Plastic-bottled water ban on the horizon in Montreal?
Not long after announcing his city’s intention to ban single-use plastic bags by 2018, Montreal mayor Denis Coderre has indicated that banning plastic-bottled water may be next. Bottled water has long been decried for its heavy environmental footprint. Not only is it unnecessary where safe and effective municipal systems exist, plastic bottles create an enormous...
Continue reading the post titled Plastic-bottled water ban on the horizon in Montreal?Shell fined $500,000, pays $200,000 to First Nation following 2013 spill
In case you missed it, nearly 3 years following the event, Shell Canada Ltd has been sentenced for a spill of “flare knock-out liquids” at a Sarnia-area refinery. The January 2013 spill affected members of the nearby Aamjiwnaang First Nation, who experienced a variety of adverse health effects (including sore eyes and throats, vomiting, nausea,...
Continue reading the post titled Shell fined $500,000, pays $200,000 to First Nation following 2013 spillPriestly Demolition fined $70,000 for Spill and Failure to Report
The defendant, Priestly Demolition Inc. caused chlorine gas to be discharged into the environment when an employee operating a magnetic grapple attempted to move old pressurized gas cylinders. During the move, a valve snapped releasing the gas. The employee experienced a burning sensation and was taken to the hospital where he received treatment and stayed overnight....
Continue reading the post titled Priestly Demolition fined $70,000 for Spill and Failure to ReportDry 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 CourtsCould 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 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 ActMaking 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 lagsAnother 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 FineReceive Blog Posts
By subscribing to our blog, you will receive an email when a new post is added. You can unsubscribe at any time by sending an email to us at [email protected] with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line.