Smith v Inco appeal application
Kirk Baert has kindly permitted us to post his Application to the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Smith v. Inco. This was the first environmental contamination class action in Canada tried on its merits. The Appeal Court’s decision on liability has substantially narrowed environmental causes...
Continue reading the post titled Smith v Inco appeal applicationAnti-fracking and Great Lakes Bills to Committee
The Ontario Legislature rose for the summer on June 4, with two environmental proposed environmental laws having received second reading, but awaiting Committee review and public hearings. The third environmental law, Bill 52, Protection of Public Participation Act, 2015 (anti-SLAPP) has been debated but has not yet received second reading. Bill 82, the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources...
Continue reading the post titled Anti-fracking and Great Lakes Bills to CommitteeDrive Clean tweaked
Ontario’s vehicle emissions control program, Drive Clean, is getting a tuneup. Amendments to Ontario Regulation 361/98[i] (Motor Vehicles) under the Environmental Protection Act will modernize the Drive Clean program.[ii] By December 12, 2012, the Acceleration Simulation Mode (dynamometer) tailpipe test will be replaced with: [iii],[iv]
Continue reading the post titled Drive Clean tweakedPrivacy Notice
Effective: January 1, 2004Last modified: Nov 14, 2023 (see changelog at bottom). This Notice explains how Siskinds LLP and our affiliates, including our Québec office, Siskinds, Desmeules s.e.n.c.r.l., (“we”, “us”, or “our”) collect, use, retain, share and delete (collectively, “process”) your Personal Information, which is broadly defined to include any information about an identifiable individual....
Continue reading the post titled Privacy NoticeScience, proof and causation: when courts and scientists disagree
Bad science should be thrown out of court. When alleged scientific data fails to meet relevant, objective quality standards specifically developed for that kind of data, no one knows whether the claimed result is either reliable or correct. It is fundamentally unfair to punish anyone based on such data.
Continue reading the post titled Science, proof and causation: when courts and scientists disagreeAnother 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 FineDry 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 TetrachloroethyleneCould 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?Half of World’s Natural Heritage Sites Are Under Threat
A chilling report recently released by WWF (formerly World Wildlife Fund) has found that nearly half of the world’s UNESCO-designated natural World Heritage Sites are threatened by industrial activities including oil, gas, and mineral extraction, overfishing, and illegal logging. Sadly, some of the world’s most iconic natural sites have made it onto the WWF’s list,...
Continue reading the post titled Half of World’s Natural Heritage Sites Are Under ThreatAnother 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 responseReceive Blog Posts
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