Provincial Regulations

Tim Taylor

17 Provincial Regulations

Canada has ten provincial governments and another three territorial governments. Each one has authorities that are derived from either the Constitution or devolved from the federal Government. There are many parallels between the provinces, but no two sets of rules look the same. Each is structured slightly differently. Regulations on environmental issues like hazardous waste often have some commonality, but details can vary province to province. The following is a very brief look at some relevant provincial environmental regulations. The structure we have chosen is to discuss safety first, then water acts then the principal environmental acts in use in the province.

British Columbia

Starting west to east, British Columbia has two interesting acts in the Water Protection Act and the Environmental Management Act. They also have other acts discussed in other chapters including the Environmental Assessment Act. A full listing of environmental relevant acts can be found at the British Columbia’s website.

Workers Compensation Act, RSBC 2019, c 1

The Workers Compensation Act is the overall Act that regulates health and safety in the workplace in British Columbia. One of the 12 regulations written under the act includes the health and safety regulations. Anyone working in British Columbia other than people working for a federal entity need to follow these regulations. Federally regulated employers must follow the Canada Labour Act.

BC’s act differs slightly from other provinces in that health and safety is linked to workers compensation. Workers compensation is a form of insurance for workers in the province.

Water Protection Act, RSBC 1996, c 484

The Water Protection Act focuses on ownership of water in British Columbia. It establishes that the province owns all surface water. This allows the province to license and manage water withdrawals. The act also prohibits major transfers of water between watersheds.

Environmental Management Act, SBC 2003, c 53

The Environmental Management Act is British Columbia’s omnibus environmental bill. One of the chief concepts is the very broad definition of waste which includes effluent o air and water. There have been 55 regulations written against this act making it one of the most important environmental acts in British Columbia. Regulations vary from codes of practices for several industries to cleaner gasoline regulations. Anyone working in the environmental sector in British Columbia should review this act.

Alberta

Similar to British Columbia, Alberta has several important acts that regulate environmental issues. They also have several regulators who make specific rules and enforce them, each authorized by an act. An interesting regulatory element of Alberta is the land planning regulations.

Occupational Health and Safety Act, SA 2020, c O-2.2

Occupational Health and Safety in Alberta is often abbreviated as OHS. It is important to cite the province when mentioning these regulations as many jurisdictions have similar sounding names for similar legislation.

In Alberta it is divided into three components (Alberta, n.d.):

The act
The regulations
The code

Professionals often focus on the code as it contains much of the detailed rules for occupational health and safety.

Alberta Land Stewardship Act, SA 2009, c A-26.8

The Alberta Land Stewardship Act is an overriding legislation that divides the province into distinct regions for environmental planning. Two plans have been completed, the remaining planning areas are in progress. Other environmental regulations must follow this planning act. It is a unique legislation in Canada.

Water Act, RSA 2000, c W-3

The Alberta Water Act is similar to the British Columbia water act in purpose. The Alberta water act concerns the management of water including the allocations of water as a resource. It defines activities that need authorization under the act.

The Water Act is also an old regulation in Alberta. It established how water would be allocated in the province.

Alberta Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, RSA 2000, c E-12

Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, RSA 2000, c E-12 (AEPEA) is the Alberta omnibus environmental regulation. It authorizes many regulations ranging from environmental assessment to the methane reduction regulation (Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, 2021).

The Act authorizes Alberta Environmental and Parks as a regulator and establishes the penalties that can be used for violations of the act and regulations.

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan also has many acts that relate to the environment. These include, from Saskatchewan’s website the following:

Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSS 1993, SS 1993, c O-1.1

In Saskatchewan health and safety regulations were made under the authority of the occupational health and safety act. As in other provinces this act regulates workplace safety. It was repelled in 2014 and replaced with the Saskatchewan Employment Act.

