Email this pageTaking Action On Brownfields

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Addressing barriers to redevelopment

What are Brownfields?

Brownfields are vacant or underutilized properties, with potential for redevelopment, which may be contaminated. Across Ontario, brownfields can be found in communities large and small, urban and rural.

Estimates of the number of brownfields across Canada range from 30,000 to 100,000. They include locations such as abandoned service stations, railway yards, junkyards, dry cleaners, factories, foundries and mills.

Ontario has had a track record of success in remediating and redeveloping brownfield sites. However, these successful projects have been called “easy” sites by those involved in brownfield redevelopment.

The Ontario government recently passed legislation to encourage more interest and participation in brownfield redevelopment from municipalities and the private sector.

The Opportunity in Brownfields

There are numerous brownfield success stories across Ontario. Brownfields are strategically located sites and represent an important part of Ontario’s economic land supply. Yet brownfield redevelopment often remains more expensive, time consuming and complex than traditional forms of development.

Recent legislative changes make Ontario a leading jurisdiction in brownfield remediation and redevelopment.

Reducing Liability Barriers

Real and perceived risk makes developers, lenders and real estate professionals reluctant to get involved in brownfield transactions.

What’s New?

The new legislation protects developers from provincial cleanup orders in cases where contaminants migrate from a property. This would apply once cleanup documentation is filed, as long as the migration does not exceed defined environmental standards and the developers did not cause the contamination. Consultants doing cleanup work are also protected from provincial cleanup orders.

Municipalities are Key Partners

Many municipalities are encouraging and promoting brownfield redevelopment. Municipalities are important partners in the rehabilitation of these lands, yet they are concerned about liability risks arising from inaccuracies in filed cleanup documentation.

What’s New?

Under new legislation, municipalities are protected from civil lawsuits relating to planning approval and building permit decisions, where the lawsuits solely arise from inaccuracies in filed cleanup documentation.

Addressing Abandoned Properties

When a corporation owning property is dissolved, the property passes by default (escheats) to the province.

What’s New?

The new legislation will allow the province to take steps when and where appropriate to ensure public health and safety are protected. This could occur before longer term decisions are made about who will be responsible for the site.

Voluntary Cleanup of Abandoned Mines

The mineral industry has long signalled its interest in helping the province remediate abandoned mining sites. Concerns about taking on extensive historical liability have prevented the industry’s involvement.

What’s New?

The new legislation protects companies involved in abandoned mine remediation from provincial cleanup orders relating to past contamination, as long as the company was not the cause of contamination.

Technical Improvements

The framework governing brownfield cleanup has been fully operational since fall 2004. A number of technical issues have since been identified by environmental experts working on brownfield redevelopment projects.

What’s New?

The new legislation allows upfront provincial reviews of cleanup work to ensure appropriate standards are met, and clear timelines for the province to identify when it will review cleanup work.

Want to learn more about brownfields?

www.ontario.ca/brownfields

Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Municipal Services Division
Office of the Brownfields Coordinator
16th Floor 777 Bay Street
Toronto, ON M5G 2E5
Telephone: (416) 585-6778
Fax: (416) 585-6467

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