Zephyr Wind REA Appeal dropped
To date, every Renewable Energy Approval for a wind farm has been appealed to the Environmental Review Tribunal. The Environmental Review Tribunal rejected the first appeal, for the Kent Breeze wind farm, but ruled that it will allow the same or similar evidence in subsequent cases.11-208 MIDDLESEX-LAMBTON WIND ACTION GROUP INC. Essentially, the claim is that noise...
Continue reading the post titled Zephyr Wind REA Appeal droppedAlberta Court of Appeal Upholds Termination of Employee for Cocaine Use That Resulted in Workplace Accident
As most employers know, the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) prohibits discrimination on the basis of, among other things, “disability”. While the Code’s definition of disability does not specifically include drug or alcohol addiction, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed over 16 years ago that drug or alcohol dependency would, or could, amount to...
Continue reading the post titled Alberta Court of Appeal Upholds Termination of Employee for Cocaine Use That Resulted in Workplace AccidentBig Drive Clean fines for car owners
Ontario car owners are now receiving thousand dollar fines, or higher, for trying to evade Drive Clean testing.
Continue reading the post titled Big Drive Clean fines for car ownersCertificate of analysis ok as evidence despite minor error and delay?
A court accepted a Maxxam certificate of analysis into evidence in an environmental prosecution, despite a minor error in an internal chain of custody, and a two month delay in issuing the certificate. The decision is useful for anyone who takes samples, analyses them or uses the result in court.
Continue reading the post titled Certificate of analysis ok as evidence despite minor error and delay?Can biased sampling create hazardous waste?
One of our current cases deals with a question that is critical to everyone in the waste business: can biased sampling make a non-hazardous waste “hazardous”?
Continue reading the post titled Can biased sampling create hazardous waste?Inco awarded $1,766,000 in costs for contamination class action
Justice J. R. Henderson of the Ontario Superior Court has awarded Inco $1,766,000 in legal costs arising from the Smith v. Inco nickel contamination class action in Port Colborne, Ontario. This is less than a quarter of Inco’s actual legal costs, which exceeded $5,340,000 after certification.
Continue reading the post titled Inco awarded $1,766,000 in costs for contamination class actionBruce Power Receives $100,000 Penalty for Refrigerant handling Violations
Bruce Power Limited Partnership, operator of the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant, has pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA, 1999). It received penalties of $100,000 for failure to conduct an annual leak test of all the components of a refrigeration system, contrary to the Federal Halocarbon Regulations, 2003 and paragraph 272(1)(a) of CEPA,...
Continue reading the post titled Bruce Power Receives $100,000 Penalty for Refrigerant handling ViolationsOntario’s New Drug-Impaired Driving Laws
In an effort to put an end to drugged driving, as of October 2, 2016, drug-impaired drivers face penalties matching those in place for drunk drivers. Motorists stopped by police while under the influence of drugs now face a minimum $180 penalty and immediate license suspension. In additional, impaired motorists may face criminal charges. Drivers...
Continue reading the post titled Ontario’s New Drug-Impaired Driving LawsCase Commentary: Bernstein v Peoples Trust Company, 2017 ONSC 752
A recent decision certifying a class action for prepaid payment cards demonstrates the potential of Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act and the limits of creative technical arguments at the threshold certification stage. Case Background Bernstein v Peoples Trust Company is a class action regarding certain prepaid Visa and Prepaid issued by the Defendants. The Plaintiff alleges that...
Continue reading the post titled Case Commentary: Bernstein v Peoples Trust Company, 2017 ONSC 752Anti-fracking bylaws: US Lawyer wins green Nobel prize
Helen Slottje, a lawyer in Ithaca, New York, was recently awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for her work “helping towns across New York defend themselves from oil and gas companies by passing local bans on fracking” (the US equivalent of anti-fracking bylaws). Her legal research concluded that individual townships could use zoning laws, through “home rule”, to...
Continue reading the post titled Anti-fracking bylaws: US Lawyer wins green Nobel prizeReceive Blog Posts
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