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Published on: 12 Dec 2018 By

Bill 66 – Expanded Municipal Zoning Power Would Make Some Environmental Land Use Policies Optional

UPDATE: Government announces that it will not be proceeding with Schedule 10 of the Bill. See update here. On December 6th, 2018, Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018, passed first reading in the Ontario legislature. The government’s Proposal Summary on the Environmental Re…

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Published on: 6 Dec 2018 By

New Municipal Resources on Ontario’s Drinking Water Source Protection Program

Conservation Ontario, a non-profit association that represents Ontario’s 36 Conservation Authorities, has released new resources for municipal councillors and staff on Ontario’s Drinking Water Source Protection Program. The Drinking Water Source Protection Program was implemented pursu…

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Published on: 27 Nov 2018 By

2018 Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Annual Report

The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (“ECO”) released her office’s 2018 Annual Report, titled, “Back to Basics: Respecting the Public’s Voice on the Environment” on November 13, 2018.[1] The Report is published in four volumes, spanning 339 pages. Volume 1 reports on government ministri…

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Published on: 22 Nov 2018 By

Government “Eco Fees” on New Tires Eliminated

If you recently purchased winter tires in Ontario you may have noticed that the government “eco-fees” charged on the purchase of new tires was eliminated as of October 1, 2018. The fee, which was approximately $3.30 per tire for passenger and light trucks was levied by the government to supp…

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Published on: 15 Nov 2018 By

Environmental Bill of Rights “Leave to Appeal” Test Remains a Significant Hurdle to ECA Appeals

The Environmental Review Tribunal (“ERT” or “Tribunal”) released a decision in Freshway Investments Inc. v. Ontario (MECP) on November 5, 2018 denying an application for leave to appeal an Environmental Compliance Approval (“ECA”) for a Waste Disposal Site in York Region, Ontario (the “Site”…

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Published on: 12 Nov 2018 By

Federal Environmental Assessment and Land Use Planning: Interjurisdictional Issues

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has released a decision which demonstrate that the relationship between environmental assessments and land use planning remains as complex as ever, especially when interjurisdictional issues are involved. The October 29, 2018 decision in Halton v. CNR, 2…

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Published on: 25 Sep 2018 By

Environmental Commissioner’s 2018 Greenhouse Gas Progress Report

On September 25, 2018, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario released the 2018 Greenhouse Gas Progress Report: Climate Action in Ontario: What’s Next? The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO) is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario created by the Environme…

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Published on: 17 Sep 2018 By

Ontario Files Argument in Court Challenge of Federal Carbon Tax Act

On September 14, 2018, the government of Ontario filed a statement of particulars in the constitutional challenge of the federal government’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act filed on August 1, 2018. By Order in Council the Province set out the question to be addressed by the court as: “…

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Published on: 4 Sep 2018 By

New Fisheries Minister’s Mandate to Advance Bill C-68 – the reform of the Fisheries Act

On August 28, 2018, Prime Minister Trudeau issued a fresh mandate letter to Canada’s new Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honorable Jonathan Wilkinson, who was appointed on July 18, 2018. The minster is directed to implement and develop the Oceans Protection Pl…

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