Today, the answer is “maybe.” Soon, it will be “no.”
The classification of “alcoholic beverages” under Quebec’s Regulation respecting hazardous materials (“RHM”) is no small matter for producers, distributors, retailers and carriers. The Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting hazardous materials (PDF) (“draft Regulation”), in public consultations until March 14, 2026, specifies that “alcoholic beverages” and “tobacco products” are no longer considered hazardous materials. Tabled on January 28, 2026, the draft Regulation also excludes “emery, graphite, kaolin, talc, montmorillonite, carbon black [and] sodium silicate” from the list of hazardous materials.
The draft Regulation introduces other changes to the RHM as well as to the Regulation respecting the regulatory scheme applying to activities on the basis of their environmental impact and the Regulation respecting pulp and paper mills that will have a tangible operational impact on many businesses.
Here is a short list of the government’s proposed changes to the RHM.
1) Is wine a hazardous material?
Under the current Regulation, in some circumstances, “alcoholic beverages” can be argued to fall under the hazardous materials framework. Such uncertainty can lead to differences in interpretation, especially when it comes to storage, transportation and documentation requirements. The government has moved to resolve this issue by explicitly excluding alcoholic beverages from the category of hazardous materials. By clearing up an ambiguous regulatory area, this change will ease risk management challenges for businesses in the wine and alcoholic beverage value chain.
As for other substances the RHM qualifies as hazardous, “no person shall ship a residual hazardous material to any person who is not empowered by the Environment Quality Act (chapter Q-2) to receive such material.” Any such shipment must be subject to a contract, a copy of which must now be kept for five years rather than two under the draft Regulation’s proposed amendment to section 11 of the RHM.
2) Is notice required to totally cease an activity related to hazardous materials?
Under the proposed changes to section 13 of the RHM, if you currently hold a ministerial authorization to store “hazardous residual materials” in accordance with sections 22 and 70.9 of the Environmental Quality Act and have the intention to “totally” cease that activity or dismantle the facility, you must give the Minister 30 days’ notice. In addition, according to that same amended section 13, “where there is total or partial cessation of the activities, the buildings and equipment shall be decontaminated or dismantled and all the residual hazardous materials stored in the course of those activities shall be shipped within 12 months of ceasing the activities to a site that may lawfully receive them or, where buildings and equipment are situated in a territory that is not linked to the Québec highway system by a public highway within the meaning of the Highway Safety Code, within 24 months of ceasing the activities.”
3) Is pressure mounting on lead or lithium batteries?
No. But the government clarified the requirements for storing lead or lithium batteries in section 40 of the RHM: “residual hazardous materials shall be stored in vessels, except in the case of: impermeable lead or lithium batteries stored in a building or under a shelter.”
4) With hazardous materials, insurance is key!
Not only do you need civil liability insurance, but under the proposed changes to section 124 of the RHM, you will need to provide proof to the Minister of the Environment since the issuance of a ministerial authorization “is conditional upon the applicant holding civil liability insurance and upon the applicant sending to the Minister an attestation signed by the insurer confirming that the insurance complies with section 125.” In addition, “the issuance of an authorization or the filing of a declaration of compliance for the transportation of residual hazardous materials is conditional upon the applicant of the authorization or the person who files the declaration holding civil liability insurance of $1,000,000.”
5) A new era: Hazardous materials disposal charges
Do you operate a “hazardous materials disposal site”? Specifically, a “site for the final disposal of hazardous materials as well as any site for incineration, gasification, pyrolysis or plasma treatment or other thermal treatment, the main result of which is to transform residual hazardous materials into gas, ash, pyrolytic coal or pyrolytic oil”? Get ready to start paying fees to the Minister of Finance in 2027.
The draft Regulation (PDF) inserts a new chapter into the RHM, “Charges for the disposal of residual materials,” starting at section 138.0.1. Among other things, it sets out the specific charges.
Public consultations: Be sure to have your say
Public consultations on the draft Regulation continue until March 14, 2026. Businesses, industry associations, municipalities, and other interested parties are invited to submit feedback to the Minister of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks by completing this template (docx) [in French only] and sending it to [email protected].
This is a strategic opportunity for organizations directly affected by the changes—including disposal site operators, transporters, storage facility owners, companies or other industrial sectors that handle hazardous materials—to help shape the final version of the regulation, raise real-world concerns, and recommend refinements.
For additional information or to discuss the draft Regulation’s impact on your business activities, please get in touch with a member of our Environmental Law team or your usual Miller Thomson contact.
