Ontario Budget 2011
Steady as she goes: not much changed in yesterday’s provincial budget for the environment. Most of the budget is devoted to the many achievements resulting from past/ existing initiatives. The province is pressing ahead with its Clean Energy Plan, continuing its existing support for pu…
View the post titled Ontario Budget 2011Federal 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 environmentEnvironmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties
The federal Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties Act is now in force. In June 2009, the federal government passed the Environmental Enforcement Act, to amend nine existing environmental statutes and to create the Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penaltie…
View the post titled Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary PenaltiesGulf 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 beginningRedefining conservation, or waste and duplication?
Redefining Conservation is the Ontario Environmental Commissioner’s annual report for 2009/ 2010. The report is full of good advice on the usual themes, including the chronic shortage of resources for environmental protection, the many ways that our land use planning fails to protect h…
View the post titled Redefining conservation, or waste and duplication?Plans, if not action on endangered species
At the same time that Ontario is pushing ahead to build the Windsor Essex highway through the habitat of several endangered species, the Ministry of Natural Resources is “initiating the development of a government response statement” concerning the proposed recovery strategies for some…
View the post titled Plans, if not action on endangered speciesFinancial Assurance and HST
Should financial assurance include HST? Financial assurance is designed to ensure that taxpayer doesn’t have to pay the bill, if an industrial operation becomes insolvent, abandoning an environmental mess. Most businesses provide financial assurance by posting cash or letter of credit.…
View the post titled Financial Assurance and HSTPublic Participation- Stopping SLAPPs
One of my recent pro bono projects has been develop the Ontario Bar Association’s submission on the need for a new law to control Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPPs). The submission is now posted, and I’ll be presenting it to the Attorney General’s emin…
View the post titled Public Participation- Stopping SLAPPsPrivate prosecution gets a boost
There is often tension between the public’s right to commence a private prosecution, and the attorney general’s right to take over that prosecution, often in order to drop it. The Ontario Court of Appeal has given a boost to private prosecutors, ruling that they are entitled to have at least…
View the post titled Private prosecution gets a boostMore Olympic nuisance lawsuits
Olympic nuisance claims have now spread past transit. Last year, Susan Heyes was awarded $600,000 for the disruption she suffered during construction of the Canada Line. (The decision is under appeal.) Other businesses in the area have launched a class action seeking similar redress. Now Mar…
View the post titled More Olympic nuisance lawsuitsReceive Blog Posts
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