Presented in February 2022, Bill S-5, known as the Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act, was granted Royal Assent on June 13. This legislation marks a significant update to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), representing the most extensive set of amendments to CEPA since its inception over two decades ago.
Through this bill, the Government of Canada fulfills its pledge to enhance CEPA, marking the inaugural inclusion in federal law of the acknowledgment that every Canadian has the right to a healthy environment.