Environmental Law

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    Environmental Law

    Businesses are increasingly aware of the importance of the environment in their operations and decision-making. That’s why understanding the legal and regulatory framework governing their projects is so crucial to their long-term success.

    Our team is ready to advise and guide you on a wide range of environmental issues. We leverage an effective multidisciplinary approach, drawing on the pooled expertise of our members and developing strategic partnerships with professionals in related fields of practice to offer our clients the best solutions for their strategic and business objectives. In addition, we have significant expertise and experience in settling disputes, both in and out of court.

    Our lawyers excel in the following areas:

    • Determining the scope of environmental assessments
    • Providing legal and strategic advice and representing clients in environmental assessment study processes
    • Helping to draft and file permit and approval applications
    • Conducting environmental due diligence and offering strategic advice on environmental risks relating to acquisitions, mergers and financing
    • Drafting environmental representations and warranties, and other undertakings relating to acquisitions, mergers and financing
    • Providing strategic advice at each phase of a project (feasibility analysis, implementation, operations, divestment)
    • Assessing environmental compliance
    • Managing atmospheric emissions, wastewater and hazardous materials
    • Advising on climate change, such as emissions trading, offsets and carbon pricing
    • Providing legal and strategic advice pertaining to the ownership or custody of contaminated land, the drafting of authorization applications and the filing of notices of contamination and decontamination
    • Managing requests for access to information in environmental matters
    • Negotiating with interest groups and government agencies
    • Representing employers in disputes:
      • Class actions involving environmental issues
      • Actions relating to contaminated land, neighbourhood disturbances (odours, noise, etc.) and other environmental damage
      • Defending against criminal charges for alleged violations of environmental law
      • Contesting ministerial or municipal decisions before administrative tribunals and civil courts.
      • Actions concerning insurance coverage of environmental damage
      • Actions involving allegations of professional negligence by environmental consultants or firms

    Headlines

    Publications
    October 30th, 2023

    Reference re Impact Assessment Act: Supreme Court majority rules that the presumption of constitutionality cannot save the Act from being unconstitutional in part
    Introduction On appeal from a decision of the Court of Appeal of Alberta in the context of a reference, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “Court”) recently concluded that the federal impact assessment scheme consisting of the Impact Assessment Act1 (the “IAA”) and the Physical Activities Regulations2 is unconstitutional in part.3 A majority of the Court, […]
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    Publications
    May 29th, 2023

    Insurance in the era of climate change
    Starting in the 2000s, the Actuaries Climate Index began to trend upward in Canada, reflecting the increasing probability of extreme weather events.1 More recently, a single event resulted in massive insurance claims. The 2016 fires in Fort McMurray caused nearly $10 billion in damage, a third of which was insured. It was the country’s biggest […]
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    Publications
    March 16th, 2023

    COP15 and its impacts on Indigenous and environmental law
    In December 2022, Montreal hosted the 15th Conference of the Parties (“COP15”) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity1 (“CBD”). The global meeting adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (“Kunming-Montreal Framework”),2 a non-binding agreement that sets historic goals and targets but leaves the means to achieve them in the hands of party states. This article […]
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    Awards and recognition
    August 25th, 2022

    The Best Lawyers in Canada 2023
    33 Langlois lawyers recognized in most recent The Best Lawyers in Canada edition, including Valérie Lemaire as Lawyer of the Year and five others as Ones to Watch
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    Publications
    December 14th, 2021

    Overview of the recent decision involving Gaspé Énergies
    In a voluminous 87-page decision, the Court of Quebec recently overturned a review decision by the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources (hereinafter the Minister). The Court returned the case to the Minister to decide on Gaspé Énergies’ application for authorization to conduct exploratory drilling, taking into account the Court’s reasons for judgment, which found […]
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    Awards and recognition
    August 26th, 2021

    The Best Lawyers in Canada 2022
    Langlois Lawyers is being recognized in the 2022 edition of the prestigious legal directory Best Lawyers in Canada, with 36 of its lawyers selected in some 30 practice areas. Furthermore, Paul-Arthur Gendreau and Tina Hobday were named Lawyer of the Year in their respective areas of Administrative and Public Law and Employee Benefits Law.
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    Publications
    July 22nd, 2021

    Adoption of the Regulation respecting the traceability of excavated contaminated soils
    On June 28, 2021, the Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change announced in a press release the adoption of the Regulation respecting the traceability of excavated contaminated soils (the “Regulation”), which was subsequently published in the Gazette officielle du Québec on July 7. The establishment of a traceability system is aligned […]
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    Publications
    July 13th, 2021

    Regulatory framework for the reclamation of slightly contaminated soil
    In August 2019, several amendments to the Land Protection and Rehabilitation Regulation (“LPRR”) and the Regulation respecting contaminated soil storage and contaminated soil transfer stations (“CSSTS”) came into force to guide and further promote the reclamation of slightly contaminated soil. Several of these new provisions were then repealed and integrated, on December 31, 2020, into […]
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