Legal Consequences for flouting Kyoto?
The science of climate change is now clear; what will the legal consequences be? With the release of their fourth report, the Nobel-Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has confirmed it: the climate is changing faster than anyone thought possible, and it’s because of humans. Our emissions are continuing to grow, and will have...
Continue reading the post titled Legal Consequences for flouting Kyoto?Goodbye to Nanticoke, and all that coal
January 8 marked the last day of operation of the Nanticoke Generating Station, the last operating coal-fired electrical generating facility in southern Ontario. This latest shut down will help mark 2014 as the year Ontario will become a coal-free jurisdiction. Nanticoke was once the worst air polluter in Canada, and closing it is one of...
Continue reading the post titled Goodbye to Nanticoke, and all that coalRegulatory tweak on export controls
The federal government has tweaked the regulations it uses, under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA 1999), to control which polluting substances can be exported from Canada. The new rules reduce redundancy, and add in Canada’s obligations under the Stockholm Convention. The old Export Control List Notification Regulations (ECLNR), SOR/2000-108 have been repealed. In their place, the Export of Substances...
Continue reading the post titled Regulatory tweak on export controlsRecords of Site Condition – common problems
Records of Site Condition are the regulatory documents used in Ontario to confirm whether a potentially or actually contaminated site meets acceptable standards for a particular land-use, under the Environmental Protection Act and O.Reg. 153/04. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has issued a Records of Site Condition-Getting them right, a list of the most common...
Continue reading the post titled Records of Site Condition – common problemsHunting Convictions for Shooting Decoys
A conservation officer saw two individuals sitting in their truck strategically located in order to observe the decoys with binoculars. The conservation officers placed the stationary moose decoys along the travelled portion of a maintained and travelled forest resource access corridor. After a period of time, one of the individuals got out of the truck and...
Continue reading the post titled Hunting Convictions for Shooting DecoysCanada to Invest $44.84 Million Towards the Great Lakes Protection Initiative
The International Joint Commission (“IJC”) is a binational organization created under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. The purpose of the IJC is to prevent and resolve disputes relating to the use and quality of boundary waters. The IJC recognizes that each country is affected by the other’s actions as it relates to the watersheds...
Continue reading the post titled Canada to Invest $44.84 Million Towards the Great Lakes Protection InitiativeExamining Shared Environmental Interests with the Michigan State Bar Webcast
On November 12th, members of State Bar of Michigan and the Ontario Bar Association come together to discuss environmental law topics relevant to lawyers on both sides of the border. Moderated by Siskinds LLP partner Paula Lombardi, speakers will discuss the impact of the deep geological repository, and other nuclear waste disposal options, aquaculture, development...
Continue reading the post titled Examining Shared Environmental Interests with the Michigan State Bar WebcastComputers in Law Offices: Good or Bad for the Environment?
How do computers affect the environmental footprint of law offices?It’s easy to add up the negatives. Computers and their peripherals (printers, modems, cables, hubs, etc.) have large resource demands, pollute indoor air and create hazardous waste. Computers chew up power, paper and other resources. In the average office, 14% of the energy purchased is used...
Continue reading the post titled Computers in Law Offices: Good or Bad for the Environment?Major changes proposed for shale gas fracking
Advisors to US Energy Secretary, Stephen Chu, have recommended major changes to improve regulation and environmental performance of shale gas fracturing (fracking) in the US. Public consultation is continuing, and the final report will be released in November. Canadian regulators should be paying close attention, as the recommendations are equally applicable here. The draft report...
Continue reading the post titled Major changes proposed for shale gas frackingFirst Environmental Penalty
Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment has issued its first-ever environmental penalty under its so-called “you-spill, you-pay” legislation. Director Bill Bardswick ordered CGC Inc. of Hagersville to pay the province $9,000, for allowing contaminated runoff from its gypsum processing plant to enter a tributary of the Grand River on September 26, 2007. This is a purely...
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