Update on Environmental Class Action Lawsuits
Traditional environmental law torts of strict liability, nuisance, trespass, and negligence, particularly for historical contamination, are difficult to certify as class actions for both procedural and substantive law reasons. After a long and complex history, only one case that has been cer…
View the post titled Update on Environmental Class Action LawsuitsGeneral Contractor Dalcon Enterprises fined $80,000
On January 25, 2016, Dalcon Enterprises Ltd., a general contractor, was convicted of two offences and fined $80,000 (plus the 25% victim fine surcharge). The fines were for the discharge of a contaminant that caused an adverse effect and for failing to report the discharge to the Ministry of…
View the post titled General Contractor Dalcon Enterprises fined $80,000Alberta Court of Appeal Upholds Termination of Employee for Cocaine Use That Resulted in Workplace Accident
As most employers know, the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) prohibits discrimination on the basis of, among other things, “disability”. While the Code’s definition of disability does not specifically include drug or alcohol addiction, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed over 16 year…
View the post titled Alberta Court of Appeal Upholds Termination of Employee for Cocaine Use That Resulted in Workplace AccidentA new approach to assessing resource projects coming down the pipeline?
The environmental review of proposed resource projects in Canada continues to undergo changes of late. Back in 2012, a duo of omnibus bills–Bill C-38 and Bill C-45–introduced significant changes to the way in which resource projects, such as the construction and expansion of pipelines. These…
View the post titled A new approach to assessing resource projects coming down the pipeline?$4 million Settlement In Class Action Approved For Distribution
TORONTO Feb. 17, 2016 /CNW/ – Siskinds LLP of London, Ontario, James H. Brown and Associates of Edmonton, Albert and D’Arcy & Deacon LLP of Calgary, Alberta announced today the court approval of a protocol for the distribution of settlement funds in the XL Foods class action…
View the post titled $4 million Settlement In Class Action Approved For DistributionDevelopment Charges Act: funding for transit and recycling
Last week, we reported on the passage of Bill 73: Smart Growth for Our Communities Act, 2015 (the “Act”) and its implications for the Planning Act. This week we look at the amendments to the Development Charges Act, which mean more funding tools for municipalities for transit and recycling i…
View the post titled Development Charges Act: funding for transit and recyclingSignificant Changes to Planning Act Coming
On December 3, 2015 a few parts of Bill 73, the Smart Growth for our Communities Act, came into force, amending both the Planning Act and the Development Charges Act. The majority of the changes under the Planning Act are not yet in force. One significant pending change relates to removing a…
View the post titled Significant Changes to Planning Act ComingFeds publish proposed microbeads ban
The federal government will go ahead with a ban of microbeads in personal hygiene products. We wrote last summer about both the then-Conservative government’s announced intention to institute a ban as well as the problems to Canadian waterways posed by the presence of microbeads in per…
View the post titled Feds publish proposed microbeads banPMRA intends to end conditional registration of pesticides
Health Canada recently announced that as of June 1, 2016, it intends to end the federal practice of granting conditional registrations of for pesticides. Under the Pest Control Products Act, SC 2002 c28, (“PCPA”), Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (“PMRA”) is task…
View the post titled PMRA intends to end conditional registration of pesticidesFurther wind litigation in the Oak Ridges Moraine: Part II
Recently, the Environmental Review Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) allowed in part the appeal of a Renewable Energy Approval (“REA”) approving the construction of a wind turbine facility in the Oak Ridges Moraine Area in the City of Kawartha Lakes (the “Project”). The Tribunal concluded that, with…
View the post titled Further wind litigation in the Oak Ridges Moraine: Part IIReceive Blog Posts
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