Merchants of Doubt
Ever wondered why good science has lost so much traction in public policy, especially in the US? (Though Canada is far from exempt: Consider the Experimental Lakes Area.) Or why so many Americans just won’t seem to accept obvious facts about evolution, climate change, even second hand tobacc…
View the post titled Merchants of DoubtBaker (Northstar Directors') liability appeal has settled
Ten corporate officers and directors have paid $4.75 million to be released from the Northstar Canada cleanup order, even though the Ministry of the Environment admits that none of them were at fault for causing the contamination. Some were not even on the Northstar Canada board. The Enviro…
View the post titled Baker (Northstar Directors') liability appeal has settledNorthstar Inc. and the Ministry of the Environment: Are Directors and Officers Responsible for Environmental Remediation?
How much responsibility do Directors and Officers bear for environmental contamination? The answer is not clear from the text of the Environmental Protection Act and currently the Ontario Courts are considering the issue in Baker v Ministry of the Environment. In this blog post, Paula Lombar…
View the post titled Northstar Inc. and the Ministry of the Environment: Are Directors and Officers Responsible for Environmental Remediation?Approvals Modernization spreads to Public Lands Act
The trend towards “modernization of approvals” (otherwise known as “permit by rule” for what are supposed to be routine, lower risk, routinely-permitted activities) continues to spread across the Ontario government. Now it’s the turn of the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Public Lands Act.
View the post titled Approvals Modernization spreads to Public Lands ActMisunderstood "best by" labels waste food and energy
According to a recent Harvard study, The Dating Game, badly regulated and poorly understood food labelling contributes to an enormous, avoidable waste of food, and associated energy and emissions.
View the post titled Misunderstood "best by" labels waste food and energyMore details on the new NPC 300 noise guideline
Ontario’s updated Noise Guideline, NPC 300, mentioned in yesterday’s post, is not identical to the draft posted for comments in 2010. For example, there will be no Class 5 areas. The Ministry of the Environment describes the changes from the original draft as follows:
View the post titled More details on the new NPC 300 noise guidelineGood news: updated Ontario noise guideline
After three years of consideration, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment has adopted a more up-to-date guideline for assessing noise impacts. “Environmental Noise Guideline Stationary and Transportation Sources – Approval and Planning, Publication NPC-300” is now in force. See NPC 300 o…
View the post titled Good news: updated Ontario noise guidelineAnimations in environmental law
Computer animations can be a powerful form of demonstrative evidence, but it has been surprisingly hard for them to gain much traction in Canadian courts. Here is Dianne’s primer on what’s required to use them effectively as evidence in environmental cases:Using computer animations
View the post titled Animations in environmental lawSupreme Court upholds Castonguay: "When in doubt, report"
The Supreme Court of Canada has rejected Castonguay’s appeal of its conviction for failing to report, to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, a fly rock incident during road construction. They were fined $25,000 plus the 25% victim fine surcharge. This decision greatly expands the…
View the post titled Supreme Court upholds Castonguay: "When in doubt, report"MOE Director admits that the Northstar directors were not polluters
Our high-stakes case, appealing the imposition of infinite retroactive personal liability on directors for contamination they did not cause, will be heard by the Environmental Review Tribunal starting October 28. Initial witness statements in Baker v Director, Ministry of the Environment we…
View the post titled MOE Director admits that the Northstar directors were not pollutersReceive Blog Posts
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