$70,000 in fines for breach of PCB regulations
On July 27, 2016, the Ontario Court of Justice levied $70,000 in fines against a Hamilton company for contravention of the federal PCB regulations and for failing to comply with an Environmental Protection Compliance Order, issued under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).…
View the post titled $70,000 in fines for breach of PCB regulationsReforming the Ontario Municipal Board
The province recently announced, with little fanfare, that it was initiating a review of the Ontario Municipal Board (“OMB”). The OMB is an independent adjudicative tribunal that plays a crucial role in land use planning in the province. It reviews decisions made under a number of statutes, …
View the post titled Reforming the Ontario Municipal BoardAcquittals in Two Recent Fisheries Act Prosecutions
We often report on convictions under the Fisheries Act. It is less often that we report on acquittals. In the last several months, two cases related to charges against farmers in PEI under the Fisheries Act were dismissed. The cases turned on whether the farmers, contrary to section 36(3) th…
View the post titled Acquittals in Two Recent Fisheries Act ProsecutionsSIDS on track to pioneer new international treaty on climate change
Despite their comparatively insignificant contribution to climate change, Small Island Developing States (“SIDS”) are among the most vulnerable nations to the effects of climate change. Rising sea levels, an increase in extreme weather events, desertification, warming marine habits, and othe…
View the post titled SIDS on track to pioneer new international treaty on climate changeCO Exposure can be Lethal
A property maintenance business plead guilty and was fined $75,000 for failing to protect their workers from exposure to carbon monoxide gas while power washing an underground parking garage. Ground Maintenance Cleaning Contractors Inc. (“GMCC”), was hired to power wash the underground garag…
View the post titled CO Exposure can be LethalHow Sierra Club became a player in the coal business
As strange as it might sound, the US chapter of the Sierra Club has acquired control over a large coal reserve in the Appalachians. In 2014, Sierra Club and two other environmental non-governmental organizations (“ENGO”s) sued a coal producer, Alpha Natural Resources, for polluting several s…
View the post titled How Sierra Club became a player in the coal businessNationwide flurry of activity on Environmental Bills of Rights
Hot on the heels of several provinces introducing Environmental Bills of Rights (“EBRs”), Ontario has just announced a review of its Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993. In March 2016, both British Columbia (Bill M 236-2016) and Manitoba (Bill 20) introduced EBRs (this was a re-introduction o…
View the post titled Nationwide flurry of activity on Environmental Bills of RightsHunting Convictions for Shooting Decoys
A conservation officer saw two individuals sitting in their truck strategically located in order to observe the decoys with binoculars. The conservation officers placed the stationary moose decoys along the travelled portion of a maintained and travelled forest resource access corridor. Afte…
View the post titled Hunting Convictions for Shooting DecoysProvincial renewable energy goals trump municipal by-laws
Since the Green Energy and Economy Act, 2009 came into force on May 14, 2009, the debate continues about whether municipalities can regulate renewable energy projects. At least three court decisions have now been made which indicate that other possible avenues of municipal regulation of rene…
View the post titled Provincial renewable energy goals trump municipal by-lawsDo environmental permits have value for the purposes of property tax assessment?
A recent decision of the Assessment Review Board (“ARB”) (Waste Management of Canada Corporation v MPAC, ID 138737 (ARB)) has concluded that the market value of the rights associated with an Environmental Compliance Approval (“ECA”) should be reflected in the current value of a landfill for …
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