2014 Pesticide Prosecution “Roundup”
Earlier this summer we reported that Ontario Pesticide Act prosecutions have become infrequent since the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOE) stopped having specialized pesticide enforcement staff. Now that the season is soon to change over, we decided to take a look at the y…
View the post titled 2014 Pesticide Prosecution “Roundup”Should Children Have a Right to a Healthy Environment?
On June 17, 2014, several environmental groups in New Brunswick circulated for comment a draft environmental bill of rights for children. Called “A Bill of Rights to Protect Children’s Health from Environmental Hazards,” it is the first of its kind in Canada. If passed, the law would confer …
View the post titled Should Children Have a Right to a Healthy Environment?Millions for offsite gasoline contamination
The Ontario Superior Court has awarded millions to a neighbouring property owner for historic offsite gasoline contamination. The decision in Canadian Tire Real Estate Ltd. v. Huron Concrete Supply Ltd. illustrates, and will perpetuate, the continuing confusion over liability for off site gr…
View the post titled Millions for offsite gasoline contaminationWind opponents lose health challenges around the world
A recent report by the Energy and Policy Institute documents the rejection of anti-wind health claims by 48 courts and tribunals in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the US. In one anomalous US case, two turbines which had had a known problem were ordered to be shut d…
View the post titled Wind opponents lose health challenges around the worldToronto zoning change to promote Tower Renewal
Toronto contains the second largest concentration of high-rise apartments in North America. Most were built half a century ago, during the City’s post-war expansion. The Tower Renewal Project is a major initiative to update these buildings, and make them part of green and equitable future To…
View the post titled Toronto zoning change to promote Tower RenewalRegulatory tweak on export controls
The federal government has tweaked the regulations it uses, under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA 1999), to control which polluting substances can be exported from Canada. The new rules reduce redundancy, and add in Canada’s obligations under the Stockholm Convention. The o…
View the post titled Regulatory tweak on export controlsAs minimum fines get higher, is there a work-around?
As minimum fines on multiple charges lead to increasingly unfair results, defence counsel, and occasionally judges, are looking for ways to reconcile the law with what they consider to be just results. Earlier this year, the Ontario Court of Appeal slammed the door shut on two such ideas: cr…
View the post titled As minimum fines get higher, is there a work-around?Canada lags US in protecting endangered Sage-Grouse
In July, the US Fish and Wildlife Service launched a website to “communicate the breadth of the ongoing conservation actions underway to support Greater Sage-Grouse and the sage brush habitat the bird and 350 other species need.” The Greater Sage-Grouse website highlights work being done at …
View the post titled Canada lags US in protecting endangered Sage-GrouseOttawa wins Green Bin arbitration – appeal pending
Following years of conflict, and a long arbitration process, a commercial arbitrator has ruled that Orgaworld Canada must accept leaf and yard waste in the City of Ottawa’s green bin program and dismissed Orgaworld’s claim against the City. The decision is a win for Ottawa taxpay…
View the post titled Ottawa wins Green Bin arbitration – appeal pendingMinister receptive to Commissioner's climate report
Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner issued his annual Climate Change report last month, as usual scolding the provincial government for its inaction on both mitigation and adaptation. But this year, the report got an unusual reception: the new Minister of the Environment and Climate C…
View the post titled Minister receptive to Commissioner's climate reportReceive Blog Posts
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