Bill 21: Seeking to Make Fossil Fuel Producers Strictly Liable for Climate Harms in Ontario
Ontario NDP MPP Peter Tabuns has introduced a private bill that seeks to establish statute-based civil liability for climate change against certain private actors. Bill 21 would enact the “Liability for Climate-Related Harms Act, 2018” (the “Act”), making fossil fuel producers strictly liabl…
View the post titled Bill 21: Seeking to Make Fossil Fuel Producers Strictly Liable for Climate Harms in OntarioReform of the Federal Environmental Assessment Regime Under Bill C-69: Many Faces of Critique
Bill C-69, the federal government’s proposal for changing the current environmental assessment regime, is currently at first reading. The Bill proposes to reconfigure the way that potential environmental impacts of a project are evaluated in advance of its approval. The proposed changes are …
View the post titled Reform of the Federal Environmental Assessment Regime Under Bill C-69: Many Faces of CritiquePublic Interest Intervention in Private Environmental Disputes
A recent decision from the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Huang v Fraser Hillary’s Limited, 2018 ONCA 277, underscores the challenges faced by parties seeking to intervene in private environmental disputes. Background Fraser Hillary’s Limited (“FHL”) is the corporate owner of a property in Ott…
View the post titled Public Interest Intervention in Private Environmental DisputesEnvironmental Review Tribunal Denies Costs for Successful REA Appellants
In the latest chapter in the appeal of the renewable energy approval (“REA”) for a wind farm in Clearview Township, Simcoe County, the Environmental Review Tribunal (“Tribunal”) denied the Appellants’ request for costs. The Appellants, comprised of an assortment of individuals, municipalitie…
View the post titled Environmental Review Tribunal Denies Costs for Successful REA AppellantsA Multi-Jurisdictional Action Plan to Reduce Algal Blooms in Lake Erie
The Ontario and federal governments have recently announced the enactment of a joint action plan for reducing algal blooms in Lake Erie. The Lake Erie Action Plan identifies numerous actions aimed at reducing the amount of phosphorus entering into Lake Erie by 40 per cent below 2008 levels. …
View the post titled A Multi-Jurisdictional Action Plan to Reduce Algal Blooms in Lake ErieUnreasonable Delay in Environmental Prosecutions after R v Jordan: Where Are We Now?
The 2016 Supreme Court of Canada decision in R v Jordan, 2016 SCC 27, created a major stir in the criminal bar by clarifying what constitutes an accused’s right under subsection 11(b) of the Charter to be tried within a reasonable time. There was speculation at the time of the decision’s rel…
View the post titled Unreasonable Delay in Environmental Prosecutions after R v Jordan: Where Are We Now?Will 2018 be the Year of the Single-Use Plastics Ban?
Bans on single-use plastics are on the rise. As media attention increasingly focuses on the topic, jurisdictions all over the world are introducing bans on single-use plastic products such as grocery bags, utensils, and cups. The bans respond to the growing, and increasingly recognized, prob…
View the post titled Will 2018 be the Year of the Single-Use Plastics Ban?We Wrote the Chapter on Environmental Litigation
The Siskinds Environmental Group is pleased to announce that Paula Lombardi, Partner and Group Lead, has co-authored a chapter on environmental claims in the third edition of Bullen & Leake & Jacob’s Canadian Precedents of Pleadings. The volume was published in December 2017 …
View the post titled We Wrote the Chapter on Environmental LitigationDetails on the Fisheries Act Overhaul Announced
The federal government has announced certain details about how it intends to overhaul the Fisheries Act. Reform of the Fisheries Act forms part of a broader suite of reforms to Canada’s environmental protection regime which is currently being undertaken by the federal government. These inclu…
View the post titled Details on the Fisheries Act Overhaul AnnouncedTrain Derailment Results in Significant Environmental Fines
On July 6, 2013, 74 unattended freight train cars carrying Bakken Formation crude oil rolled down a 1.2% grade from the town of Nantes and into the downtown area of the Town of Lac-Mégantic. The ensuing derailment resulted in a fire and explosion of multiple tank cars. The devastation was fa…
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