New Guidance for Excess Soil management
The Ministry of the Environment has released its draft Best Management Practices for Soil Management in Ontario for two more months of public comment. The document outlines the MOE’s “recommendations” and “expectations” for managing the reuse of excess soils, a hugely important issue for the…
Continue reading the post titled New Guidance for Excess Soil managementCanada must answer: why aren't we protecting polar bears?
As the polar bears of the Beaufort Sea face record low ice, the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has issued a determination, requiring a response from Canada to submission SEM-11-003 (Protection of Polar Bears). A year ago, on 5 December 2011, the US Center f…
Continue reading the post titled Canada must answer: why aren't we protecting polar bears?Innocent victim, Kawartha Lakes, gets leave to appeal spill cleanup order
The Ontario Court of Appeal has granted leave to appeal the Ministry of the Environment Order requiring an innocent victim of a spill, the City of Kawartha Lakes, to clean up oil from a domestic fuel spill.
Continue reading the post titled Innocent victim, Kawartha Lakes, gets leave to appeal spill cleanup orderWaste exemption becomes less useful: what is "wholly used"?
The Environmental Review Tribunal has reduced the usefulness of an important exception to the “waste” rules in Regulation 347.
Continue reading the post titled Waste exemption becomes less useful: what is "wholly used"?Town liable for negligence re developer's storm sewer
Property owners often suffered damage when storm and sanitary sewers malfunction. Canadian municipalities are generally exempt from civil suits in nuisance relating to their sewers, due to special statutes adopted across the country. However, they can be successfully sued in negligence. Such…
Continue reading the post titled Town liable for negligence re developer's storm sewerWhen will Ontario courts refuse to impose minimum environmental fines?
Now that mandatory minimum environmental fines are so high, courts occasionally refuse to impose them. For example, in R v. KIE Farms Ltd., a justice of the peace refused to impose a $25,000 minimum fine on a local farm, even though seepage from its corn silo made a local watercourse toxic…
Continue reading the post titled When will Ontario courts refuse to impose minimum environmental fines?Jurisdictional Issues in Canadian Defamation Law: Can you sue in your home province?
In this new article Siskinds Associate Mike Polvere takes an in depth look at the issue of cross border litigation and defamation. He discusses how the courts go about choosing the best jurisdiction to hear the matter. Is it prudent to start a libel action in Canada if the person who defamed…
Continue reading the post titled Jurisdictional Issues in Canadian Defamation Law: Can you sue in your home province?Congratulations to Melancthon – no MegaQuarry!
Congratulations to Melancthon Township on the official announcement that the Highland Companies‘ Mega Quarry proposal has been abandoned. Large areas of Melancthon depend on drinking water from highly vulnerable aquifers, which would have been endangered by the mega-quarry. The proposa…
Continue reading the post titled Congratulations to Melancthon – no MegaQuarry!New Guidance for Excess Soil management
The Ministry of the Environment has released its draft Best Management Practices for Soil Management in Ontario for two more months of public comment. The document outlines the MOE’s “recommendations” and “expectations” for managing the reuse of excess soils, a hugely important issue for the…
Continue reading the post titled New Guidance for Excess Soil managementWaterpower projects can't be reviewed because they don't get review?
So, waterpower development can't be reviewed by the ERT, because it gets only minimal scrutiny under the Environmental Assessment Act. Given the substantial adverse environmental impacts that waterpower development can have, it is incongruous to exempt it so fully from public review.
Continue reading the post titled Waterpower projects can't be reviewed because they don't get review?