The
protection of our health and environment is a fundamental right of all Canadians.
The recent events of COVID-19 including the designation of essential and
non-essential services, suspension of limitation periods in certain
circumstances has businesses questioning what statues, regulations, standards
or policies have continued to remain in force.
Generally,
those environmental laws, regulations, policies, permits and standards that
pertain to environmental protection, pollution prevention, biodiversity and
conservation, and sustainable development whether federal or provincial remain
in full force and effect. At this point, it is reasonably for all business
operators to assume that the applicable environmental monitoring, reporting and
permitting requirements continue to apply to their operations.
The
province of Alberta however is one of the few provinces that recently suspended
the reporting requirements under its environmental law regime. Alberta’s
approach is similar to that of the United States’ Environmental Protection
Agency that has suspended enforcement of several environmental obligations
during the emergency measures put in place as a result of COVID-19.
It
is important in determining the applicable regulatory requirements during
COVID-19 that businesses review their current obligations and document all
steps taken to maintain compliance.
On
March 17, 2010 by Order in Council 519/2020 the Government of Ontario exercised
its jurisdiction and declared an emergency under section 7.01.1 of the Emergency
Management and Civil Protection Act (“EMCPA”) in response to
COVID-19. The EMCPA provides Ontario with the power to make emergency declarations
and orders to protect the health and safety of all individuals in Ontario.
One
of the initial changes under the EMCPA was the closure of all Provincial Parks.
On March 18, 2020 Ministers Elliot and Yurek issued the following update on Ontario
Parks in response to COVID-19 developments:
As COVID-19 continues to quickly evolve, we want to ensure public safety and the well-being of our visitors and staff in Ontario’s provincial parks. In order to assist the province with it efforts to keep Ontarians safe during this time, all provincial parks will be closed to the public from March 19, 2020 until April 30, 2020. This includes car camping, backcountry camping, roofed accommodations, day use opportunities and all public buildings.
On
March 30, 2020 the Government of Ontario extended the Declaration of Emergency
and associated emergency measures, including the closure of non-essential
workplaces and restrictions on social gatherings. On March 30, 2020 the
Government of Ontario also issued a new emergency order to close all outdoor
recreational amenities, such as sports fields and playgrounds. This new
emergency order closed all communal or shared, public or private, outdoor
recreational amenities.
Until
any further notice all businesses operating in Ontario must continue to operate
in compliance will their applicable environmental permits, licenses and
approvals, including meeting the reporting requirements, except in circumstances
where the regulatory requirements have been specifically suspended. The
Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (“MECP”) can continue to
utilize all of its statutory and regulatory powers and authority. The framework
for obtaining MECP regulatory approvals has not been amended or changed as a
result of order.
If you have difficulty reaching a Ministry of the Environment Conservation and Parks’ representative, Ontario has a general environmental search engine that directly links you to over 800 environmental matters, check out: https://www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/ministry-environment-and-climate-change-resources
At Siskinds LLP we are committed and readily available to you by phone or email and are happy to provide you with experienced legal advice or address any legal issues in all aspects of your environmental concerns. Please contact the Environmental Law partner, Paula Lombardi at paula.lombardi@siskinds.com for more information.
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