Suncor stormwater conviction
According to Alberta Environment, the Provincial Court of Alberta in Fort McMurray has fined Suncor Energy Inc. $275,000 for contravening its water approval at the Voyager Upgrader site 20 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.
View the post titled Suncor stormwater convictionJudicial Criticism of Experts: so what?
Judges occasionally make harsh criticisms of the witnesses who appear before them. Sometimes those criticisms are justified; other times, everyone is just having a bad day. In these days of instant search, such a criticism could be recycled endlessly in subsequent cases, perhaps permanently …
View the post titled Judicial Criticism of Experts: so what?Chevron, Ecuador, and court shopping
30,000 people, including indigenous tribes, suing Chevron (for toxic waste discharges by its predecessor, Texaco) obtained an $8.6 billion judgment this week from the Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbios in Lago Agrio, Ecuador. The penalty is reportedly to be doubled if Chevron does not…
View the post titled Chevron, Ecuador, and court shoppingEndangered species: Ecojustice killer whale win
Congratulations to Ecojustice for its killer whale win. They successfully sued the federal government for its failure to protect the habitat of endangered species, killer whales in British Columbia. The 126 page judgment concludes that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has utterly faile…
View the post titled Endangered species: Ecojustice killer whale winSocial media, pollution and enforcement
I think it is fascinating how environmental groups are using electronic media to name and shame polluters that governments have chosen not to rein in.
View the post titled Social media, pollution and enforcementDocuments excluded after illegal seizure
Environmental investigators are not allowed to seize private documents unless they have prior judicial authorization (i.e., a search warrant) or the consent of the owner of the documents. However, this does not always stop them.
View the post titled Documents excluded after illegal seizureEnvironmental fines in Canada
Nimonik has posted an interesting and original survey of environmental fines imposed in Canada from 1990 to 2009. According to the reports provided by each jurisdiction, only $26-million dollars worth of environmental fines have been levied against polluters by both provincial and federal l…
View the post titled Environmental fines in CanadaHazardous waste nonsuit decision
As mentioned last week, we won a rare non-suit motion in the Ontario Court of Justice on three counts, each against three defendants charged with improperly managing hazardous waste at a transfer site, contrary to the Environmental Protection Act. In each case, the Ministry of the Environme…
View the post titled Hazardous waste nonsuit decisionA rare jail sentence
Jail is a possible penalty for many environmental offences (see s. 187 of the Environmental Protection Act), but is rarely imposed. It is usually reserved for those defiantly causing serious pollution. On September 1, 2010, Pierre Sleiman was sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $5,000 plu…
View the post titled A rare jail sentenceClimate change: How strong is the evidence?
Is climate change science “real science”? Can climate change experts give expert evidence in court? Canadian courts have not yet wrestled with this issue, but American courts have. The leading case is Green Mountain Chrysler v. Crombie. In 2007, the auto industry tried to prevent…
View the post titled Climate change: How strong is the evidence?Receive Blog Posts
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