Resource Library
Welcome to the East Coast Environmental Law Resource Library. Here, you can find a wide range of resources on environmental law issues throughout Atlantic Canada.
Explore our FAQs to learn more about our Resource Library and what it contains.
If you want accessible learning materials on general topics, try searching our Summary Series first to see if we have a guide or toolkit that meets your needs.
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Brief to the Special Senate Committee on the Building Canada Strong Act on Bill C-39
Moving at the speed of good process takes time, but it is time well spent when effective assessment and authorization processes support the following: meaningful Crown-Indigenous consultation and the securing of Indigenous peoples’ free, prior, and informed consent (“FPIC”); meaningful public engagement; complete effects assessment; the identification of major projects that have the best potential to contribute positively to sustainable development in Canada; and, the imposition of mitigation, accommodation, and monitoring measures that will avoid harms and contribute to positive outcomes. Strong assessment and authorization processes can support all of these crucial components while also using time and resources economically. Informed and nuanced tailoring can improve regulatory efficiency, but sweeping deregulation will be counterproductive in the long run.
Brief to the House of Commons Legislative Committee on Bill C-39
Moving at the speed of good process takes time, but it is time well spent when effective assessment and authorization processes support the following: meaningful Crown-Indigenous consultation and the securing of Indigenous peoples’ free, prior, and informed consent (“FPIC”); meaningful public engagement; complete effects assessment; the identification of major projects that have the best potential to contribute positively to sustainable development in Canada; and, the imposition of mitigation, accommodation, and monitoring measures that will avoid harms and contribute to positive outcomes. Strong assessment and authorization processes can support all of these crucial components while also using time and resources economically. Informed and nuanced tailoring can improve regulatory efficiency, but sweeping deregulation will be counterproductive in the long run.
Joint Letter to House Leaders on Committee Consideration of Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act
Bill C-39 is 232 pages long and amends 18 statutes and four regulations, enacts a new law and repeals a law. It is complex and will have far-reaching implications related to the environment, public health and safety, workers rights and trade and transportation. Its many provisions require careful, expert scrutiny that cannot be adequately addressed through a single, newly formed committee alone.
Submission on “Getting Major Projects Built in Canada — Discussion Paper on Proposed Legislative, Regulatory, and Policy Reforms”
In our view, the measures proposed in the Major Projects Discussion Paper go beyond effective coordination and reduction of genuine redundancies. In some cases, they go far beyond the scope of what is necessary to balance the competing priorities that the Government of Canada is facing today. Taken as a whole and taken to their limits, the reforms proposed in the Discussion Paper risk doing significant damage to federal reconciliation efforts, Indigenous rights recognition, environmental protections, protections for human health and the right to a healthy environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, and democratic decision-making and accountability.
Atlantic Offshore Wind Coalition Position Paper on Powering Canada Strong: A National Strategy for an Electrified Canadian Economy
While each of the AOSWC partners works on several issues related to electrification, this position paper on the National Strategy focuses on federal funding and financing commitments and other federal actions that are urgently needed to enable a successful offshore wind industry in Atlantic Canada.
Letter of Comment in Matter No. M12663: Nova Scotia Independent Energy System Operator (IESO Nova Scotia) – 2026-2027 Revenue Requirement and Fees Application
In recent months, we have received inquiries from individual community members, community groups, and environmental organizations in Nova Scotia concerning the procurement process that the Nova Scotia Independent Energy System Operator (“NS IESO”) initiated in autumn 2025 to seek the construction of one or two fast-acting power generation facilities in Pictou County.
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