2. Canada

Abstract

In Canada’s federal system, most environmental legislation is enacted by the provinces, but 2017 was a year in which many of the most significant developments in environmental legislation were at the federal level. The government of Canada is in the process of making three significant legislative changes to the current environmental law: proposed amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (SC 1999, c. 33) and the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, and the repeal and replacement of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (SC 1999, c. 33). These changes will result in environmental law that more explicitly integrates international norms, environmental rights, sustainable development, and meaningful public participation and consultation with Indigenous peoples. The Canadian Environmental Protection Act is the centrepiece of Canadian federal environmental legislation. This extensive and complex legislation addresses wide-ranging issues, including public participation (SC 1999, c. 33, ss. 11–42), information gathering (ss. 43–55), pollution prevention (ss. 56–63), controlling toxic substances (ss. 64–103), biotechnology (ss. 104–15), controlling pollution and managing wastes (ss. 116–92), emergencies (ss. 193–205), and Aboriginal land (ss. 206–15). There are two notable changes underway to the Act—a discrete change that is long overdue and a recommended overhaul of the entirety of the Act.