Energy Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 Now in Force
Bill 31, the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, came into force on November 27. The Bill amended the Hydro and Power Authority Act and Utilities Commission Act to accelerate the construction of the North Coast Transmission Line and allow BC Hydro to enter into ownership arrangements with First Nations. The Bill also added the authority to make regulations respecting access to a set amount of power for companies specializing in artificial intelligence, data centres and hydrogen-for-export projects.

Second Wave of Fast-Tracked Projects Unveiled Including
Critical Minerals and Energy Projects
This blog follows our earlier insight, Wind In The Sails of Canadian Energy Project Development, which explored Canada's shifting project development landscape. Here, we examine the next wave of fast-tracked critical minerals and energy projects shaping the country's investment and regulatory outlook.

Prime Minister Mark Carney revealed Thursday, November 13, 2025, a new list of major projects for expedited review by the Major Projects Office (MPO). This second wave follows the initial set of projects named in September 2025 and focuses exclusively on critical minerals and energy initiatives, signaling a strategic pivot to bolster Canada's economic competitiveness and energy security. Read the full article by Luke Morrison, Ashley M. White and Pamela Clark with Bennett Jones LLP.

Canada's Energy Landscape: 3 Key Insights for 2025
On October 21, 2025, McCarthy Tétrault's National Energy Group hosted a cross-country panel event to discuss Canada's evolving energy landscape, regulatory reforms, and market trends. The session was opened by Seán C. O'Neill, Partner and Co-Lead of the National Energy Group, Business Law Group, Toronto, who emphasized the importance of Indigenous partnerships and reconciliation in the energy sector.

The event delivered a comprehensive overview of regulatory reforms, Indigenous engagement, market trends, and cross-country energy developments, with opportunities for audience questions and discussion. Below is a summary of the key insights [including specific insights on BC]. Read the full post by Christopher Langdon, Lynn Parsons, Gaetan Thomas, Kimberly J. Howard, Selina Lee-Andersen, Sven O. Milelli, Ljuba Djurdjevic, Jacob Stone and Mathieu LeBlanc with McCarthy Tétrault.

Investing in Canada's Energy Sector: The Building
Canada Act and Indigenous Equity Partnerships
Canada's energy sector is at a pivotal moment. In response to global economic shifts and the growing demand for energy and other infrastructure, the federal government enacted the One Canadian Economy Act (often referred to as Bill C-5), on June 26, 2025. This legislation introduced two new statutes: the Building Canada Act (the "Building Canada Act") and the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act. The Building Canada Act aims to accelerate the development of major infrastructure projects deemed to be in the national interest. The goal is to enhance regulatory certainty and timing and thereby de-risk the project and improve investor confidence. However, its fast-tracking ambitions have raised serious concerns among some Indigenous communities, particularly due to the potential for the Building Canada Act to undermine meaningful consultation in various instances. Read the full article by Zach Romano, W. Ian Palm, Myroslav Chwaluk and Chelsea Young with Fasken.

BC Energy Regulator Announcements
The following BC Energy Regulator announcements were posted recently:

• TU 2025-17 – Mandate Expansion – Updates of Note for Operators
• IU 2025-10 – Public Posting of Inspection Reports and Non-Compliance Notices

Visit the BC-ER website for more information.

Eby Says No to Harvesting Old Growth for
Pulp to Extend Life of BC Mill
The British Columbia government is looking for ways to help a pulp mill closing on Vancouver Island, Premier David Eby said Wednesday [December 3], but logging the province's old-growth forests for pulp is not an option.

Eby was scheduled to meet Wednesday with the head of the union representing the 350 Domtar workers who are set to lose their jobs, as well as the mayor of Crofton, B.C., where the mill is located.

A team from the Ministry of Jobs will be going to the community of about 1,500 people to identify opportunities around retraining and employment, the premier said, adding the government was mulling ways to keep some jobs at the site.

"If there's something else we can do, absolutely," he told an unrelated news conference earlier Wednesday. "But the idea that we would pulp old growth in order to buy a little bit of time is not a solution we're looking for."

Eby said the province was looking for "long-term, sustainable solutions."

Domtar announced the closure Tuesday [December 2], citing continued poor pricing for pulp and lack of access to affordable fibre as driving factors behind the closure. Read the BIV article. 

Company Officers and Managers Can Be Subject to Fisheries Act Inspector's
Directions: What Terrapure Means for Industry and Individuals
The Federal Court (Court) recently set aside the direction of an Environment and Climate Change Canada inspector (Inspector) issued pursuant to the Fisheries Act (Direction). The Direction named the company as well as the company's president and on-site managers of environmental affairs, in relation to alleged deposits of deleterious substances into waters frequented by fish.

While the matter was ultimately sent back to the Inspector for redetermination, Terrapure BR Ltd. v. Canada (Attorney General) [2025 FC 1715] (Terrapure) highlights the risks for company officers and operational managers who may be personally named in a direction requiring immediate corrective measures, imposing direct compliance obligations for those individuals. For more information on individual culpability for environmental offences, please see our August 2023 Blakes Bulletin: "The Buck Stops at the Top" – Lessons Learned: Mining Company Executive Found Guilty of Environmental Offences. Read the full article by Paulina Adamson, Tony Crossman and Maria Georgsen with Blakes.

