Downloading liability on municipalities
Senior governments seem to have no shame about downloading enormous, Â undisclosed environmental liabilities on municipalities. In an English case, Corby Group Litigation v. Corby District Council, the Corby Borough Council (CBC) has been held liable for allowing residents to become exposed to toxic substances during its 1980s cleanup of an old British Steel works. British...
Continue reading the post titled Downloading liability on municipalitiesAfter Copenhagen
The biggest consequence of Copenhagen for Canada will probably be the erosion of our national reputation - instead of being nice people, we are now the Fossil of the Year, ragging on about "Climategate" when the rest of the world has moved on.
Continue reading the post titled After CopenhagenReal protection of watersheds
In the ongoing fallout of Ontario’s unfortunate response to the Walkerton water disaster, the objective of Ontario's source protection plans will be too narrow: protecting the immediate vicinity of sources of drinking water. Watersheds have many “functions” other than providing drinking water, and they cannot be successfully managed with blinders on.
Continue reading the post titled Real protection of watershedsWater Opportunities and Conservation Act?
Bill 72, the Water Opportunities and Water Conservation Act, 2010, passed second reading in the Ontario Legislature on September 23. It was referred to the  Standing Committee on General Government, which will hold public hearings in Toronto on October 18 and 20. Important dates:
Continue reading the post titled Water Opportunities and Conservation Act?Nuclear Liability cap in Canada
As Japan battles to prevent nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima, with the assistance of the International Atomic Energy  Agency, anxious eyes are turning to nuclear safety in other countries. Canadian reactors boast a relatively safe design, but still require cooling, and are therefore vulnerable to a major earthquake.  If a nuclear incident happened here, who would...
Continue reading the post titled Nuclear Liability cap in CanadaEnvironmental compliance approvals Sept.19
On September 19, 2011, Ontario will start to accept applications for the new class of “Environmental Compliance Approvals”. Regulation 255/11 sets out the generic requirements for applying for an ECA; individual projects will require additional information, yet to be specified.Â
Continue reading the post titled Environmental compliance approvals Sept.19Approvals Reform, phase 2
The Ministry of the Environment is moving into the second phase of its long-awaited comprehensive approval reforms. The first part of the new approvals framework became operational on October 31, 2011.Two more parts of this initiative are now open for public consultation. The first is
Continue reading the post titled Approvals Reform, phase 2Keep green energy, oppose Bill 39
Petition Alert: Oppose Bill 39 and speak out in support of renewable energy in Ontario! Here is an important notice, from the Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative and Solarshare, about how to support renewable energy. The Conservative Party has introduced a Bill to revoke the Green Energy Act and the FIT Program. It was tabled on March...
Continue reading the post titled Keep green energy, oppose Bill 39Ministry of Education revises its Statement of Environmental Values
Ontario’s Ministry of Education has a revised Statement of Environmental Values under the Environmental Bill of Rights.
Continue reading the post titled Ministry of Education revises its Statement of Environmental ValuesA new approach to assessing resource projects coming down the pipeline?
The environmental review of proposed resource projects in Canada continues to undergo changes of late. Back in 2012, a duo of omnibus bills–Bill C-38 and Bill C-45–introduced significant changes to the way in which resource projects, such as the construction and expansion of pipelines. These changes included the scrapping and replacement of the existing federal...
Continue reading the post titled A new approach to assessing resource projects coming down the pipeline?Receive Blog Posts
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