Business Law

For forty years, Canadian environmental law has tried to defeat economics. That is, we have forbidden people and businesses from doing things that save them money, and commanded them to do things that cost money. In the circumstances, it’s amazing that we’ve accomplished so much: air is clea…

It is basic economics and good common sense: to discourage something, make it more expensive. And vice versa. So why does Canada put heavy taxes on things we do want (like employment) and no taxes on things we don’t want (like pollution)? For years, economists and environmentalists hav…

Every so often, a court decision changes the rules. Everyone interested in contaminated sites needs to understand what Berendsen v. Ontario has changed.At first glance, there is nothing unusual about the facts. Farmer buys land for dream dairy farm. The cows become sick; he loses money. He b…

Toronto Public Health still has some questions to answer about its proposed, precedent-setting Environmental Reporting and Disclosure Bylaw. For example:1. The City needs to deal explicitly with the fact that many sources of local ambient air pollution are located outside the City, and there…

A frightening amount of money is spent every year in litigation and other anguish over contaminated sites. In terms of harm to human health and the environment, contaminated sites are far less important than clean air, clean water, climate change and urban sprawl. But because of the regulato…

How do computers affect the environmental footprint of law offices?It’s easy to add up the negatives. Computers and their peripherals (printers, modems, cables, hubs, etc.) have large resource demands, pollute indoor air and create hazardous waste. Computers chew up power, paper and ot…

Last summer, media across the country reacted with astonishment to our articles revealing the bans on clotheslines in many subdivisions and condos (see July 26 07 blog). Ontario has the power, under its Energy Conservation Leadership Act to wipe out such clothesline restrictions, but didn…

Climate change, class actions, contaminated sites and water again dominated 2007 for environmental practitioners. The biggest international news was the increasing urgency of climate change. The release of the fourth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change swept away any rema…

The City of Toronto has taken another step towards a Community Right to Know bylaw for toxic emissions. This would be the first such bylaw in Canada, and might beat the province to the punch on its promised new toxics law. 300 large facilities in Toronto already report their emissions throug…

  On January 7, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Teck Cominco, a Canadian mining giant, is subject to U.S. pollution laws because Canadian slag washed into U.S. waters. This sets an important precedent for other cross-boundary pollution. For more than 100 years, Teck and its predec…