The Saskatchewan Employment Act, SS 2013, c S-15.1

This act includes occupational health and safety considerations and is in art 3 of the act. This act is more inclusive of employment issues than pother provides which have dedicated occupational and health acts.

Saskatchewan Watershed Authority Act, 2005 (S.S. 2005, c. S-35.03)

The Watershed Authority Act is the Saskatchewan equivalent of water act and is concerned with water allocation and not water quality.

The Environmental Management and Protection Act, 2010, SS 2010, c E-10.22

The Environmental Management and Protection Act is similar in scope to other provinces environmental act and covers contaminated sites, wastes and other areas of environmental concern

There are 16 regulations that are written under the authority of the Act. These regulations cover many different types of wastes.

Manitoba

Manitoba’s regulations are perhaps not as complex as either Alberta or British Columba. Environmental regulations including environmental assessment rules are consolidated in the omnibus environmental regulation.

The Workplace Safety and Health Act, CCSM c W210

In a similar vein to to other provinces, Manitoba has a separate act for regulating health and safety in the workplace. This too is must read for anyone working in Manitoba.

The Water Rights Act, CCSM c W80

Similar to other provinces, Manitoba has a water act that relates to water allocation. Water diversion are regulated under this act. Water quality is not included, similar to the other western provinces water acts.

The Environment Act C.C.S.M. c. E125

The Manitoba environmental act establishes the authority to ensure the environment “is protected and maintained in such a manner as to sustain a high quality of life, including social and economic development, recreation and leisure for this and future generations,”

This is a version of the definition of sustainable development. The Act considers authorities of the Minister, establishes the Department and sets the authority to make further regulations. There are 29 regulations ranging from waste management, water management, to environmental assessment.

Ontario

Ontario, as arguably Canada’s largest economy has a suite of environmental acts and regulations. Does this make it a stricter regime? With any act or regulation it depends a lot on the details. So experts vary on how effective the regulatory regime is in Ontario.

Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSO 1990, c O.1

In Ontario the health and safety of workers is governed by the Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSO 1990, c O.1 and its regulations. Over time over 40 regulations have been written with many of them now repealed. One interesting one is University Academics and Teaching Assistants, RRO 1990, Reg 858, which states that the act applies to university members and their teaching assistants. It is interesting to see what caused this to be written as a regulation. Certainly in Alberta the code applies to universities.

Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993, SO 1993, c 28

So far in our journey across Canada, this environmental bill of rights legislation is unique. While unique, it is, after understanding the general statement of intent, somewhat technical act.

Clean Water Act, 2006, SO 2006, c 22

The Clean Water Act, is concerned for protecting source areas of water. So the act is concerned about protection of the sources of drinking water. It also concerns water allocation, but is somewhat different from western Canada water acts which are predominately about water allocation. Ontario’s Ontario Water Resources Act, RSO 1990, c O.40, is perhaps closer to the western Canada water allocation acts.

Environmental Protection Act, RSO 1990, c E.19

Th Environmental Protection Act is Ontario’s version of the omnibus environmental law. It does not include environmental assessment as that is a separate act for Ontario. It has been used to authorize over 100 regulations. Many of these have been rescinded. In force regulations vary from local air quality concerns to waste to discharge of sewage from pleasure boats. This act would be the predominate environmental act in Ontario.

Quebec

Quebec is different than other provinces in as much as civil law, descended from France in effect. The remainder of Canada uses common law which has descended from the English common law. Civil law is regulations focused rather than judge made law. It may be why each act tends to have more regulations under it than other provincial jurisdictions. Another element of the legislation Quebec is that it is written in french first then translated to english. CANLII has the complete works translated into english. However Quebec websites that explain the rules may only be partially translated.

Act respecting occupational health and safety, CQLR c S-2.1

The safety act of Quebec manages workplace health and safety. It has authorized 80 regulations, about half half been rescinded. An interesting element of the acts regulations is a reference to building codes in its regulation Building Code – 1985 Regulation, CQLR c S-2.1, r 0.1.

