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CCCA_V3No3_Dept-Technology-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No2_Dept-CourtLeg-V1.qxd 9/15/09 3:49 PM Page 13 Technology website, which then sends updates when your environmental concerns and they search happen, Brun suggests that “there’s a really certain reports are due.” for things that would affect you.We have lim- strong trend toward these types of systems The website’s interactivity is another ited resources, so it’s a big help.” internationally, in which information is digi- major advantage, Brun says, pointing to a PLC says it has Canada high on its list of tized and centralized. And the sooner firms comments section for each legal or regulato- expansion sites and Nimonik is “looking at adapt these tools,the sooner they’ll save money ry development.“It’s like a wiki for environ- other areas” of law in which to expand, since and the sooner it’ll be to their benefit.” mental regulations.You can share your com- some of its key clients have asked. Although ments within your company alone or with it may take some time for these things to Pablo Fuchs is aToronto-based business writer. the entire community as a whole.” And it’s not as though just any com- ment can get through and appear on the website. Nimonik’s experts do an initial filter when the comments for certain leg- islation are modified then respond to updates and comments to provide an even greater level of interactivity. Nimonik was originally developed by Montreal-based environmental consultan- cy ÉEM Inc., and in 2008 it became an independent business. Brun says much effort was put into making the website accessible to businesses of all sizes:it offers a sliding scale in which people pay per jurisdiction for access. Federal informa- tion is free,but charges per province range from $69 to $129 per month.The annual cost for access to all provinces is $18,000. One client, NAV CANADA, has to keep abreast of environmental and occu- pational safety and health (OSH) devel- opments in 14 jurisdictions — federal, the 10 provinces and three territories. In 2004, the firm hired Nimonik to provide a database of these requirements on a spreadsheet, which “were sent back and forth [between NAV CANADA and Nimonik].It used to be an editing night- mare. Now, it’s already updated for all to see and the text of the law and the inter- pretation are already categorized,” says Anouk Guillaume, national manager of environmental and OSH compliance for NAV CANADA in Ottawa. “From an efficiency perspective, in the past, we had to contract out the compila- tion of our legal requirements, which was only valid at the moment it was deliv- ered,” she adds. “The big advantage with Nimonik is that the information is always up-to-date. As well, they know AUTOMNE 2009 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 13