Quebec court strikes down municipal anti-fracking bylaw
A Quebec court has struck down a Gaspe municipal bylaw that tried to prevent exploratory oil wells being drilled and fracked uncomfortably close to its drinking water supply. The court ruled that the bylaw was invalid because it prevented Petrolia Inc. from carrying out drilling specifically…
View the post titled Quebec court strikes down municipal anti-fracking bylawYes, that pollution exclusion in your insurance does work
Businesses with pollution risks need to buy insurance WITHOUT pollution exclusions.
View the post titled Yes, that pollution exclusion in your insurance does workDe-polluting end of life vehicles, at last?
After years of effort by Ontario’s mainstream auto recyclers, in cooperation with automobile manufacturers, the Ministry of the Environment is getting close to a permit-by-rule system for recycling end of life vehicles. Given the elaborate market that already exists for vehicle recycli…
View the post titled De-polluting end of life vehicles, at last?Dianne’s Halifax presentation on contaminated site litigation
Here is Dianne’s presentation to the Canadian Bar Association Mid-winter meeting in Halifax, on Contaminated Site Litigation after Inco. We include a really useful list of Caveat emptor case summaries, with thanks to researcher Kristen Courtney.
View the post titled Dianne’s Halifax presentation on contaminated site litigationTelling legitimate recycling from shams
Last week’s post on “recycling” batteries by turning them into roadbed aggregate, via mill slag, raised the question of what constitutes “legitimate” recycling. The US Environmental Protection Agency has been struggling with this issue for decades; claims to tur…
View the post titled Telling legitimate recycling from shamsWaste Diversion groups can sit uncomfortably with the Competition Act
The industry funding organizations used to provide, or to fund, waste diversion can have anti-competitive effects. There is a natural tendency for large companies with market power to use that power to design waste diversion programs and organizations in their own interest and to create obst…
View the post titled Waste Diversion groups can sit uncomfortably with the Competition ActChallenge to Sage Grouse Protection Order
In December, the Federal Government followed through on its commitment (and obligation) to introduce an Emergency Protection Order for the Greater Sage Grouse, a species on the verge of extinction in Canada. Earlier this month, however, the City of Medicine Hat and LGX Oil & Gas Inc. fi…
View the post titled Challenge to Sage Grouse Protection OrderExcess Soil Management Guidance finalized
The Ministry of the Environment has announced release of the final, Management of Excess Soil – A Guide for Best Management Practices is now available on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry and the ministry’s website. You can access the guide here. The document provides guidance on man…
View the post titled Excess Soil Management Guidance finalizedShould roadbed slag count as battery recycling?
Waste Diversion Ontario is considering a proposal by Call2Recycle Canada to take over battery recycling from Ontario’s existing Consolidated Municipal Hazardous Solid Waste (CMHSW) diversion program under the Waste Diversion Act, 2002. Ontario’s battery recyclers (including our client)…
View the post titled Should roadbed slag count as battery recycling?Supreme Court: Honest efforts to understand the law are not enough
The Supreme Court of Canada has made compliance with ambiguous regulations tougher than ever, by ruling that honest efforts to understand the law (however confusing) are not enough. In La Souveraine, Compagnie d’assurance générale v. Autorité des marchés financiers, Sovereign General (SG) wa…
View the post titled Supreme Court: Honest efforts to understand the law are not enoughReceive Blog Posts
By subscribing to our blog, you will receive an email when a new post is added. You can unsubscribe at any time by sending an email to us at [email protected] with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line.