s 2012 federal budget announced on March 29, 2012 and in its April 17, 2012 Plan for Responsible Resource Development. The most significant change included in the bill is the complete repeal and replacement of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act
On April 17, 2012 the federal government announced its Plan For Responsible Resource Development, setting out further details on steps to implement proposals for streamlining the federal environmental assessment (“EA”) process. This Plan follows on the heels of the federal budget and the Statutory Review of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, which both ...
As reported in previous issues through its not for profit corporation, the Sandy Pond Alliance has launched a challenge to sections 5 and 27.1, and Schedule 2 of the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (“MMER”). Where a mining project cannot operate its tailing impoundment area in compliance with the thresholds set out in the MMER, adding a water body to Schedule 2 permits ...
About Us
Lawson Lundell's Environmental, Indigenous and Natural Resources Blog focuses on environmental, indigenous and natural resources law, as well as related litigation. Included are summaries of significant cases from Canadian appellate courts, changes in the legal framework governing resource development including energy and climate change policy, and key decisions from the more influential regulatory bodies in Canada.
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