Resources, Articles, & Advocacy
Legislative Update | June 27, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 23
Crime Bill with Tougher Bail, Sentencing Provisions Coming in Fall: The federal government will table a bill this fall introducing stricter bail conditions and sentencing for some crimes, particularly those involving organized crime, human trafficking, home invasion and car theft. Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the government will “at minimum” implement the crime policies the Liberals promised during the spring federal election. These include making bail more difficult to get for some offences. They also promised tougher sentencing guidelines for repeat car thieves and violent and organized crime, and to allow for consecutive sentencing for some cases of car theft and for serious and violent offences.
Article | June 27, 2025
A Municipality’s Obligation to Comply with the Endangered Species Act: A Summary of The Corporation of the Municipality of Marmora and Lake v. His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario
What happens when legal duties under different legislation appear to conflict? In a recent case, The Corporation of the Municipality of Marmora and Lake v. His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario, 2024 ONSC 2254 ,the Municipality of Marmora and Lake (the “Municipality”) considered this question when its required road maintenance work allegedly disturbed an endangered species and its habitat.
Article | June 24, 2025
Accelerated Project Approvals Under the Building Canada Act
On June 6, 2024, the federal government tabled Bill C-5: An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility Act and the Building Canada Act (the One Canadian Economy Act) to, among other things, accelerate approvals for energy and infrastructure projects that are designated as being in the national interest by enacting the Building Canada Act. This legislation aims to address pressing geopolitical, energy security, and economic concerns, while enhancing Canada's national prosperity and protecting the environment, and respecting the rights of Indigenous peoples. The One Canadian Economy Act faces a short sitting period in a minority Parliament, but Prime Minister Mark Carney has suggested that the sitting could be extended to ensure the Act is passed.
Article | June 24, 2025
UNDRIP and the Duty to Consult: Findings in the Kebaowek Case
This article provides a brief overview of the decision of the Federal Court of Canada in Kebaowek First Nation v. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, 2025 FC 319 (“Kebaowek”). For the first time, the Federal Court interpreted the role of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (“UNDRIP”) within the duty to consult and accommodation framework. Among other things, the Court found that, because of UNDRIP’s adoption into Canadian law, the duty to consult and accommodate must be informed by it and decision makers must now consider how UNDRIP may impact the interpretation of Canadian law, including the fulfillment of section 35 obligations. The Court also clarified that the free, prior and informed consent under UNDRIP does not mean a veto or a right to a particular outcome, but rather, a right to a robust process.
Article | June 24, 2025
Ontario Aims to Overhaul Regulatory Requirements for Critical Infrastructure and Mining Projects under Bill 5
As part of its broader legislative initiative under Bill 5, the Protecting Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025 (Bill 5), the Ontario government has introduced a suite of proposed legislative reforms aimed at accelerating approvals for mining and critical infrastructure projects. One of the most consequential proposals includes significant amendments to the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA).
Article | June 24, 2025
A Bird's Eye View of the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025
On June 5, 2025, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025 ("Act") came into force. The Act aims to protect Ontario from global economic uncertainty by enacting measures that the government believes will stimulate Ontario's economy. It attempts to do so through amendments to the Electricity Act, 1998, the Endangered Species Act, 2007, the Environmental Assessment Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Mining Act, the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998, the Ontario Heritage Act and the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act, 2023 and by introducing the Special Economic Zones Act, 2025 and the Species Conservation Act, 2025. The amendments and new acts are summarized below.
Advocacy | June 11, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 9
Legislative Update | June 06, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 2
Ford Government Passes Mining Legislation: Bill 5, or the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, passed third reading this week and has been granted royal assent by the lieutenant governor. The legislation will create so-called special economic zones where laws, ranging from municipal approvals to environmental rules or even labour law, won’t apply. At Queen’s Park on Wednesday, cries of protest rang out from the galleries inside the legislature as MPPs voted. Indigenous leaders have vowed to keep fighting against the legislation.
