Our environmental group has extensive experience in resolving environmental liability issues associated with the clean-up, transfer and development of contaminated sites, often in situations that involve the management of litigation risk between buyers and sellers or of administrative orders or other actions by government regulators. Contaminants of concern include hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, polychlorinated bi-phenyls, radioactive substances and metals. Our lawyers are skilled at negotiating such matters to maximize property value while minimizing our clients' liabilities and losses. Representative files include:
- On-going (post-purchase or sale) remediation of numerous former or continuing electronics manufacturing plants in Canada and elsewhere around the world for businesses like Nortel and Celestica;
- Advising on purchase or sale of brownfield properties in areas of historic industrial use and in-fill including portlands and railway lands;
- Advising on various brownfield redevelopments for residential, institutional and commercial developments in Ontario and Quebec;
- Environmental litigation (statute, tort, contract and indemnification disputes) in court proceedings regarding contaminated sites and contamination of municipal aquifers;
- Advising retail warehouse developer on the redevelopment of various brownfields in Quebec.
