Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreements

Summary#

The federal government says it has negotiated a set of environmental occurrences notification agreements under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The draft agreements (with several provinces and Yukon) were posted on October 18, 2025 and are open for public comment for 60 days.

What it does#

• Creates a streamlined notification system so one report can cover both federal and provincial/territorial needs for an environmental emergency or occurrence (for example, an oil or chemical release).
• Lets 24-hour provincial/territorial contact points receive initial notifications and forward them to Environment and Climate Change Canada for federal oversight.
• Makes six proposed agreements available for review:
  • Canada-Alberta Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreement
  • Canada-British Columbia Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreement
  • Canada-Manitoba Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreement
  • Canada-Ontario Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreement
  • Canada-Saskatchewan Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreement
  • Canada-Yukon Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreement
• Provides how to get copies and comment: request copies or send comments by email to UrgencesEnvironnementales-EnvironmentalEmergencies@ec.gc.ca or by mail to the Environmental Emergencies Division, Minister of the Environment, 351 Boulevard Saint-Joseph, Gatineau, Quebec J8Y 3Z5.
• Notes that respondents can ask that information they provide be treated as confidential under section 313 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

Who's affected#

• Businesses and facilities that must report environmental emergencies (for example, energy companies, chemical plants, transporters of hazardous goods).
• Provincial and territorial emergency contact centres and their staff.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada and provincial/territorial environmental authorities that handle emergency oversight and response.
• Anyone who wants to review or comment on the proposed agreements during the consultation period.

Why it matters#

• It could reduce the number of separate reports industry must make during an emergency, saving time and lowering administrative duplication.
• Faster, clearer sharing of notification information between provinces/territories and the federal government can help officials assess and coordinate responses more quickly.
• These are proposed agreements open for comment, so details could change after the public consultation that began October 18, 2025.
• The notice was signed by Julie Dabrusin on September 26, 2025, and the public comment option includes a confidentiality mechanism under the act.