Class Action Update
Another attempt to seek environmental health damages in a class action has failed. The federal government, Dow and Pharmacia are facing class actions across the country relating to herbicides used at its military base in Gagetown, New Brunswick.
Continue reading the post titled Class Action UpdateWhy isn't industry more worried about Reg. 419/05?
If wildly improbable events are the benchmark for measuring compliance, industrial facilities in urban locations will rarely “comply”.
Continue reading the post titled Why isn't industry more worried about Reg. 419/05?New brownfields standards coming soon
Ministry of the Environment staff are seeking approval for proposed changes to the brownfields regulation, 153/04. Last year, the MOE proposed far-reaching changes, including: much more stringent generic cleanup standards, to be phased in 12 months later, a more flexible Tier 2 for risk assessment,
Continue reading the post titled New brownfields standards coming soonThe New Reality – Summary Judgment Motions
Following a recent decision, Michael Polvere describes why the old adage “I’ll get my day in court”, in the traditional sense, has changed. While much has been written by lawyers, and between lawyers, about the ground breaking case, Hryniak v Mauldin,[1] which was decided by the Supreme Court of Canada in January of this year;...
Continue reading the post titled The New Reality – Summary Judgment MotionsTowards a New Class Action Certification Costs Framework?
Introduction In a succession of decisions issued in November 2013, Justice Belobaba articulated a new framework for determining the appropriate level of costs to be awarded on class action certification motions.1 Citing the fundamental objective of access to justice, Belobaba J. expressed a preference for a no costs regime in class proceedings. His Honour indicated...
Continue reading the post titled Towards a New Class Action Certification Costs Framework?Has the Time Come to Amend Section 2(3)
Is it time to abandon the ninety-day rule? Has the Time Come to Amend Section 2(3) (the “Ninety-Day Rule”) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992? Section 2(3) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 (CPA) requires that a certification motion be made “within ninety days.”1 The timing of the certification motion, the central focus of much...
Continue reading the post titled Has the Time Come to Amend Section 2(3)Environmental penalties gaining steam
Ontario’s environmental penalties regime for spills is gathering steam. The final count for 2009 was 13 penalties totalling $112,143.20, most under the Environmental Protection Act. The highest penalty was $23,750. Thirteen more penalties have already been issued in the first four months of 2010, totalling $77,003.
Continue reading the post titled Environmental penalties gaining steamDouble dipping
When environmental penalties when first proposed, one of the big concerns of the business community was the risk of double jeopardy: giving information to the Ministry of the Environment in the hope of minimizing an environmental penalty, only to have that same information used against one in a prosecution. In January, this issue came to...
Continue reading the post titled Double dippingClimate change: How strong is the evidence?
Is climate change science “real science”? Can climate change experts give expert evidence in court? Canadian courts have not yet wrestled with this issue, but American courts have. The leading case is Green Mountain Chrysler v. Crombie. In 2007, the auto industry tried to prevent leading climate change experts from giving expert evidence, on the ground...
Continue reading the post titled Climate change: How strong is the evidence?Pollution from distant source a nuisance?
The legal category of nuisance may be easier to use for long distance air pollution after a recent comment by the Ontario Court of Appeal. In Antrim Truck Centre Ltd. v. Ontario (Transportation), 2011 ONCA 419 (CanLII), Justice Epstein ruled that nuisance claims can be successfully made, no matter the distance between the source and the...
Continue reading the post titled Pollution from distant source a nuisance?Receive Blog Posts
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