Torys

Dennis Mahony

A leading lawyer in his field, Dennis has specialized knowledge in environmental law. From regulatory compliance to courtroom advocacy, Dennis works closely with clients on bespoke tactics to mitigate risk and maximize opportunity in environmental matters impacting clients’ operations, projects and transactions.Dennis is the head of Torys’ Environmental, Health and Safety Practice, the Co-Chair of the firm’s interdisciplinary Climate Change and Emissions Trading Practice, and certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Environmental Law.Dennis provides comprehensive environmental, health and safety advice to a broad range of public- and private-sector clients, including public and private companies, federal government agencies, Crown corporations, provincial bodies and municipalities. The scope of his counsel covers virtually every industrial sector: transportation, utilities, non-renewable and renewable energy, pulp and paper, mining, chemicals and plastics, water and waste water treatment and disposal, manufacturing, financial institutions and real estate development.On projects, Dennis works alongside developers, lenders, technical consultants, regulators and other project stakeholders to plan, develop, permit and defend complex projects, often through sensitive environmental habitats. He regularly advises from the project planning stage through the approval and construction stages and into operation. His broad advice to clients spans regulatory compliance, major and minor environmental assessment and other approvals, strategic stakeholder management, and litigation before environmental tribunals and courts. Over the past several years, Dennis and various Torys teams have successfully advised and defended more major projects than any other environmental team in the country.Dennis also assists buyers, sellers, lenders and investors through all environmental aspects of a transaction: from acquisition diligence and agreement negotiation, to the design and coordination of deal-specific environmental liability assessments, negotiation of agreements and in handling closing and post-closing details.Dennis has a broad regulatory practice that involves technical and strategic advice spanning the full range of issues in the environmental, health and safety field. In particular, he advises on federal and provincial environmental assessments and other approvals, contaminated sites, quasi-criminal, civil and administrative liability assessments, transportation of dangerous goods and waste, climate change, general legal compliance, legislative initiatives and Canada-U.S. cross-border issues. His work regularly involves litigation, covering environmental assessment and approval hearings, appeals of administrative orders, quasi criminal defence work and civil litigation.With respect to climate change and emissions trading, Dennis helps clients navigate through this evolving area, including keeping them informed on the numerous domestic and international developments in the area and working on project-specific teams for everything from assessing securities disclosure requirements to emissions trading.

Tyson Dyck

An experienced environmental lawyer with involvement across energy and infrastructure, mining and metals, and climate change, Tyson brings strategic acumen, skillful advocacy and technical insight to his work advising clients on the environmental, health and safety aspects of their most complex matters.In the energy and infrastructure sector, Tyson works extensively on the development, permitting and financing of high-profile projects across Canada, having advised on more than 50 wind, solar, gas, hydro and energy storage projects, together representing over 5,000 MW in installed capacity. He advises on major transmission and distribution projects, including electricity transmission lines and natural gas pipelines. Tyson gives strategic advice in navigating the complex and often challenging environmental assessment and permitting processes, as well as on negotiations with regulatory agencies, Indigenous communities, local municipalities and other stakeholders. He has advised clients on dozens of proceedings before the Ontario Energy Board, Environmental Review Tribunal, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, National Energy Board, Niagara Escarpment Commission and other administrative tribunals.In the mining and metals sector, Tyson acts for companies acquiring, financing, developing and operating major uranium, potash, coal and precious metals operations across the country. He regularly advises these clients on stakeholder relations and permitting, compliance and enforcement matters, including investigations and prosecutions under provincial and federal environmental laws. He has also worked with the national industry association on matters relating to the Fisheries Act and Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations.Tyson is also recognized as a leading lawyer in climate change policy and regulation, particularly on the carbon pricing systems adopted across North America. He has advised clients with responsibility for over 40,000 kilotonnes of greenhouse gas emissions on the formation of and compliance with these systems, as well as on emissions offset projects, emissions trading and climate change-related disclosure.Tyson advises clients in many other sectors, including pulp and paper, water treatment, communications, iron and steel, chemicals and manufacturing. He provides advice on the full range of issues in the environmental and energy-regulatory fields, including environmental assessments, project permitting, contaminated sites remediation, endangered species protection, spills response and reporting and the inspection, investigation and defence of environmental offences.

Michael Fortier

With extensive experience in the energy, infrastructure, mining, metals and real estate industries, Michael gives clients broad counsel across a range of environmental law and Indigenous matters—from projects and transactions to regulatory matters and disputes.Michael provides practical advice to clients on key environmental, Indigenous and strategic aspects of developing, permitting and constructing energy, infrastructure, mining and real estate projects. He guides clients in their negotiations with Indigenous peoples and regulatory agencies, especially to resolve impasses, to advance complex, multi-party negotiations and to develop strong, mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous peoples. He also provides counsel on consultation and accommodation and the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples.For existing operations in a wide range of sectors, Michael provides regulatory advice on a broad range of environmental, health and safety issues, including with respect to environmental assessments and other vital permits, including for electricity generation and transmission, water, wastewater, transportation, waste, mine and remediation/closure projects inspections; investigations; liability assessments; climate change; contaminated sites; air, renewable energy, sewage and other approvals. He also advises on the transportation, import and export of dangerous goods, nuclear substances, hazardous products and wastes.As part of Michael’s transactional work, he regularly assists buyers, sellers, lenders, borrowers, underwriters and investors through all the environmental and Indigenous aspects of transactions, from the design and coordination of deal-specific liability assessments, through the negotiation of agreements and in handling closing and post-closing details.Michael often crafts a practical, successful resolution to disputes, acting in a mediation or intermediary role. His dispute resolution practice includes approval hearings, civil litigation (especially with respect to contamination), mediation, negotiation and regulatory prosecutions and other proceedings, including with respect to the Environmental Protection Act, Ontario Water Resources Act, Pesticides Act, Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, Fisheries Act and Nuclear Safety and Control Act.