Dry Cleaner Sentenced to House Arrest for Improper Storage of Tetrachloroethylene
An Edmonton businessman and owner of a dry cleaning operation, First Class Cleaners, was given an four-month conditional sentence on that is to be served in the community. The owner of First Class Cleaners plead guilty to five Canadian Environmental Protection Act offences relating to the use of tetrachloroethylene (also known as perchloroethylene or PERC)....
Continue reading the post titled Dry Cleaner Sentenced to House Arrest for Improper Storage of TetrachloroethyleneEndangered Species Litigation in Court of Appeal
Earlier this week, two environmental groups, Wildlands League and Ontario Nature (the “Appellants”), were in the Court of Appeal for Ontario seeking to have struck down a 2013 regulation that significantly altered the regime for protecting species at risk in Ontario. When initially introduced in 2007, the Endangered Species Act (the “Act”) was hailed as...
Continue reading the post titled Endangered Species Litigation in Court of AppealEnvironmental Assessment in the Courts
A duo of recent decisions underscore yet again the need for an overhaul of the existing environmental assessment (“EA”) regime. Environmental groups Greenpeace Canada, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Northwatch, and the Canadian Environmental Law Association (the “Applicants”) filed two judicial review applications of the EAs conducted as part of the proposed expansion of a nuclear power...
Continue reading the post titled Environmental Assessment in the CourtsAnother Conviction under the Migratory Birds Convention Act
The Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 (MBCA) is again being used as a tool to protect migratory birds that are also species at risk. In early April, Bergedac Ltée, and a shareholder and employee of the company, were convicted and fined a total of $12,000 for violating Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 for the destruction...
Continue reading the post titled Another Conviction under the Migratory Birds Convention ActAnother piece to Ontario’s Climate Change response
On June 8, 2016, Ontario released its Climate Change Action Plan. The plan follows closely on the heels of the introduction of legislation that will put a cap and trade programme into place in the province. The 5-year plan is comprehensive, and hits on many of the same concerns as the Environmental Commissioner’s recent report,...
Continue reading the post titled Another piece to Ontario’s Climate Change responseCould an update to the Environmental Registry be coming soon?
Change may soon be coming to the Environmental Registry. The Registry has been crucial to supporting public participation in environmental decision making in Ontario for nearly two decades. Created under the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 and administered by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (“MOECC”), the Registry provides public access to information...
Continue reading the post titled Could an update to the Environmental Registry be coming soon?Another Hefty Fisheries Act Fine
Another significant penalty has been ordered in relation to an offence under the Fisheries Act. Earlier this month, a Nova Scotia pulp and paper company was ordered by a provincial court to pay $225,000 in relation to a pipeline break that released 47 million litres of untreated effluent into the environment. The spill occurred in...
Continue reading the post titled Another Hefty Fisheries Act FineMaking the environmental grade: Ontario leads while Canada lags
A recent report published by the Conference Board of Canada has found Ontario to be the top environmental performing province in the country based on 9 criteria. But in the larger scheme of things, the same report found that the environmental record of Canada as a whole is woefully lacking compared to that of its...
Continue reading the post titled Making the environmental grade: Ontario leads while Canada lagsTreaty on Mercury?
A global agreement to restrict the use of mercury may finally be on the way. The UN’s first intergovernmental Mercury Conference took place in Stockholm this month; the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) has released a summary of the negotiations.
Continue reading the post titled Treaty on Mercury?Spills are good for lawyers
Spills always seem to be good for lawyers, if not for the environment. More than 300 lawsuits have been filed against BP relating to the Gulf oil spill, in addition to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility that is handing out emergency money from the $20 billion set aside by BP. But lower profile spills also...
Continue reading the post titled Spills are good for lawyersReceive Blog Posts
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