CELA

Canadian Environmental Law Association is a legal aid clinic dedicated to environmental equity, justice, and health.

Founded in 1970, CELA is one of the oldest environmental advocates for environmental protection in the country. With funding from Legal Aid Ontario, CELA provides free legal services relating to environmental justice in Ontario, including representing qualifying low-income and vulnerable or disadvantaged communities in litigation. CELA also works on environmental legal education and reform initiatives.

CELA Foundation

Canadian Environmental Law Foundation

The CELA Foundation is the charitable arm of Canadian Environmental Law Association. The Foundation was established in 1993 and supports CELA’s research and education work on environmental law and justice issues.

CELA FOUNDATION

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Air Quality

Air Quality Issues in Ontario

Air pollution is a major source of harm to human health and the environment. Ontario needs to set and enforce strong standards for local air quality in order to protect people from being exposed to air pollution.

Climate Change

Environment Ministry Proposes to Exempt Harmful Activities from Licensing Requirements

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is proposing to exempt certain waste management systems, storm water management, and water-taking from licensing requirements.

Our Legal Services

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Public Legal Education

Learn about the law

Advancing Environmental Law

Action on Environmental justice

CELA's Latest Activities

Discover staff blog posts, publications, reports, alerts, and media releases.

November 2023 Bulletin

CELA says thank you to two long-serving board members, updates on two cases, and new resources including a report on

November 30, 2023

CELA comments re: Re: CEPA, 1999 Proposed Residential Indoor Air Quality Guidelines for Benzene

CELA provided support to a long-term indoor air quality guideline of 0.6 micrograms per litre for benzene due to the

November 28, 2023

Brief: Proposal to return lands to the Greenbelt – Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023

CELA responds to the province’s consultation on restoring lands to the Greenbelt that were removed in December 2022, and associated

November 21, 2023

Joint statement: Fossil fuels are driving affordability crisis; smart climate policy is the answer

Joint statement in support of carbon pricing

November 21, 2023

Submission: Darlington New Nuclear Project’s Environmental Assessment and Plant Parameter

CELA’s submission to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in preparation for a hearing as to whether a previous environmental assessment

November 20, 2023

Media Release: Canada must scale up funding to meet climate and nature targets, urge 22 leading environmental organizations

Green Budget Coalition’s recommendations for the 2024 federal budget.

November 10, 2023

Casework: Proposed Near-Surface Disposal Facility at Chalk River

In 2016, the privately-owned Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) proposed a Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) for their Chalk River site. The NSDF is required to undergo a federal environmental assessment (EA) under the legislation that was in place at the time, specifically the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA). The CNSC must issue a decision statement under section 54 of the CEAA as to whether the designated project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

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Canadian Environmental Law Association
1500-55 University Avenue,
Toronto, Ontario
M5J 2H7

info (at) cela.ca

1-416-960-2284
1-844-755-1420

This site contains general legal information for Ontario, Canada. It is not intended to be used as legal advice for a specific legal problem.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.