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Update on MCEA and New Regulation
December 10, 2025
Following the Ministry of Environment, Conservation & Parks (MECP) preliminary consultation in the spring of 2023 on Evaluating Environmental Assessment Act (EA Act) Requirements for Municipal Infrastructure Projects, and the subsequent consultation in February 2024 on a proposed new regulation for municipal infrastructure, the MECP has posted a new revised proposal and is now seeking input on changes to the 2024 proposal.
Changes included in the proposal include:
- introduction of a proposed archaeological assessment process for certain listed projects (including certain types of road and road-related infrastructure projects) that would not have other requirements under the EA Act
- a related new proposed project list to designate the projects proposed to be subject to the archaeological assessment process
- changes to the previous proposed project list designating projects proposed to be subject to the streamlined EA process, including adding certain projects by private sector developers, and adjusting certain thresholds that are the basis for a project being subject
- changes to the previous proposed streamlined EA process in terms of details of requirements (e.g., impact assessment, consultation, documentation and notification)
- additional details are being provided on other elements of the proposal including addendum, project review and transition provisions
The posting and links to supporting material can be found here;
019-7891_Updated Proposed Processes and Project Lists_0.pdf
MECP will be hosting information sessions for stakeholders on the proposal:
- January 21, 2026, 1:30 p.m.to 3:30 p.m. ET
- January 23, 2026, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET
The links to the sessions will be provided in January, MEA will post them.
Comments on this updated posting are due February 3rd 2026.
The MEA's MCEA Working Group will be providing its comments to the MECP on behalf of MEA. MEA will share these comments with the membership once they are ready.