How to Request a Review

You must request a review within 30 days of receiving your copy of a written EPCO or within 30 days of receiving an oral order. The 30-day time limit for filing a request for a review may be extended by the Chief Review Officer in circumstances where it would be in the public interest to do so. In general, however, you should not rely on receiving an extension. The sooner the application for a review is made to the Chief Review Officer, the sooner the EPCO will be reviewed.

The application for a review must be sent to Environmental Protection Review Canada. The application must be in writing and signed by the person seeking review or that person's representative (e.g., lawyer). The application must include the following information:

• The name and address for service of the person requesting the review;
• A copy of the EPCO you wish to have reviewed;
• The reasons why you object to the EPCO in sufficient detail for the Chief Review Officer to understand your grounds of objection;
• Whether or not you will be applying to suspend the operation of the EPCO pursuant to subsection 258(2) of CEPA, 1999.

At the same time a request for review is filed with the Chief Review Officer, the applicant should serve a copy of the request on the Minister of the Environment. This should be done by serving the documents on the appropriate regional Environment Canada Office. This would generally be the Office where the Enforcement Officer who issued the EPCO is based. You may wish to consult the directory of addresses.

To expedite the review, a request may be filed with the Chief Review Officer in electronic format by sending it to this email address: eprc-rpec@eprc-rpec.gc.ca. Please note that a request for review, and any other filing made in any proceeding, must be received by Environmental Protection Review Canada in hard copy.

What Happens After a Review is Requested

After Environmental Protection Review Canada receives the request for a review, it will send a letter or an email to the applicant confirming receipt and assigning a case number to the file. This number should be used on all documents or other material filed during the course of the review.

After officials at Environment Canada receive the copy of a request for review that the applicant has served on them, they will gather together the portion of their files that relate to the EPCO. They will then disclose this material to the applicant and send a copy of the material to Environmental Protection Review Canada. Thus, the applicant will have all of the material from Environment Canada that is relevant to the EPCO. Environmental Protection Review Canada will add the information to its public record.

In most cases, Environmental Protection Review Canada will contact the applicant (or applicant's representative) to arrange a pre-hearing conference. The pre-hearing conference provides an opportunity to clarify issues, establish a timetable and the procedural rules that will govern the particular case, and decide how confidential information (if any) or expert witnesses will be handled. For many cases, the pre-hearing conference will be a telephone conference call presided over by a Review Officer. In more complex cases, the pre-hearing conference may involve a meeting of the parties and their representatives with a Review Officer. After the pre-hearing conference, the Review Officer will usually issue directions regarding procedures, timing and any special matters that have been dealt with before the hearing. The directions will complement the Draft Rules of Procedure and Practice Directives that guide the Review Officers.

In some cases, the areas of dispute between Environment Canada and the applicant for a review may be suitable for mediation. The Chief Review Officer will assign a mediator, who will generally not be the Review Officer assigned to the case, to conduct a mediation in the hope of settling the matter without a hearing. Even where a mediation does not settle all the issues under dispute, it may allow the applicant and Environment Canada to agree on what matters should be brought before the Review Officer at a hearing.

Application to Suspend an EPCO

An application for a review does not suspend the operation of the EPCO. The Review Officer, however, has the discretion to stay the EPCO until the review is complete. In doing so, the Review Officer may impose reasonable conditions that are consistent with the protection of the environment and public safety.

The applicant for a review must file a written request to suspend the EPCO, in whole or in part, with Environmental Protection Review Canada. The application should state the reasons why a stay is requested, and should be supported by an affidavit that sets out, among other matters the applicant considers relevant, the following:

• The reasons why the applicant believes that there is a serious issue to be resolved on the review;
• The reasons why the applicant would suffer irreparable harm if the stay is not granted;
• The reasons why the balance of convenience favours the granting of the stay. In addressing the balance of convenience, the affidavit should set out the reasons why the granting of the stay is consistent with the protection of the environment and public safety.

Environment Canada may file an affidavit in reply to the application for a stay. Environmental Protection Review Canada may permit cross-examination on the affidavits as necessary to allow a decision to be made. Environmental Protection Review Canada may also make arrangements for the parties to make oral representations about the application for a stay. In most circumstances, these representations will be made by a conference telephone call. In other cases, the application will be dealt with only in writing.

The applicant may also apply for an interim stay of the EPCO, pending resolution for the application of the stay. An application for an interim stay should be made in writing, setting out reasons why an interim stay should be granted. An application for an interim stay will be considered either in a conference call among parties and the Review Officer or be based on the written documents. For additional information regarding stays, the applicant should consult the Practice Directives or call the EPRC.

The Hearing

The applicant for a review is entitled to appear in person (or through a representative) before the Review Officer. Counsel will appear on behalf of Environment Canada and the presiding Review Officer may also be advised by counsel. The hearings will often be held near where the applicant resides or where the matter that gave rise to the EPCO is located. Applicants are entitled to present their evidence in either official language and be heard by a Review Officer fluent in that language. Where the applicant or witnesses wish to present evidence in a language other than French or English, Environmental Protection Review Canada must be notified and the applicant must provide expert translators.

Environmental Protection Review Canada will attempt to schedule hearings as quickly as possible to suit the convenience of the parties. The Review Officer will issue a decision within five days after the end of the proceeding, with reasons to follow within ten days.

Additional Information

Applicants for a review of EPCO should also refer to the Draft Rules of Procedure and Practice Directives. Additional questions can be directed to Environmental Protection Review Canada.

Environmental Protection Review Canada
240 Sparks Street, 1st Floor West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1A1
Canada

Tel: (613) 995-7599
Fax: (613) 992-4918
Email: eprc-rpec@eprc-rpec.gc.ca