Things we wish judges knew about environmental offences by directors
Dianne Saxe had a precious opportunity to tell judges what we wish they knew about environmental offences by directors and and officers, particularly in relation to sentencing. Our bottom lines: Fairness, Good Science, and the real differences between Foresight and Hindsight. It is rarely co…
View the post titled Things we wish judges knew about environmental offences by directorsBaker (Northstar Directors') liability appeal has settled
Ten corporate officers and directors have paid $4.75 million to be released from the Northstar Canada cleanup order, even though the Ministry of the Environment admits that none of them were at fault for causing the contamination. Some were not even on the Northstar Canada board. The Enviro…
View the post titled Baker (Northstar Directors') liability appeal has settledWho pays when polluters can’t?
In theory, Canadians are pretty comfortable with the polluter pay principle, at least when it applies to other people. (We do not seem to feel the same way about carbon taxes.) In theory, the polluter-pay principle ensures that polluters, rather than the public or the immediate victims of po…
View the post titled Who pays when polluters can’t?Innocent owner Kawartha Lakes loses at Court of Appeal
The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a decision of the Environmental Review Tribunal, refusing to allow an innocent landowner, City of Kawartha Lakes, to lead evidence about the actual polluters. Everyone agreed that the City was completely innocent of the fuel spill, which flowed onto mun…
View the post titled Innocent owner Kawartha Lakes loses at Court of AppealKawartha Lakes appeal heard by Court of Appeal
The City of Kawartha Lakes has appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal from a Ministry of the Environment Order, which imposed cleanup liability on the City for contamination it did not cause. The City argues that the MOE should have imposed those cleanup costs on the polluters, meaning eith…
View the post titled Kawartha Lakes appeal heard by Court of AppealScience, 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 base…
View the post titled Science, proof and causation: when courts and scientists disagreeMOE wins: Kawartha Lakes must pay
innocent victims of contamination now have no defence against a Ministry cleanup order. They will be forced into the civil courts if they hope for any remedy
View the post titled MOE wins: Kawartha Lakes must payReceive Blog Posts
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