Draft Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreements

Summary#

The Minister of the Environment has negotiated six draft environmental occurrences notification agreements under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The draft agreements with Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Yukon were made available for public consultation on January 29, 2022.

What it does#

• Announces that draft notification agreements between the federal government and the six named provinces/territory are posted on the CEPA Environmental Registry for public review.
• Invites input: “Any person” may file comments or a notice of objection within 60 days after the notice was published.
• Tells people where to send responses: to the Minister of the Environment, attention of the Manager, Horizontal Policy, Environmental Emergencies Division (email provided in the original notice).
• Notes that respondents may ask that information they provide be treated as confidential under section 313 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

Who's affected#

• The federal Environment department and the governments of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Yukon (they are the parties to the draft agreements).
• Anyone with an interest in how governments are notified about environmental occurrences — for example, members of the public, community groups, environmental organizations, and companies that respond to or report environmental incidents.
• The notice itself says “any person” can comment; it does not limit who may participate.

Why it matters#

• These agreements spell out how the federal and provincial/territorial governments will notify one another about environmental occurrences. That affects how quickly different governments learn about and coordinate responses to incidents that may harm the environment.
• The public consultation is an opportunity for people and organizations to read the draft agreements and raise concerns or suggest changes before they are finalized.