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The basic concept of the Green Shift is simple: we should tax income less, and pollution more. And the great advantage for consumers is this: for most of us, it’s much less painful to reduce pollution (and thus tax) than it is to reduce income.

It’s great to see that, after years of apparent indifference, Alberta is developing a strong interest in climate change. Water shortages are getting attention. The oil sector has just wrapped up its third international consultation on greening the oil sands. And the University of Calga…

A surprisingly large portion of our practice consists of civil suits against environmental consultants for negligence relating to contaminated sites. We are currently a week into discoveries of such a case. A major consulting firm won a large remediation contract by representing that they ha…

The Ministry of the Environment has released a discussion paper outlining its proposed Toxics Reduction Law, as promised in last year’s Throne Speech. The paper was developed by an expert panel, headed by noted environmental chemist, Miriam Diamond.  They  propose that the new statute …

A BC woman has failed in her attempt to sue the federal and provincial governments for allowing mercury amalgam dental fillings to be used in Canada. Zsuzsanna Holland alleges that mercury from her 17 fillings (installed in 1982) has poisoned her and her children, ruining their lives. Mercur…

The United States Senate and House of Representatives have passed a sweeping new statute, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The Act, which the president cannot veto and will come into effect in six months, slashes the permissible level of lead in children’s products …