Municipality can require waterfront greening to protect water
The St. Charles Lake provides half the potable water used by Québec City. When nutrients from human activity began to create plagues of toxic bacteria, the City enacted a by-law requiring owners of lakefront property to put in 10-15 metre buffer zones comprised of trees, bushes and other pl…
View the post titled Municipality can require waterfront greening to protect waterSelf-incrimination when they make you talk
The police cannot force someone to talk and then use the answers against them; can environmental regulators do so? The courts have always allowed them to, but now the rules are changing.
View the post titled Self-incrimination when they make you talkShana tova
We want to wish a sweet and happy Jewish new year (Rosh Hashana) to all our friends and colleagues. May the year to come be full of blessings, including something useful to do, interesting people to do it with, and enough progress to keep hope and enthusiasm alive. Shana tova tiketavu!
View the post titled Shana tovaParty platforms on environmental issues
I hope that environmental issues matter when you decide how to vote. Here is an impartial analysis of all the major Ontario parties’ positions on key environmental issues, to help you prepare for the provincial election on October 6.
View the post titled Party platforms on environmental issuesEnvironment Canada: more cuts, less science?
Sometimes, it feels like the 1990s again. In both Canada and the US, budget shortfalls and political preferences are resulting in significant cuts to environmental scientists and regulators. For example, Environment Canada has announced that its current round of cuts will eliminate approxima…
View the post titled Environment Canada: more cuts, less science?Unsuccessful SLAPPs
Two British Columbia cases show again why we need laws to prevent Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPPs).
View the post titled Unsuccessful SLAPPsConsumer products banned for lead- in the US
The US is far more active than Canada in detecting lead in consumer products, and in requiring that they be withdrawn from the market. The Centers for Disease Control post a fascinating list of high lead consumer products, many of them marketed for children, which can no longer be sold in th…
View the post titled Consumer products banned for lead- in the USPolluter must pay for cleanup, twice
It’s not safe for a polluter to trust a subsequent owner to clean up contamination, even if the polluter has specifically paid for the cleanup, and even if the new owner signs a contract relieving the original polluter of liability. None of this will prevent environmental regulators from ord…
View the post titled Polluter must pay for cleanup, twiceSave caribou, kill wolves?
On August 26, the Federal Government released its proposed Woodland Caribou Recovery Strategy under the Endangered Species Act. The foremost threats to caribou are habitat alteration (including loss, degradation and fragmentation) from human activities, and predation, mostly by wolves. In th…
View the post titled Save caribou, kill wolves?Keystone pipeline
If approved, the Keystone XL pipeline would carry oil extracted from Northern Alberta’s oil sands to refineries and markets in the United States. Vocal opponents of the project hope to convince President Obama not to approve the project, but their chances seem poor. The Canadian portion of t…
View the post titled Keystone pipelineReceive Blog Posts
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