B.C. Court: No Abuse of Water Approvals for Fracking
Because fracking consumes a huge amount of water, Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) and the Sierra Club of B.C. recently challenged how the B.C. government grants water use approvals to oil and gas companies. The government gives a series of short term approvals for fracking, freque…
View the post titled B.C. Court: No Abuse of Water Approvals for FrackingBuyer can't rely on Seller's Environmental Reports
A recent decision out of Newfoundland should remind prospective purchasers of real estate NOT to count on Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) or other environmental reports commissioned by the seller, unless they acquire a specific contractual right to rely on that report, e.g. through a r…
View the post titled Buyer can't rely on Seller's Environmental ReportsAnti-Fluoride in Drinking Water: Litigation Update
Will citizen group litigation and the threat of personal liability stop fluoridation of drinking water in Ontario? In our earlier blog post, we described a threat by an advocacy group called Concerned Residents of Peel to End Water Fluoridation (Concerned Residents) against Peel municipal co…
View the post titled Anti-Fluoride in Drinking Water: Litigation UpdateNo fault contaminated site liability in Nova Scotia
IMP Group International Inc. appealed unsuccessfully from a Nova Scotia Minister of the Environment Order to study and remediate offsite groundwater contamination that it did not cause.
View the post titled No fault contaminated site liability in Nova ScotiaChevron intervention: what is the “public interest”?
The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) has been engaged in a fierce internal debate over the Association’s decision, now revoked, to intervene in Chevron’s appeal to the Supreme Court. The Ecuadorian plaintiffs in the case are seeking to enforce a $9.5 billion judgment obtained in Ecuador for te…
View the post titled Chevron intervention: what is the “public interest”?Appeal Court Rejects Pollution Exclusion in Oil Overflow
In O’Byrne et al. v. Farmers’ Mutual Insurance Company (Lindsay), 2014 ONCA 543, the Ontario Court of Appeal has forced an insurer to pay for a fuel oil cleanup after a spill, despite a pollution exclusion clause. The case involved an “all risks” insurance policy. A tenant inserted a piece o…
View the post titled Appeal Court Rejects Pollution Exclusion in Oil OverflowQuebec Court Recognizes Precautionary Principle for Belugas
Quebec Superior Court Justice Claudine Roy granted a temporary injunction on September 23, 2014, stopping Energy East Pipeline Ltd. and TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. from conducting exploratory work in the St. Lawrence River near Cacouna, QC until October 15, after a critical period for beluga …
View the post titled Quebec Court Recognizes Precautionary Principle for BelugasCan municipal bylaw stop Hydro One Transformer Station?
Can the Municipality of Clarington, Ontario, by bylaw, force Hydro One to submit a groundwater study in order to build a $296 million transformer station, that has been directed to be built by the Ontario Power Authority, and approved by the Ministry of the Environment?
View the post titled Can municipal bylaw stop Hydro One Transformer Station?Ontario Anti-SLAPP law soon after all?
Yesterday, we noted that Environment Minister Glen Murray’s mandate letter includes no reference to a new anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation) law: https://www.siskinds.com/environment-minister-murrays-mandate-letter/, even though SLAPPs are often directed again…
View the post titled Ontario Anti-SLAPP law soon after all?Herbicide Spray Drift a “Normal” Farm Practice?
Organic farmers in Nova Scotia filed a lawsuit against a neighbouring farm for damages allegedly caused by a herbicide which drifted onto their property. In particular, the plaintiffs claimed that the herbicide caused damage to their crops, the miscarriage of four horses, and personal injury…
View the post titled Herbicide Spray Drift a “Normal” Farm Practice?Receive Blog Posts
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