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About Lana

Lana is an accomplished environmental lawyer, litigator and a certified specialist in environmental law.

She advises clients on environmental considerations in acquisition and sale transactions, provides strategic solutions relating to contaminated sites and remediation, and helps to navigate the assessment, permit and environmental approval processes.

Lana regularly defends clients charged with environmental and regulatory offences under federal and provincial legislation, appeals remediation orders to the Ontario Land Tribunal, and regularly defends and prosecutes environmental litigation claims by landlords, tenants, property owners and business operators before the Ontario courts.

Her experience also includes advising Canadian and international companies as well as their directors and officers on liabilities and insurance coverage for environmental matters, as well as representation and warranty insurance in transactions. She frequently assists clients in understanding and complying with their obligations under various federal chemical reporting regimes (i.e., plastics and PFAS), as well as provincial and territorial extended producer responsibility legislation.

An additional focus of Lana's practice is on renewable-energy projects and public-private partnerships (PPPs). She provides specialized environmental and regulatory advice related to project agreements, and related documentation, in a broad range of project and infrastructure mandates, the vast majority of which involve brownfield sites. Lana also negotiates commercial agreements involving First Nations.

Select Experience

Lana has advised or represented:

Transactions

  • Multiple purchasers and vendors of industrial, commercial and residential properties on environmental due diligence, including retaining and instructing environmental consultants, reviewing environmental reports and operational documents, providing advice on existing and potential liabilities and negotiating sale agreements

  • Equity sponsors, shortlisted bidders, and authorities in relation to environmental issues in a variety of social infrastructure and transportation PPP projects

  • Boards of directors and senior officers of environmentally-sensitive industries with respect to environmental liabilities generally, director and officer liability and insurance coverage

  • Authorities and industrial and commercial clients on the expropriation of lands

  • Leading providers of representation and warranty insurance with respect to the adequacy of environmental diligence to assess exposure

Compliance and Approval Issues

  • Clients seeking environmental compliance approvals, permits to take water, renewable energy approvals, Fisheries Act and Aggregate Resources Act approvals and Environmental Activity and Sector registration

  • Clients in relation to compliance with, and permitting, under, Part V of the Environmental Protection Act (Ontario) and Regulation 347 relating to waste issues

  • Clients in relation to Ontario's excess soil regime 

  • Clients on reporting obligations in relation to environmental incidents (findings of historic contamination, finding of groundwater migration across property boundary, discharges to air, surface and groundwater and noise), including advising clients on subsequent communications with regulators to minimize the likelihood of charges or subsequent convictions, and the management of regulatory investigations

  • Clients on the new federal PFAS mandatory reporting regime, the new federal plastic reporting regime and changes to extender producer responsibility legislation

Litigation

  • Clients appealing to the Ontario Land Tribunal in relation to Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Director's orders requiring remediation

  • Clients in the aggregates, chemical manufacturing and pulp and paper industries charged with a variety of offences under the Fisheries Act, Environmental Protection Act and Ontario Water Resources Act

  • Both plaintiffs and defendants in multiple contaminated lands actions, bringing successful summary judgment motions to have actions dismissed based on the expiry of limitation periods and res judicata

  • A large multinational auto-parts manufacturer in civil litigation and appeals of clean-up orders in relation to allegations of groundwater contamination by solvents previously used in their industrial processes at various facilities in Ontario

  • A leading oil company in multiparty contaminated lands litigation

Awards & Recognition

Lana is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a specialist in environmental law. 

She is regularly recognized as a leading Canadian environmental lawyer in industry publications, including:

  • The Legal 500 Canada 2025 (Environment)

  • The Best Lawyers in Canada 2025 (Environmental Law)

  • Chambers Canada: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business 2025 (Environment)

  • Lexpert Special Edition: Energy and Mining 2024

  • Lexology Index: Environment & Climate Change 2024 (Environment)

  • Lexology Index: Canada 2024 (Environment)

  • Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys 2024 (Litigation Star: Environmental – Ontario)

  • Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2024 (Environment – Canada) 

  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2024 (Repeatedly Recommended – Environmental Law)

Professional Activities

Lana is a past member of the Executive of the Ontario Bar Association's Environmental Law Section and is currently a member of The Advocates' Society and the Ontario Expropriation Association.

Media Activities
Education

Admitted to the Ontario Bar – 1995
Admitted to the Saskatchewan Bar – 1994
BA, University of Saskatchewan – 1994
LLB, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University – 1993

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