BC, MB, ON and QC belong to the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), in which members set up cap-and-trade systems that require covered companies to report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions every year.
6 Key Facts about the WCI Reporting Requirements:
1) Companies with designated operations must report …

More and more, the general public, government and investors are demanding that manufacturers make environmentally responsible products—and be able to show the environmental impact of those products throughout their life cycles. But companies sometimes make misleading or false claims about the environmental impacts or benefits …

Unlike in the US, class actions are still relatively rare in Canada. But they’re becoming more common, especially for environmental claims. For example, an Ontario court permitted a class action in an environmental case and awarded the plaintiffs $36 million in damages. But that decision …

SITUATION
The owner of a paper manufacturing plant sells the facility and land, which has been polluted as a result of the plant’s operation. So the owner agrees to pay the buyer $5 million to remediate the contamination and dredge a lagoon. In return, the buyer …

An environmental compliance audit can help your company assess its compliance with the environmental laws and the conditions of any approvals or permits as well as the overall effectiveness of its EHS program. An audit can also help you identify ways to reduce waste, save …

Your company is responsible for ensuring that the hazardous waste it generates is disposed of properly. One aspect of this duty is allowing only authorized hazardous waste companies with the appropriate licences or Certificates of Approval to remove and haul your waste. If you let …

A company operated a resin production facility on property in Ontario until an explosion and fire permanently closed the facility. The resin company then leased the property to another company. MOE inspectors found numerous drums of resin, cylinders of boron triflouride and bags of asbestos …

A processing plant released a mixture of mostly saline wastewater with some hydrocarbons into a nearby creek. In addition, the company failed to immediately report the pipeline release of approximately 850,000 litres of wastewater into a water body. As a result, almost one kilometre of …

Suppose a company tries to comply with an environmental requirement but fails because of a genuine error. Is an honest mistake a defence to an environmental violation? Answer: Yes—but only if the mistake was not only honest but also reasonable. Here are two cases illustrating …

Spill reporting requirements are one of the cornerstones of environmental protection laws. By requiring companies and individuals to report spills of contaminants, the government ensures that they’re addressed as soon as possible, thus reducing the harm to the environment. So is a company’s failure to …