Implementation Framework for the Right
to a Healthy Environment Under CEPA
In June 2023, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) was amended to recognize the Right to a Healthy Environment (Right) and to require the development of an implementation framework outlining how the Right would be applied in administering CEPA.

Following public engagement on the draft implementation framework and accompanying discussion document, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada (HC) released the final Implementation Framework for the Right to a Healthy Environment Under CEPA in July 2025 (Framework). A What We Heard Report summarizing public and stakeholder feedback was published concurrently with the final framework.

The Framework establishes how CEPA will be administered to fulfill the Government of Canada's duty to respect, protect and fulfill the Right. Importantly, this Right applies only within the scope of CEPA and does not extend to other federal or provincial statutes. Read the full article by Terri-Lee Oleniuk, Elyse Bouey and Blessing Okoroma with Blakes.

BC Supreme Court Finds Preserving Rule of Law "Paramount"
in Walbran Valley Injunction Ruling
In TsawakQin Forestry Limited Partnership v O'Connell, 2025 BCSC 1880, the British Columbia Supreme Court granted an interim injunction halting the efforts of a group of protestors who had blocked an access road near Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park on Vancouver Island. The blockade was constructed in protest to lumber harvesting activities by the plaintiffs, Tsawak-Qin Forestry Inc. and Tsawak-Qin Forestry Limited Partnership (collectively, "Tsawak-Qin") and had prevented the plaintiffs and their contractors from accessing their harvest sites for the two weeks prior to the application.

Based on social media evidence, the court observed that the protestors appeared to be a well-organized, social media savvy group, and that many participants were the same individuals who had organized the "Fairy Creek Blockade", a series of protests against old-growth logging in 2020 and 2021 that resulted in significant media attention and considerable litigation before the Supreme Court of BC. Despite the size of the group, only one protestor responded to the application. Read the full article by Marie Ong with BCLI.

Lumber Industry Responds to Announcement
of New Federal Supports
Representatives for lumber producers across the country responded to the announcement of new supports coming to the sector made by Prime Minister Mark Carney on November 26.

The Prime Minister announced new supports for the steel and lumber industries, building on previously announced measures. Read the Canadian Forest Industries article.

Federal Environmental Racism Legislation
Update for First Nations
A great many First Nations, Métis and Inuit are the victims of environmental racism. There is a legacy of industrial contamination that has been permitted to impact Indigenous communities and other marginalized communities in more severe ways than most settler Canadians. Many such communities are in need of support to remediate lands and waters and compensation is needed. Many others are still experiencing the effects of discriminatory government and industrial decisions that create ongoing contamination issues.

There have been recent legislative changes that are intended to provide progress on these issues. The National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Act (Environmental Racism Act) became federal law in June of 2024. Along with these legal changes, there were similar changes to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) to recognize the effects of toxic substances on vulnerable communities and recognizing the role of science and Indigenous knowledge in the process of making decisions related to the protection of the environment and human health. Read the full article from the DWF Group.

Environmental Appeal Board Decisions
The following Environmental Appeal Board decisions were made recently:

Environmental Management Act

• Canadian Natural Resources Limited v. Director, Environmental Management Act [Consent Order – Stay Extended]
• Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. v. Director, Environmental Management Act [Dismissal Order – Appeal Dismissed]

Wildlife Act

• Michael Schneider v. Regional Manager, Wildlife Act [Final Decision – Appeal Allowed in Part]
• Raymond Majerus, Fraser MacDonald, Michael Schneider & Alan Jarvis v. Executive Director, Wildlife Branch [Preliminary Decision – Appeals Dismissed in Part]

Visit the Environmental Appeal Board website for more information.

Forest Appeals Commission Decisions
The following Forest Appeals Commission decision was made recently:

Forest and Range Practices Act

• McLeod Lake Indian Band v. Government of British Columbia [Final Decision – Appeal Dismissed]

Visit the Forest Appeals Commission website for more information.

WorkSafeBC Reports Strong Uptake of
New Tower Crane Rule
One year after British Columbia introduced a new requirement for employers to file a Notice of Project – Tower Crane (NOP‑TC), WorkSafeBC says compliance is generally strong and the rule is helping it intervene earlier on high‑risk work, even as serious crane hazards persist on increasingly complex sites. The NOP‑Tower Crane regulation took effect on October 1, 2024, as part of amendments to Part 14 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. It requires employers responsible for tower crane activities to submit a notice to WorkSafeBC at least two weeks before any assembly, climbing, repositioning, or dismantling begins. Read the full article by Shane Mercer with Canadian Occupational Safety.

Extreme Cold Events and Planning for Worker Safety
Winter officially begins December 21st, and with it brings plunging temperatures, snow, ice and frosty winds that can increase risks for workers. In addition to extremely cold temperatures, wet, cool conditions also pose a significant risk of cold stress and hypothermia. Between 2013 and 2023, there were 167 accepted claims for short-term or long-term disability benefits for injuries related to cold stress in BC, including frostbite, hypothermia and abrasions. More work-related motor vehicle crashes occur in November, December and January than in any other three-month period. Read the full article published in the Forest Safety Newsletter December 2025.

OHS Policies/Guidelines – Updates
Guidelines – Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
November 6, 2025
The following guideline was issued on November 6, 2025:

• Part 31 Firefighting
  G31.4 Instruction and direction of firefighters

Visit the WorkSafeBC website to explore this and previous updates.