“MEAN GIRLS”: Bill 132 and the OHSA
It has been six years since Bill 168 amended Ontario’s Occupational Health & Safety Act to require employers to take steps to prevent and to deal with bullying and harassment in the workplace. Since that time, we have come to realize that there were gaps – some would say flaws – in the legislation which reduced...
Continue reading the post titled “MEAN GIRLS”: Bill 132 and the OHSABill 138: Ending Coal for Cleaner Air Act, 2013
The Ontario government has introduced Bill 138, Ending Coal for Cleaner Air Act, 2013, to confirm their longstanding decision to end the use of coal at Ontario’s electricity generating facilities and to prohibit new stand-alone coal-fired generating facilities. Coal-fired electricity generating facilities are major sources of air pollution. Emissions from these facilities include: oxides of nitrogen...
Continue reading the post titled Bill 138: Ending Coal for Cleaner Air Act, 2013New environmental laws in Ontario
It was a big week for new environmental laws in Ontario. Last week, on November 3, a trio of environmental laws–each of which has suffered a tortured history of introduction, death, and re-incarnation–finally received royal assent and came into effect: the Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015, Invasive Species Act, 2015, and the Protection of Public Participation Act, 2015....
Continue reading the post titled New environmental laws in OntarioEndangered Species exemptions survive court challenge
Sweeping exemptions from Ontario’s protection for endangered species have been upheld by the Divisional Court, despite concerns that they reduce the effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act, 2007. In Wildlands League v. Lieutenant Governor in Council, 2015 ONSC 2942, Ecojustice, the Wildlands League and the Federation of Ontario Naturalists (“Wildlands”), bravely but unsuccessfully challenged the validity of Ontario Regulation...
Continue reading the post titled Endangered Species exemptions survive court challengeSydney Tar Ponds Environmental Class Action is over
The neighbours wanted to hold the federal and provincial governments liable for air, water and soil pollution caused by the historic Sydney steel mill and coke works
Continue reading the post titled Sydney Tar Ponds Environmental Class Action is overNew regulations to reduce coal?
Getting rid of coal in electricity generation made Ontario Canada’s leader in reducing GHG emissions. Now that we have a remarkably climate-friendly electrical system, what about other uses of coal in Ontario? The Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) says it will get out of the way of coal reductions by heavy...
Continue reading the post titled New regulations to reduce coal?Anti-Fluoride in Drinking Water: Litigation Update
Will citizen group litigation and the threat of personal liability stop fluoridation of drinking water in Ontario? In our earlier blog post, we described a threat by an advocacy group called Concerned Residents of Peel to End Water Fluoridation (Concerned Residents) against Peel municipal councillors. The group threatened the councillors with personal liability if they did not stop the Region from...
Continue reading the post titled Anti-Fluoride in Drinking Water: Litigation UpdateCurrent environmental liability issues for municipalities
On June 17, Dianne Saxe and Graham Rempe of the City Toronto’s Legal Services spoke on the issue of current environmental liabilities for municipalities. Graham gracious agreed to allow us to post the paper we prepared here. As the introduction explains: Few topics evoke more concern about “vast” liability than environmental mishaps. Municipalities and their legal advisors...
Continue reading the post titled Current environmental liability issues for municipalitiesEnvironment Ministry to loosen law for waste-based alternative fuels that displace coal
Kudos to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for finally coming to grips, at least a little, with the adverse environmental and environmental effects of labeling too many productive activities as “waste disposal”. The ministry’s proposed regulatory changes will remove the “waste disposal” label from energy-intensive and trade-exposed heavy industry (such as the cement, lime, iron and steel...
Continue reading the post titled Environment Ministry to loosen law for waste-based alternative fuels that displace coalEcuador oil pollution claim can try again to collect from Chevron in Canada
Indigenous Ecuadorian villagers can try again to enforce a controversial $18 billion environmental damage award against Texaco (now merged with Chevron Corp., one of the world’s largest corporations) in Canada. This is part of a worldwide legal battle between the villagers, seeking to collect the money and have the pollution cleaned up, and Chevron, which argues that...
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