Nationwide Flurry Of Activity On Environmental Bills Of Rights

Hot on the heels of several provinces introducing Environmental Bills of Rights ("EBRs"), Ontario has just announced a review of its Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993. In March 2016, both British Columbia (Bill M 236-2016) and Manitoba (Bill 20) introduced EBRs (this was a re-introduction of the Manitoba bill, which died on the order paper when a provincial election was called). In May, 2016, Nova Scotia also introduced an EBR (Bill 178). Prior to the provincial bills, on December 3, 2015, Private Member Linda Duncan introduced a Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights for the second time in the House of Commons.

Ontario was at the forefront of environmental legislation when it passed the EBR. At this juncture, the primary criticism of the law is that it is fundamentally a statute about process. The EBR allows for greater information and consultation with citizens, and other processes for environmental participation, but it does not create a substantive right to a