By: Cheryl Wong
This is a list of select proposed EHS regulatory changes in Canada, the United States, and the European Union. Nimonik monitors EHS legislation, regulations and standards in over 30 countries and 400 jurisdictions. If you would like to track EHS legislation in specific regions, jurisdictions or countries, we are happy to help. Please send us a request for more information here and we will get in touch shortly.
Canada
- Federal – Share your thoughts: Proposed Release Guidelines for Chemicals Used in the Rubber Product Manufacturing Sector
- Alberta – Bill 41 – Wildlife Amendment Act, 2025
- Manitoba – Bill 29 – The Workplace Safety and Health Amendment Act
- Manitoba – Bill 22 – The Environment Amendment and Waste Reduction and Prevention Amendment Act
- Saskatchewan – Changes to The Surface Rights Acquisition and Compensation Act (2025)
- Quebec – Bill 97, An Act mainly to modernize the forest regime
United States
European Union
Canada – Federal
Share your thoughts: Proposed Release Guidelines for Chemicals Used in the Rubber Product Manufacturing Sector
Published Date: 22 March 2025
Industry Sector: Chemical Industry, Hardware Manufacturing
The Government of Canada announced its intention to provide “guidance and concentration targets to reduce industrial effluent releases of substances of concern. The initial substances included in the proposed release guidelines are TMTD (CAS RN 137-26-8) and BENPAT (CAS RN 68953-84-4)”.
The change would be made by enacting the Release Guidelines for Chemicals Used in the Rubber Product Manufacturing Sector.
Interested parties may submit comments until 21 May 2025.
Additional information is available here.
Alberta
Bill 41 – Wildlife Amendment Act, 2025
Published Date: 15 April 2025
Industry Sector: General Industry
The Government of Alberta has announced its intention to modernize hunting regulations. The change would notably “permit hunters to kill black bears and cougars for meat without [preserving] the hides”. The change would also “allow hunters to use leashed dogs to track wounded big game animals like deer, and shoot waterfowl from motorized boats as long as the boat isn’t in motion” and “allow people to transport certain injured animals to a veterinarian or rehabilitation facility without a permit […] as long as the animal doesn’t pose a threat to the person”.
The change would be made by amending the Wildlife Act.
Additional information is available here and here.
Manitoba
Bill 29 – The Workplace Safety and Health Amendment Act
Published Date: 17 April 2025
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management and Maintenance
The Government of Manitoba announced its intention to update workplace safety and health regulations. According to the Government, the change would notably:
- expand the purposes of the Act “to include enabling workers to work in psychologically safe workplaces”
- confirm dangerous work to be “work involving an imminent risk of serious physical or health injury where reasonable controls have not been put in place;”
- provide that “complaints regarding reprisals in unionized workplaces continue to be dealt with under the Act” and that “wages lost due to a reprisal may be collected as if they were unpaid wages under The Employment Standards Code;”
- extend “the period during which improvement orders and stop work orders must be posted at a workplace” and provide that “orders of the branch may be served electronically;”
- specify that “related employers may be treated as a single employer for the purposes of the Act” and;
- provide that “An employer who is required to conduct a risk assessment must ensure that the assessment is carried out by a competent person.”
The change would be made by amending The Workplace Safety and Health Act.
Additional information is available here.
Bill 22 – The Environment Amendment and Waste Reduction and Prevention Amendment Act
Published Date: 15 April 2025
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management and Maintenance
The Government of Manitoba announced its intention to update environmental regulations. According to the Government, the change would notably:
- “prohibit the unauthorized release of a pollutant that may have an adverse effect on the environment;”
- “establish reporting and notification obligations for the director and persons responsible when there is a release or imminent risk of a release of a pollutant, including an obligation to notify the local authorities in affected areas;”
- “enable an environmental protection order to be used to require that specified steps be taken to notify those who may be affected by a release of a pollutant; and”
- “modernize the manner in which public notice of proposals and hearings may be given.”
The change would be made by amending The Environment Act and The Waste Reduction and Prevention Act.
Additional information is available here.
Saskatchewan
Changes to The Surface Rights Acquisition and Compensation Act (2025)
Published Date: 22 April 2025
Industry Sector: Mining and Minerals Industry, Oil and Gas Industry
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources has announced its intention to support the acquisition of surface rights for wells and other infrastructure used for injecting and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) underground.
According to the Government, the change would establish a “right of entry” “for surface infrastructure that [would be] used to inject and store CO2 at a subsurface CO2 storage site. Such sites include wells and facilities, access roads, power lines, flow lines and service lines”.
The change would be made by amending The Surface Rights Acquisition and Compensation Act.
Interested parties may submit feedback until 16 May 2025.
Additional information is available here.
Quebec
Bill 97, An Act mainly to modernize the forest regime
Published Date: 23 April 2025
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management and Maintenance
The Government of Quebec has announced its intention to:
- allow “for the division of development units in forests in the domain of the State into priority forest development zones, conservation zones and multi-purpose zones and [allow] for the forest development conditions to vary according to those zones”
- specify “that, in priority forest development zones, the carrying out of certain activities that restrict the carrying out of forest development activities, as well as the implementation of conservation measures for an area are prohibited”
- replace “timber supply guarantees by sustainable forest development licences and [to extend], from 5 to 10 years, the period of validity of forestry rights allowing for the supply of a wood processing plant as well as the interval between the revision of allowable cuts”
- replace “existing forest planning tools and [to assign] responsibilities to the holders of those forestry rights in the forest planning for forest development activities and in the carrying out of non-commercial silvicultural treatments”
- require “that the holders of a sustainable forest development licence and other holders of forestry rights […] enter into forest coordination agreements and timber apportionment agreements to organize their interventions”
- revise “the criteria and process for the certification of forest producers in the private domain [and] the […] penal sanctions
- introduce “a system of monetary administrative penalties”
Additional information is available here.
United States
Rescinding the Definition of “Harm” Under the Endangered Species Act
Published Date: 17 April 2025
Industry Sector: General Industry
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (“the Services”) have announced their intention to “rescind the regulatory definition of ‘harm’ in our Endangered Species Act (ESA or the Act) regulations.”
According to the Services, the existing definition “which includes habitat modification, runs contrary to the best meaning of the statutory term ‘take’,” which means “to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.”
The change would remove habitat modification and/or destruction from the types of activities that are prohibited.
Interested parties may submit comments until 19 May 2025.
Additional information is available here and here.
European Union
Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the registration documents for vehicles and vehicle registration data recorded in national vehicle registers and repealing Council Directive 1999/37/EC
Published Date: 24 April 2025
Industry Sector: Road Transportation
The European Commission has announced its intention to improve the legislative framework for vehicle registration documents, vehicle registration data, and the exchange of such data among Member States to “further improve road safety in the EU, contributing to sustainable mobility and facilitating the free movement of people and goods in the EU.” In addition, the European Commission addresses one of the specific objectives of the proposal on “the detection of defective vehicles, to allow for the detection of defective/tampered safety and emission (i.e., air pollution and noise emission) control systems, as well as of odometer fraud”.
According to the content of the proposal, the proposed Directive would notably cover the following points:
- Vehicle registration certificate rules, including both physical and mobile vehicle registration certificates;
- Data to be recorded and kept in national vehicle registers; and
- Mutual recognition of vehicle registration certificates and re-registration of vehicles in other Member States.
Additional information is available here.
Past months’ proposed changes are available here: March 2025, February 2025, January 2025, December 2024, November 2024, October 2024
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