Waiting to Exhale: Cannabis in Canada - The Potential Environmental Impacts and the Regulatory Landscape

摘要

Federal /Provincial /Municipal Tension: On October 17, 2018, the Federal Cannabis Regulation (SOR /2018 - 144) came into force. The Federal laws are heavily weighted toward licensing, production and cultivation requirements, quality and testing requirements, with minimal environmental guidance. The Cannabis Regulation requires cannabis facilities to be equipped with air filtration to "prevent the escape of odours". Yet odour is more commonly regulated under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) in Ontario, including considerations of Adverse Effects and the potential requirement of an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA). Local municipalities will have to address the immediate impacts of additional drain on municipal systems and other local level impacts. Environmental or Agricultural Treatment: Section 9.1 of the Ontario EPA broadly prohibits the discharge of a contaminant into the natural environment, without a permit, with one exception for "any plant, structure, equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing used in agriculture." It remains to be clarified whether cannabis growers would fall within that agricultural exemption. Some producers will use greenhouses, which are believed to be operationally superior. Under the Nutrient Management Act, there are rules about how greenhouse nutrient feedwater is transported and stored, as well as provisions concerning soil sampling and analysis and application limits. How will these apply to cannabis and what agricultural exemption may be available to Licensed Producers?