DFO Decides “Last In, First Out” Policy (LIFO) is Out

On January 26, 2022, the British Columbia Court of Appeal extended an injunction preventing protesters from interfering with a logging…

On November 5, 2021, the Province of Nova Scotia passed the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act. The Act will serve as the…

The New Brunswick Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulation, effected under the N.B. Climate Change Act, establishes specific…

Canada’s aquaculture industry is poised for growth but that growth is being challenged by regulatory uncertainty and a lack of confidence…

Canadian entities regularly contract with foreign companies to provide services in Canada. To complete its obligations under the contract, the…

This publication has been updated as at July 22, 2021. On May 26, 2021, the Hague District Court in the Netherlands ordered Royal Dutch Shell…

On April 7, 2021, the Nova Scotia government introduced Bill 97, amendments to the N.S. Electricity Act aimed at growing the solar industry in…

This publication has been updated as at August 4, 2021. 2020 was a year filled with challenges, including in the relationship between…

The long-awaited amendments to federal fisheries regulations codifying key aspects of the Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) PIIFCAF…

This publication has been updated as of May 5, 2021. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led many employees to continue working from home, by…

This publication has been updated as of April 23, 2021. Employers that hire and employ temporary foreign workers must comply with many and…

As countries around the world grapple with the spread of COVID-19, global restrictions and containment measures have presented a range of…

The global COVID-19 (a.k.a. Coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2) outbreak has implications for many commercial relationships, its evolving nature and…

Tidal developers considering responding to the FORCE Berth D procurement now have a clearer view of just what the successful proponent will get.…

Note: In December 2020, the federal government published the long-awaited final amendments to federal fisheries regulations codifying key…

The Environmental Emergency Regulations, effected under section 200(1) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and in force since…

Note: On June 21, 2019, Bill C-68, An Act to Amend the Fisheries Act and other Acts in consequence, took effect. We originally published this…

The growing global population is feeding global demand for seafood. Growing demand is likely to drive investment, particularly mergers and…

Immigration is one of the key solutions to looming (and current) worker shortages in Canada. But an employer that hires a foreign worker must…

If enacted, Bill C-69, An Act to enact the Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, to amend the Navigation…

The Crown’s duty to consult Indigenous Peoples has evolved considerably since the Supreme Court of Canada’s first detailed articulation of…

The Canadian federal government has finally revealed how it proposes to regulate offshore renewable energy developments in federal waters. On…

On February 8, 2018, the Canadian federal government proposed a new Impact Assessment Act in Bill C-69, An Act to enact the Impact Assessment…

The much-anticipated Nova Scotia marine renewable energy regime finally has the force of law.  First introduced over two years ago, the Nova…

Over the past 15 years, most of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decisions respecting Indigenous Peoples in Canada have revolved around the…

On November 30, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada denied Geophysical Service Incorporated’s (GSI) application for leave to appeal the decision…

It’s official: as of October 31, 2017, “facilitation payments” contravene Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA).…

On November 3, 2017, the Newfoundland and Labrador Government published new Offshore Oil Royalty Regulations replacing the Royalty Regulations,…

On November 2, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada was faced with the Ktunaxa Nation’s claim that a Ministerial decision to approve a project…

The fourth round of NAFTA negotiations is set to start on October 11, 2017. But in the meantime, the Canada-European Union Comprehensive…

On October 5, 2017, the N.S. government took another step toward creating a globally competitive marine renewable energy industry and associated…

Atlantic Canada is at a turning point. The region’s history and economic development have historically been inextricably linked to the ocean.…

In the not-so-distant past, Canadian enforcement of its anti-corruption and anti-bribery legal regime has been relatively laid-back. But the…

All stakeholders in any major project development already know that adequate consultation before - rather than after - a project is approved is…

The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) is making waves in Canada, and for good reason: it casts the net of…

On May 19, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear the appeal of the Federal Court of Appeal’s 2016 decision in Canada v Mikisew Cree…

The Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act is one of several anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws aimed at fighting corruption in the…

NOTE: On November 30, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada denied Geophysical Service Incorporated’s (GSI) application for leave to appeal the…

On April 13, 2017, Canada’s federal government introduced legislation that, if passed into law, will legalize recreational cannabis in Canada.…

Recreational cannabis isn’t legal yet - but much of the associated stigma is already gone, usage is up and employers are feeling the workplace…

Adding a third jurisdiction to Gard Update’s comparison between privilege in the corporate context under U.S. and English law, McInnes Cooper…

Note: Consultants who were already lobbying and in-house lobbyists already employed by an organization when the new Act took effect were…

