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ARTICLE · 16 JULY 2020

Ontario Government Proposes Overhaul Of Environmental Assessment Act

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
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On July 8, 2020, the Ontario Government proposed an overhaul of the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act (EAA) as part of the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020 (Bill 197).

CanadaEnvironment
Grace Smith
Grace Smith
Jonathan Kahn
Jonathan Kahn
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On July 8, 2020, the Ontario Government proposed an overhaul of the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act (EAA) as part of the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020 (Bill 197). For a review of the remainder of Bill 197, please see our July 2020 Blakes Bulletin: Building on Recovery: Ontario's Infrastructure-Related Legislative Developments.

The proposed reforms are part of the government's Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan (Plan), released by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) in November 2018. Following the Plan, in April 2019, the MECP published a discussion paper, Modernizing Ontario's Environmental Assessment Program, which outlined anticipated changes to the environmental assessment (EA) program, several of which are reflected in Bill 197.

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