Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreements

Summary#

The Government of Canada says the Minister of the Environment has signed a set of notification agreements about environmental occurrences under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The agreements with several provinces and one territory were made available on June 17, 2023 on the CEPA registry website.

What it does#

• The notice announces that the Minister of the Environment has entered into environmental occurrences notification agreements with:
  • 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
• It says the agreements are available on the CEPA Environmental Registry at the government website listed in the notice.
• The notice is signed by Steven Guilbeault, Minister of the Environment.

Who's affected#

• Directly: the federal environment minister and the governments named above (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Yukon).
• Possibly affected: agencies and officials who handle environmental incidents, and the public, businesses, or communities near incidents.
• The notice itself does not describe the content of the agreements, so it is unclear exactly which other groups or sectors will be affected or how.

Why it matters#

• These kinds of agreements usually set out how governments notify each other about spills, releases, or other environmental incidents. That can affect how quickly authorities learn about and respond to events.
• Because the notice does not include the agreements’ text, people or businesses interested in details should consult the CEPA registry entry to see what the agreements say about notification, roles, and timelines.