Water Resources Preservation Act, CQLR c P-18.1

Similar to other provinces Quebec has a water act that claims ownership of water in the province. An interesting aspect of the act is the following provision for paragraph 2 of the act; “From 21 October 1999, no water taken in Québec may be transferred outside Québec”. There are several exceptions to this rule, including bottled water, but it is an interesting political statement in the act.

Environment Quality Act, CQLR c Q-2

The Quebec Environmental Quality Act states it is fundamentally to “Ensure that environmental protection, improvement, restoration, development, and management are of general interest.” There are 100 regulations under the act, with about half currently in 2022 rescinded. Current regulations include clean air regulations, greenhouse gas regulations, water quality regulations, waste regulations and many more.

One of the regulations is the Regulation respecting the regulatory scheme applying to activities on the basis of their environmental impact, CQLR c Q-2, r 17.1 which sets out the process for environmental assessment in Quebec and includes specific provisions for including climate change. Environmental assessment is included in three regulations under the Environment Quality Act. Two are geographically restricted; one to northeastern Quebec and the other to the James Bay and northern region of Quebec.

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia also has a suite of environmental acts and regulations. Some of these acts are quite specific. From Nova Scotia’s government website some highlighted acts are:

Anti-idling Act
Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act
Importation of Hydraulic Fracturing Wastewater Prohibition Act
Voluntary Carbon Emissions Offset Fund Act
Wilderness Areas Protection Act
Environment Act, SNS 1994-95, c-1

Occupational Health and Safety Act, SNS 1996, c 7

Workplace safety is governed in Nova Scotia is governed by the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The Act authorizes 16 regulations, 8 of which have been rescinded as of the writing of this book.

Water Resources Protection Act, SNS 2000, c 10

The Water Resources Protection Act is about protecting water sources, so is focused on allocation rather than quality. So it is similar to other water acts, but is not as prescriptive in water allocation rights.

Environment Act, SNS 1994-95, c 1

The Environment Act is Nova Scotia’s omnibus environmental act. Over 90 regulations have been authorized by this act and about a third are rescinded as of the writing of this book. Regulations range from sewage treatment, used oils and environmental assessment. One regulation of interest is Regulations Respecting Greenhouse Gas Emissions, NS Reg 260/2009. This regulation provides for reporting requirements and emissions caps for greenhouse gases.

New Brunswick

New Brunswick has several environmental related regulations including environmental impact assessment. Some of their acts from their website include:

Clean Air Act
Clean Environment Act
Clean Water Act
Environmental Trust Fund Act
Community Planning Act
Pesticides Control Act
Unsightly Premises Act

Similar in concept to other environmental regulatory regimes, the New Brunswick execution is slightly different in that there is not a clear environmental omnibus act.

Occupational Health and Safety Act, SNB 1983, c O-0.2

Workplace health and safety in New Brunswick is regulated through the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The act establishes employer responsibilities and requirements for safety and health programs. There are seven active regulations authorized by the act. Overall it is consistent with other provincial structures.

Clean Environment Act, RSNB 1973, c C-6

The Clean Environmental Act regulates elements of the environment including wetlands, contaminates and environmental impact assessment. There are currently no regulations authorized by the act. So the act itself must be reviewed to find the details that are sometimes reserved for regulations.

Clean Water Act, SNB 1989, c C-6.1

The Clean Water Act is similar to other provinces’ water acts as it asserts ownership of water in the name of the crown. Where it differs from many other provincial water acts is the inclusion of water contamination in the scope of the act. The act authorizes ten regulations which range from potable water quality, to wetland protections.

Clean Air Act, SNB 1997, c C-5.2

The New Brunswick Clean Air Act is also a divergence from environmental acts in other provinces as it separates out air quality for regulation. It currently authorizes five regulations that include ozone depleting substances.

