Business Law

The Ontario government has today posted significant proposed changes to its brownfield regulation and standards. The complete package has been posted on the EBR and can be found at www.ontario.ca/brownfields under the “Protecting the Environment” link. Also attached is an unoffic…

Ontario’s latest contaminated site decision is Kipfinch v. Westwood Mall (Mississauga) Limited. The  intended purchaser of a $25 million shopping mall was unable to obtain financing after the vendor refused to allow invasive testing in an area formerly occupied by a dry cleaner.   The …

The spreading credit crisis will inevitably have a significant impact on brownfields redevelopment in Canada. Softer real estate markets and lower industrial profits reduce the potential economic value of contaminated sites. Tougher credit and higher borrowing costs restrict the availability…

Franke James eventually got Toronto's first permit for a "green" driveway.

This is the first good evidence that BPA may be toxic to adults, not just babies.

Ontario’s proposed Toxics Reductions Law gained urgency this week with the distribution of new research on human health impacts of common chemicals. Bisphenol A, widely used in plastic bottles and other food containers, has now been linked with adult cardiac problems. And body loads of…

The basic concept of the Green Shift is simple: we should tax income less, and pollution more. And the great advantage for consumers is this: for most of us, it’s much less painful to reduce pollution (and thus tax) than it is to reduce income.

It’s great to see that, after years of apparent indifference, Alberta is developing a strong interest in climate change. Water shortages are getting attention. The oil sector has just wrapped up its third international consultation on greening the oil sands. And the University of Calga…

A surprisingly large portion of our practice consists of civil suits against environmental consultants for negligence relating to contaminated sites. We are currently a week into discoveries of such a case. A major consulting firm won a large remediation contract by representing that they ha…