28 Conclusion

Without doubt, change is one of the biggest factors in the environmental field.  Possibly the only thing we can reliably predicted is that things will change.

Today environmental science has advanced rapidly, both in technology and comprehension.  The public has become more engaged in environmental issues.  Understanding and expectations are higher.   And with climate change, the threats are global in nature.  Environmental regulations are influenced by international treaties and requirements.

It follows that environmental regulations have been changing and will continue to change.  Few regulations are static.

The challenge for any environmental work, with out limitations, is to stay current.  It requires continuous education.

Presented in this eBook are some fundamentals of Canadian environmental regulation.  They are current as of 2022, but the specifics will become obsolete with time.  So a reader is recommended to understand the basics.   Canadian law can be complicated, no one around in the mid 1800s (well those writing laws anyway) really understood what environment was and never incorporated it into the constitutional framework.  Canada, today, has a mixed bag of who is responsible for what.   Often the supreme court having to sort things out.

We have international agreements, federal laws and provincial laws.  Each has their jurisdiction and despite some populist notions each has their place under the constitution and must be complied with.

Climate change will prove to challenging to work through our regulatory system.  Who is responsible for what.  When the hard decisions have to made there will be disagreements and the courts will be solving our challenges again.

For now understanding the fundamentals will stand environmental scientists in Canada good stead.