Legal uncertainty is a barrier to investment, and thus an adversary to growth. Unfortunately, when it comes to new and innovative technologies…

Legal uncertainty is never a good thing for industry: it’s a barrier to investment, and thus an adversary to growth. Unfortunately, the law is…

Doing business with the public sector creates an often overlooked – but very real – risk that the confidential information a business…

On January 11, 2017, Emera Inc. offered an electrifying opportunity for renewable energy developers to potentially access the New England…

As 2016 draws to a close, Oil & Gas Team @ McInnes Cooper offers its picks for the top three legal developments of 2016 that impacted the…

On December 14, 2016, Bill 46 and the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Procurement Act became law. The new Act isn’t yet in effect, however,…

On December 13, 2016, the Province of Nova Scotia released for comment draft regulations that will establish the Solar for Community Buildings…

Recently, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court denied a motion for a temporary stay of proceedings to prevent the deployment of certain tidal devices…

It’s been a long time coming, but Newfoundland and Labrador is finally getting new public procurement legislation. On November 29, 2016, Bill…

The balance between the public’s interest in accessing offshore petroleum resources data and operators’ commercial interests is at the heart…

On September 9, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided in Musqueam Indian Band v. Musqueam Indian Band (Board of Review) that an Indian band…

The Ontario Court of Appeal has re-ignited the discussion about when a municipality will be held liable for its shoddy bylaw enforcement…

As of July 1, 2016, packed cargo containers to which the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), Chapter VI, Regulation…

On June 16, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided a municipality’s “notice of reserve”, a mechanism to prevent construction, on land…

Administrative monetary penalties, or “AMPs”, are a new phenomenon in the Canadian offshore. AMPs were introduced to the Newfoundland &…

On June 3, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada, in two related decisions, strengthened the legal protection of solicitor-client privilege in…

On June 2, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada denied an Alberta First Nation’s request to appeal the Court of Appeal’s dismissal of its bid…

Each Provincial government is under the legal duty to consult; the manner in which each carries out its legal duty to consult differs depending…

It’s now certain: in Newfoundland & Labrador, liens can’t be placed on Crown land or holdbacks with the possible exemption allowing for…

“Due diligence” is a legal defence to many charges under occupational health and safety (OHS) laws. Here are five of the most…

On April 15, 2016, Bill No. 149, The Mineral Resources Act (2016) (2016 Act), passed its second reading in the NS House of Assembly. Although…

On April 14, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that Métis and “non-status Indians” are “Indians” under section 91(24) of the…

When a business responds to a public sector Request for Proposal or Expression of Interest (both of which we’ll refer to as an RFP for these…

In what appears to be the first case of the conviction of a front line supervisor under section 217.1 of the Criminal Code and sentencing to a…

On February 26, 2016, the bulk of the offshore-related amendments of the Energy Safety and Security Act (ESSA, formerly known as Bill C-22) take…

On January 29, 2016, the New Brunswick Power Corporation (NB Power) kicked-off compliance with its obligations under the new Electricity from…

A practical and current guide created to help you navigate the increasingly important issues surrounding offshore decommissioning and…

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea requires parties, of which Canada is one, to make payments in respect of oil production on…

On July 27, 2015, the Federal Court of Canada decided a lawsuit by medical marijuana program participants against the Federal Government…

On the heels of National Aboriginal Day, we pause to take a look back at two significant Aboriginal law cases decided in the last year, how…

On April 15, 2015, British Columbia’s Court of Appeal confirmed that First Nations can make certain legal claims grounded in Aboriginal rights…

Most people know that a company itself has OHS obligations, and that it risks corporate liability if it violates those obligations. However, not…

On April 15, 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada decided the City of Saguenay’s recitation of a religious - though non-denominational – prayer…

The market for the sale and the supply of goods is a global one for many businesses in today’s economy. Both exporting goods from Canada and…

On January 30, 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada decided that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom’s protection for freedom of…

“Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) as a concept has been floating around in business-speak for years – but stakeholders in the mining…

On June 26, 2014, in a groundbreaking decision on Aboriginal title, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) significantly elaborated on the legal test…

On May 23, 2014 the Federal Court of Canada decided the Federal Treasury Board Secretariat’s interpretation of the policy for compensating…

On March 31, 2014 the NS Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) issued a new policy applicable to its adjudication of psychological injury claims…

On June 14, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30 v. Irving Pulp…

Recent developments in Ontario and Yukon are an important reminder of the practical implications of the Crown’s legal Duty to Consult with…

On November 19, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) unanimously ruled a B.C. public school system’s failure to provide adequate and…