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 year’s violation reports to see if MOE’s intentions with...
Continue reading the post titled 2014 Pesticide Prosecution “Roundup”Municipal Anti-Wind By-Laws Inoperative
Another Ontario municipality’s attempts to block wind energy development have been thrown out by the courts. Municipalities cannot use anti-wind by-laws to frustrate Renewable Energy Approvals (REA), under the Green Energy Act, S.O. 2009, c. 12 (“Green Energy Act”).
Continue reading the post titled Municipal Anti-Wind By-Laws InoperativeLead Pipes and Drinking Water, #2
The Ministry of the Environment has responded to the furore over lead in drinking water with new regulations, and a proposal for more. Most of the resulting financial burden will, as usual, fall on the municipalities. • O.Reg. 243/07 (Schools, Private Schools and Day Nurseries – EBR posting 010-0734), is already in effect. it –...
Continue reading the post titled Lead Pipes and Drinking Water, #2Should Energy Board consider climate before approving pipelines?
Can, and should, the National Energy Board consider climate impacts before approving oil pipelines? The federal government says no, objectors say yes. Now the courts must decide.
Continue reading the post titled Should Energy Board consider climate before approving pipelines?Towards 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?Port Authority biased in approving coal port?
This month, Ecojustice filed an application for judicial review of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s decision to permit a coal transfer facility. They claim that the Port Authority failed to consider some environmental effects, including climate change, and that the decision of the Port and its officers and staff was affected by bias. Bias is a serious...
Continue reading the post titled Port Authority biased in approving coal port?Environmental orders: no stay pending appeal
Is the "public interest" in getting environmental work done immediately more important than whether there is a sound legal basis for making a particular person pay for it?
Continue reading the post titled Environmental orders: no stay pending appealWind appeals starting to settle?
Now that the Divisional Court has upheld Ontario’s renewable energy approval process, and the decisions of the Environmental Review Tribunal on concerns about adverse health effects, wind appeals are starting to settle. The Tribunal has heard appeal after appeal against renewable energy approvals (REAs) for wind farms, many raising substantially the same health concerns (commonly concerns...
Continue reading the post titled Wind appeals starting to settle?Does the Endangered Species Act have teeth?
Is that all the Endangered Species Act will do? Create an expensive sort of legal shell game while irreplaceable habitat is bulldozed?
Continue reading the post titled Does the Endangered Species Act have teeth?A Short History of Wind Litigation in Ontario
Dianne Saxe delivered a presentation to the American Bar Association on July 22, providing a comprehensive overview of wind litigation in Ontario since the Green Energy Act came into effect. She traced a number of trends in the types of wind cases that are being brought before the Environmental Review Tribunal (including the persistent failure...
Continue reading the post titled A Short History of Wind Litigation in OntarioReceive Blog Posts
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