Should government get away with defying the law?
I don’t think so. See my column in today’s SLAW, (Canada’s top legal blog) on the Federal Court of Appeal’s weak and unwise decision on the federal government’s defiance of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act. The Supreme Court of Canada refused leave to appe…
Continue reading the post titled Should government get away with defying the law?Factory farms- who controls the pollution?
Who is responsible for pollution from contract farms: the family farm, or the multi-national food company who controls everything that they do? A US case has set an important precedent on the liability of the food companies. In Assateague Coastkeeper v Hudson et al, an environmental group su…
Continue reading the post titled Factory farms- who controls the pollution?Compost fines
On August 20, 2010, Compost Niagara Inc. was fined a total of $42,000 for five violations under the Environmental Protection Act and the Ontario Water Resources Act. The charges relate to their failure to comply with their waste and sewage works certificates of approval, and to altering a s…
Continue reading the post titled Compost finesLab fined for late notice
On August 26, 2010, ALS Canada Ltd. pleaded guilty to one violation under the Safe Drinking Water Act for failing to immediately notify the Ministry of the Environment, as well as the Medical Officer of Health, of adverse drinking water test results in a sample that had analyzed.
Continue reading the post titled Lab fined for late noticeNo, the Endangered Species Act has no teeth
By the time the government's plan can be proven not to work, the highway will be built, and the irreplaceable habitat (and perhaps the entire endangered species) will be gone.
Continue reading the post titled No, the Endangered Species Act has no teethTar ponds class action close to certification?
The most interesting part of the judgment will be how it treats pollution impacts on human health.
Continue reading the post titled Tar ponds class action close to certification?Texas wind lawsuit a sign of things to come?
A major Texas wind lawsuit has underscored the importance of proper contracts to allocate the common risk of inadequate transmission capacity.
Continue reading the post titled Texas wind lawsuit a sign of things to come?Does the Endangered Species Act have teeth?
Is that all the Endangered Species Act will do? Create an expensive sort of legal shell game while irreplaceable habitat is bulldozed?
Continue reading the post titled Does the Endangered Species Act have teeth?Spills are good for lawyers
Spills always seem to be good for lawyers, if not for the environment. More than 300 lawsuits have been filed against BP relating to the Gulf oil spill, in addition to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility that is handing out emergency money from the $20 billion set aside by BP. But lower profile …
Continue reading the post titled Spills are good for lawyersSyncrude sentencing put off re ducks
Syncrude has decided to make a deal, if it can, rather than keep fighting. The trial for killing 1600 ducks in a tailings pond was scheduled to resume August 18, in order to decide whether Syncrude can be fined for both the federal and provincial offences. Instead, the case has been adjour…
Continue reading the post titled Syncrude sentencing put off re ducks