Law Society rule change eases investigations
Ontario’s Law Society has changed the rules of professional conduct to make it easier for lawyers investigating a case to communicate with employees and agents of the other side. Rule 6.03 (9) used to prohibit lawyers from communicating with employees and agents of any organization who…
View the post titled Law Society rule change eases investigationsEndangered species: Ecojustice killer whale win
Congratulations to Ecojustice for its killer whale win. They successfully sued the federal government for its failure to protect the habitat of endangered species, killer whales in British Columbia. The 126 page judgment concludes that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has utterly faile…
View the post titled Endangered species: Ecojustice killer whale winWind Appeal launched
As predicted, the first major renewable (wind) energy approval has been appealed to the Environmental Review Tribunal. Notice of the appeal was posted on the EBR Registry. I was glad to see, though, that this applicant doesn’t allege human health impacts. Because of the relatively narr…
View the post titled Wind Appeal launchedHome Insurance and the Pollution Exclusion
A BC court has upheld the pollution exclusion in a home insurance policy. The issue was the scope of the “pollution exclusion” clause in a policy of home insurance issued by the defendant, BCAA Insurance Corporation, to the plaintiff, Brian Corbould. Corbould sought a declaration of coverage…
View the post titled Home Insurance and the Pollution ExclusionDocuments excluded after illegal seizure
Environmental investigators are not allowed to seize private documents unless they have prior judicial authorization (i.e., a search warrant) or the consent of the owner of the documents. However, this does not always stop them.
View the post titled Documents excluded after illegal seizureEveryone liable for PCB-contaminated oil
A British Columbia used oil company has successfully sued the owner of a PCB transformer, and everyone down a contractual chain, for failing to warn them that the oil was almost pure PCBs. It was awarded $776,033.75.
View the post titled Everyone liable for PCB-contaminated oilEnvironmental fines in Canada
Nimonik has posted an interesting and original survey of environmental fines imposed in Canada from 1990 to 2009. According to the reports provided by each jurisdiction, only $26-million dollars worth of environmental fines have been levied against polluters by both provincial and federal l…
View the post titled Environmental fines in CanadaHazardous waste nonsuit decision
As mentioned last week, we won a rare non-suit motion in the Ontario Court of Justice on three counts, each against three defendants charged with improperly managing hazardous waste at a transfer site, contrary to the Environmental Protection Act. In each case, the Ministry of the Environme…
View the post titled Hazardous waste nonsuit decisionSyncrude pays $3M for dead ducks
On Friday, Syncrude was ordered to pay $3 million in penalties for the 1,600 ducks killed in its tailings ponds four years ago. This is the highest total penalty ever imposed in Canada for an environmental offence. Syncrude was fined the maximum for a single incident: $300,000 for the feder…
View the post titled Syncrude pays $3M for dead ducksThe 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"Receive Blog Posts
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