Who 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?Punishing cost to protect natural area
How much should municipalities have to pay to preserve sensitive areas? Windsor paid so dearly in Windsor (City) v. Paciorka, 2011 ONSC 2876, that other municipalities may be loath to try. The City expropriated 267 lots to preserve an environmentally sensitive area. The developer refused the…
View the post titled Punishing cost to protect natural areaExpropriating contaminated land
When a municipality expropriates contaminated land, can it deduct the full cost of remediating the contamination from the amount paid to the reluctant seller? Surprisingly, the answer is still not clear.
View the post titled Expropriating contaminated landStormwater: You pave, you pay
The more you pave, the more you pay
View the post titled Stormwater: You pave, you payPolluter must pay for cleanup, twice
It’s not safe for a polluter to trust a subsequent owner to clean up contamination, even if the polluter has specifically paid for the cleanup, and even if the new owner signs a contract relieving the original polluter of liability. None of this will prevent environmental regulators from ord…
View the post titled Polluter must pay for cleanup, twiceSyncrude pays $3M for dead ducks
On Friday, Syncrude was ordered to pay $3 million in penalties for the 1,600 ducks killed in its tailings ponds four years ago. This is the highest total penalty ever imposed in Canada for an environmental offence. Syncrude was fined the maximum for a single incident: $300,000 for the feder…
View the post titled Syncrude pays $3M for dead ducksFinancial 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 HSTCan Orange Drop survive without EcoFee?
In all the fuss about the EcoFee, no one seems to have noticed Orange Drop. The much maligned EcoFee was a system to have purchasers of household hazardous products pay for the proper disposal of those products, instead of loading the cost on municipalities or future generations. Orange Dro…
View the post titled Can Orange Drop survive without EcoFee?Making parent companies pay: a sting in the tail of approval reform
This should add some surprising complications to a wide variety of transactions.
View the post titled Making parent companies pay: a sting in the tail of approval reformReceive Blog Posts
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