Recent Decision Affirms Precautionary Principle
In May of this year, the Federal Court released a decision that affirms the importance of the precautionary principle in the management of fisheries. The decision (Morton v Canada (Fisheries and Oceans), 2015 FC 575) comes as a result of a challenge, launched by lawyers at Ecojustice on beha…
View the post titled Recent Decision Affirms Precautionary PrincipleLimitation periods – Often overlooked, yet potentially fatal to your legal rights
It is inevitable that at some point a business will experience a harmful event that causes it to suffer a financial loss. Examples include a third party breaking a contract or a warehouse fire due to faulty electrical wiring. Therefore, businesses need to be aware of the time limits that res…
View the post titled Limitation periods – Often overlooked, yet potentially fatal to your legal rightsFisheries Act private prosecution goes ahead
As we wrote earlier, in December 2014 Marilyn Burgoon received approval to bring a private prosecution against Executive Flight Centre Fuel Services and the Province of British Columbia for violations of the Fisheries Act related to a large fuel spill into a sensitive creek. The province too…
View the post titled Fisheries Act private prosecution goes aheadCheese whey spill: $80,000 fine
Even seemingly innocuous substances, like human food and drink, can be hazardous to the natural environment. And spills of food and drink must be reported. Silani Sweet Cheese Limited manufactures a cheese at a facility in Bradford, West Gwilliumbury. In January 2013, ricotta cheese whey ove…
View the post titled Cheese whey spill: $80,000 fineEven brief discharges must be reported
Metcan Industries, which manufactures synthetic slag products, was convicted of failing to report a discharge of particulate that lasted “a couple of minutes”. The company was fined $10,000 plus the $2,5000 victim fine surcharge, under the Ontario Environmental Protection Act. (…
View the post titled Even brief discharges must be reported$350,000+ fine for cement plant dust and noise
Essroc Canada Inc. was fined $350,000, plus the victim fine surcharge of $87,500, for dust and noise from its cement manufacturing facility near Picton. The fine was suggested jointly by the company and by the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. Essroc pleaded guilty to disch…
View the post titled $350,000+ fine for cement plant dust and noiseOslo Principles on Climate Change: Governments are Breaching Legal Duties
A group of preeminent international jurists have put together a series of legal principles, called the Oslo Principles on Global Obligations to Reduce Climate Change. These principles demonstrate that the governments of the world are breaching their legal duties to their citizens, by doing …
View the post titled Oslo Principles on Climate Change: Governments are Breaching Legal DutiesExpert Evidence at the Environmental Review Tribunal
Dianne Saxe spoke last week at the Ontario Bar Association seminar on Using Environmental Experts Effectively at the Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal. Here is a copy of her presentation: Experts at Environmental Review Tribunal. In theory, expert evidence at the Tribunal is governed by …
View the post titled Expert Evidence at the Environmental Review TribunalRetrial: lower fines for environmental consultant
In 2011, we wrote about the record $161,000 in fines imposed upon an environmental consultant and his company. In addition, $40,500 in fines were imposed on their clients, Mr. James Sinclair and his company Sinclair Landing, owner of a contaminated site. Following an appeal and retrial, the …
View the post titled Retrial: lower fines for environmental consultantWind appeals starting to settle?
Now that the Divisional Court has upheld Ontario’s renewable energy approval process, and the decisions of the Environmental Review Tribunal on concerns about adverse health effects, wind appeals are starting to settle. The Tribunal has heard appeal after appeal against renewable energ…
View the post titled Wind appeals starting to settle?Receive Blog Posts
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