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Did they sue on time?

Who should the public trust to do environmental site assessments? The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) proposes to sharply cut down the list of “Qualified Persons”, on the assumption that only Professional Engineers and Geoscientists have both qualifications and professional reg…

Two Ontario cases in the last year decided that it’s not enough to meet MOE standards. One is Berendsen v. the Queen (see February 1). The other is Dawber v. Director, Ministry of the Environment. In Dawber, Lafarge obtained MOE approval to burn waste tires as fuel in its cement kiln. Lafarg…

For forty years, Canadian environmental law has tried to defeat economics. That is, we have forbidden people and businesses from doing things that save them money, and commanded them to do things that cost money. In the circumstances, it’s amazing that we’ve accomplished so much: air is clea…

It is basic economics and good common sense: to discourage something, make it more expensive. And vice versa. So why does Canada put heavy taxes on things we do want (like employment) and no taxes on things we don’t want (like pollution)? For years, economists and environmentalists hav…

Every so often, a court decision changes the rules. Everyone interested in contaminated sites needs to understand what Berendsen v. Ontario has changed.At first glance, there is nothing unusual about the facts. Farmer buys land for dream dairy farm. The cows become sick; he loses money. He b…

Toronto Public Health still has some questions to answer about its proposed, precedent-setting Environmental Reporting and Disclosure Bylaw. For example:1. The City needs to deal explicitly with the fact that many sources of local ambient air pollution are located outside the City, and there…