Community Planning Act (o.c. 2019-171)

The Community Planning Act establishes the Appeal Board that is used to appeal Environmental Assessment outcomes. The Assessment and Planning Appeal Board Regulation 2019-28 is published under the authority of this act. This regulation establishes the authorities of the Board and formats of appeal.

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is the smallest province in size and population. However it still has a similar structure of acts. One unusual one is the Environmental Tax Act which might otherwise be called a tire tax. One could speculate it is labeled this way to allow for expansion to other environmental issues.

Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSPEI 1988, c O-1.01

In Prince Edward Island safety and health in the workplace is legislate using the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It authorizes 5 active regulations including one on workplace hazardous materials information systems and another on harassments.

Water Act, RSPEI 1988, c W-1.1

The Water Act does discuss allocation but also is concerned about quality and intergenerational equity for access to waters. The act authorizes four regulations, including sewage, water well construction, water systems ,and allocation.

Environmental Protection Act, RSPEI 1988, c E-9

The Environmental Protection Act is an omnibus act that comes many aspects of environmental protection. Some of the areas it covers are environmental assessment, litter, water wells, ozone depleting chemicals, and waste. The act has been used to authorize 26 regulations and about a third of those have been rescinded.

Environment Tax Act, RSPEI 1988, c E-8.3

The Environmental Tire Tax authorizes the collection of a tax on new tires sold in Prince Edward Island. Perhaps a better title might be Environmental Tire Tax. Tire taxes are not unusual and do occur in other provinces including Alberta.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador have a similar structure to other provinces. Similar to Alberta and several other provinces it has selected sector regulators, each authorized by their own act, that can write sector specific regulations. Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) also has a final agreement with the Inuit of northern Labrador which influences regulation making in the province.

Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSNL 1990, c O-3

This occupational safety act has been active since 2013. This is quite a long span of time. Occupational health and safety rules generally get update more frequently, but perhaps the act gives them the framework to write current rules. The act authorizes five current regulations and five others have been rescinded. One of the rescissions was WHMIS which was replaced by an updated WHMIS.

Water Resources Act, SNL 2002, c W-4.01

Similar to other provinces the focus of the Newfoundland water resources act is to manage and control distribution of water in the province. It has a couple of interesting caveats. One is that water must also be managed in reference to the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Act, SNL 2004, c L-3.1. The land claims agreement takes precedent where there is a conflict. This interesting development will be echoed in the territorial regulatory regimes. The other caveat is the water demand for the Churchill Falls power project. The Churchill Falls ( Labrador ) Corporation Limited (Lease) Act, 1961, SNL 1961, c 51 is mentioned directly in the water act.

Environmental Protection Act, SNL 2002, c E-14.2

The Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Environmental Protection Act is also an omnibus environmental bill encompassing environmental topics that include waste management, spills, air emissions, contamination, and pesticides. Similar to the water resources act the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Act, SNL 2004, c L-3.1. is referenced directly in the NL environmental act. As with other provincial environmental acts it authorizes many regulations. It has authorized 32 regulations with the majority still being effective.

Section Conclusion

This brings us to the brief end of our tour of the provincial regulations. The key to this section is that it is just a sampling of regulations. Hopefully you start to see some parallels. For example many provinces have water acts that contemplate water rights. They also have very similar names, so when referencing them, a reference like the water act, would not be helpful unless it is more specific.

A note on structure is that it is common place to have rescinded regulations. A excellent example of a rescinded regulation is for workplace hazardous management information systems (WHMIS). This is due a new version based on international standards largely replacing the older versions.

As emphasized elsewhere it is essential to work with the most current regulations to ensure compliance.

Learning Questions

What makes BC’s approach to health and safety acts slightly different to other provinces?
What is an interesting element of Newfoundland’s and Labrador’s environmental acts?
How many provincial environmental acts can be abbreviated as EPA?
Given that methods to protect the environment transcend boundaries, why are there so many variations on the theme?