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

Climate Change and Vulnerable Communities

The impacts of climate change are deeply unfair. Low-income people in Canada are least responsible for the devastating impacts of climate change but most impacted by them. CELA has new resources on extreme heat, flooding, and more.

Our Legal Services

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Public Legal Education

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Advancing Environmental Law

Action on Environmental justice

CELA's Latest Activities

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

Making the Links in Southwestern Ontario: CELA’s Toolkit for Environmental Action

This Toolkit has been created to pair critically urgent environmental issues with legal mechanisms for change and public advocacy.

July 13, 2023

Brief: Request to Improve Consultation for Site-Specific Standards

CELA recently sent a letter to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, requesting that the Minister use his authority under the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993, and provide additional notice and comment and enhanced public participation opportunities in relation

July 11, 2023

June 2023 Bulletin

A new air quality campaign, and families demand action to clean up radioactive mine waste found beneath their homes.

June 30, 2023

Briefing Note: Need for Urgent Action to Clean Up Radioactive Mine Waste in Elliot Lake

Four families are seeking public support for their request for action by the Federal government, Canada’s nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), and BHP to clean up radioactive wastes found on their properties in the city of Elliot

June 29, 2023

Blog: Canadian Environmental Protection Act – Improvements Still Needed

After the passage of Bill S-5, CELA provides a short list of what still needs to be done and what

June 26, 2023

Blog: Two Decades After Walkerton are New Provincial Laws Risking Another Drinking Water Crisis?

Recently enacted Ontario laws threaten the framework for protecting drinking water sources adopted after the Walkerton tragedy of two decades

June 26, 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.