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8 M A R C H 2 0 1 8 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m C E N T R A L \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP B oth the spirit and notion of social acceptability are major driving forces behind the sweeping changes to Quebec's environmental impact assessment and review regime that are set to come into effect this month. But putting the high-minded public principles into practical regulatory practice could prove both problematic and puzzling for project proponents and the legal practitioners who advise them in la belle province. "I don't think the changes will have any impact on the amount and type of work we do as lawyers," says Julie Belley Perron, partner at Langlois in Montreal, who specializes in commer- cial contracts, environmental law and the development and implementation of energy projects. "But lots of things will change and that is preoccupying industry in Quebec." A draft of the new regulations, which must by law go into effect on March 23 (subject to any amendments that might result from the public hear- ings on the bill that were held in early February), was published by the Que- bec government in mid-December. Dubbed "Environmental impact assessment and review procedure of certain projects," the draft regulations propose several changes to the existing "Regulation respecting environmental impact assessment and review" that it will replace. Notable changes include providing the public with information on projects 30 days before impact assessment hear- ings begin, rather than the current 50 days after hearings, and the creation of a new public register that will provide any person, group or municipality easy access to detailed technical informa- tion on projects subject to review. The draft regulations will also require project proponents to con- sider and publicly address the issue of greenhouse gas emissions (with an eye to a proposed new mandatory review process trigger threshold of 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide that would emanate from new facilities or upgrad- ed ones) as well as protection of the local environment, wetlands and other bodies of water. The thresholds for a list of activi- ties that are subject to the impact assessment and review process will also increase, notably in regards to the building of dams and dikes, pulp and paper mills, as well as work in and around wetlands. Some industries — notably chemi- cal, mining, public transportation and oil and gas — will see a whole new array of criteria for projects ranging from mandatory review to higher or lower applicability thresholds depend- ing on the location and environmental footprint of projects. "These changes are going to have a huge impact on companies' decision- making processes," says Dominique Amyot-Bilodeau, partner in the busi- ness law group of McCarthy Tétrault LLP, who specializes in the develop- ment of industrial projects and envi- ronmental, energy and natural resourc- es law. "The government will be able to subject any project that raises public concern to the impact assessment pro- cess. Companies will no longer be able to rely on the list of what is applicable to their project." According to Amyot-Bilodeau, both the genesis and impetus for the pro- Quebec industry braces for new environmental regime Julie Belley Perron Nominate your choices between March 12 and April 3 V i s i t WWW.CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/SURVEYS MOST *NkUENTIAL TOP 2 5 Untitled-2 1 2018-02-08 8:34 AM

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