Electricity pricing changing again
Proposed changes to Ontario’s electricity pricing system should reward big customers more for shifting demand off-peak.
View the post titled Electricity pricing changing againEnvironmental Lawyer of the year: Best Lawyers
Dear Dianne Saxe, Please accept our congratulations on being named the Best Lawyers’ 2011 Toronto Environmental Lawyer of the Year.
View the post titled Environmental Lawyer of the year: Best LawyersThe dirty side of "clean fill"
Consumers and businesses frequently purchase or accept “clean fill” for use on their properties, without requiring environmental testing. But if the fill is contaminated, the ultimate costs can be very high.
View the post titled The dirty side of "clean fill"Model contract for engineers and their clients
We are frequently consulted on disputes over the wording of contracts between environmental engineers and their clients. Some contracts are just badly drafted, so it’s hard to know what they mean. Others are clearly drafted, but don’t describe what the client was promised. Some …
View the post titled Model contract for engineers and their clientsSuccessful nonsuits- hazardous waste
Successful non-suits of environmental prosecutions are rare. A non-suit is granted only when the Crown has failed to offer any evidence, no matter how manifestly unreliable, of the essential elements of the offences charged. I was therefore particularly pleased to achieve three non-suits o…
View the post titled Successful nonsuits- hazardous wasteRusting wrecks an oil spill timebomb?
Who will pay for cleaning up oil from a 70-year-old wreck? The owner of the ship, who may be long gone, or the Armed Forces that sank it?
View the post titled Rusting wrecks an oil spill timebomb?A rare jail sentence
Jail is a possible penalty for many environmental offences (see s. 187 of the Environmental Protection Act), but is rarely imposed. It is usually reserved for those defiantly causing serious pollution. On September 1, 2010, Pierre Sleiman was sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $5,000 plu…
View the post titled A rare jail sentenceRenewable energy approvals amendments
As a key pillar in supporting the development of Ontario’s green economy, the Ontario government made O.Reg.359/09 (Renewable Energy Approvals) under the Environmental Protection Act, which came in to force on September 24, 2009. This regulation offers a hopefully one-window approach to regu…
View the post titled Renewable energy approvals amendmentsClimate change: How strong is the evidence?
Is climate change science “real science”? Can climate change experts give expert evidence in court? Canadian courts have not yet wrestled with this issue, but American courts have. The leading case is Green Mountain Chrysler v. Crombie. In 2007, the auto industry tried to prevent…
View the post titled Climate change: How strong is the evidence?Hungarian sludge spill and our tailings ponds
The Hungarian sludge spill disaster is just another reminder of the large scale havoc and devastation that industrial sludge impoundments can create. Every few years we read about another one. On April 25, 1998, a tailings dam failure of the Los Frailes lead-zinc mine at Aznalcóllar near Sev…
View the post titled Hungarian sludge spill and our tailings pondsReceive Blog Posts
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