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?Renewable 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 pondsShould government get away with defying the law?
I don’t think so. See my column in today’s SLAW, (Canada’s top legal blog) on the Federal Court of Appeal’s weak and unwise decision on the federal government’s defiance of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act. The Supreme Court of Canada refused leave to appe…
View the post titled Should government get away with defying the law?Factory farms- who controls the pollution?
Who is responsible for pollution from contract farms: the family farm, or the multi-national food company who controls everything that they do? A US case has set an important precedent on the liability of the food companies. In Assateague Coastkeeper v Hudson et al, an environmental group su…
View the post titled Factory farms- who controls the pollution?Compost fines
On August 20, 2010, Compost Niagara Inc. was fined a total of $42,000 for five violations under the Environmental Protection Act and the Ontario Water Resources Act. The charges relate to their failure to comply with their waste and sewage works certificates of approval, and to altering a s…
View the post titled Compost finesHave an opinion on Ontario's energy future?
Ontario is asking for the public’s input on its long-term energy plan. The Ministry of Energy has posted a 10-question survey to gather feedback on a 20-year supply plan. The key issue is how to balance short-term cost increases with long-term improvements in, for example, a smarter grid an…
View the post titled Have an opinion on Ontario's energy future?Receive Blog Posts
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