Ecojustice victory for endangered species
Why doesn’t the federal government protect endangered species without Ecojustice* taking them to court? In December 2010, Ecojustice won their lawsuit against the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans for failing to protect killer whale habitat in B.C. In its plan to protect the w…
View the post titled Ecojustice victory for endangered speciesWhat's happened to federal enforcement?
In Getting Tough on Environmental Crime?, Ecojustice collates fragmentary, publicly available information to show the marked decline in federal environmental inspections and convictions since 2004.
View the post titled What's happened to federal enforcement?Ponoka fined $70,000 for sewage discharge permitted by province
While federal environmental enforcement is less frequent these days, the fines imposed are getting larger. The small town of Ponoka, Alberta (population about 7000) was fined $70,000 after pleading guilty to one count under the Fisheries Act. The Town was releasing effluent from their wastew…
View the post titled Ponoka fined $70,000 for sewage discharge permitted by provinceCongratulations to Environmental Commissioners
I am late in congratulating both the Ontario and the federal Environmental Commissioners for their invaluable annual reports, and will try to look more closely at their findings as time permits. The Ontario Commissioner emphasizes how much the Ontario Ministry of the Environment is doing wit…
View the post titled Congratulations to Environmental CommissionersNew federal wastewater regulations a challenge for municipalities
Dianne spoke last month at the annual Canadian Water and Wastewater Association “Window on Ottawa”, on potential risks to municipalities of the new Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations under the Fisheries Act, expected to appear shortly in the Canada Gazette. Bottom line, the …
View the post titled New federal wastewater regulations a challenge for municipalitiesOntario flurry of convictions
In a typical year, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment launches about 150 to 175 prosecutions. About 75% of them are resolved by guilty pleas; about 5% are acquitted at trial; about 10% are convicted of something at trial; about 10% are withdrawn. Thus, we expect to hear about 12 or so c…
View the post titled Ontario flurry of convictionsHow much can municipalities regulate boat use?
Québec’s Court of Appeal has struck down part of a municipal by-law that impinged on the public right of navigation, an area where only the federal government has jurisdiction to make laws. As we noted in an earlier blog post, St.-Adolphe d’Howard’s by-law prevented non-residents from using …
View the post titled How much can municipalities regulate boat use?Federal budget 2011 and environment
The federal Budget plan mentions “environment” 74 times, but very few of those references relate to climate change, contamination, air, soil or water. The “environment” that the Budget focuses on is the economic one, such as:
View the post titled Federal budget 2011 and environmentGulf Spill: the end of the beginning
It will take many years to understand the total impact of this spill, the largest man-made environmental catastrophe in US history.
View the post titled Gulf Spill: the end of the beginningWastewater billions
Environment Canada is of the view that the ...proposed regulations are affordable if all jurisdictions make wastewater funding a priority….
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