Commercial Litigation

In an interesting twist, Health Canada just announced its intention to manage the agricultural uses of the pesticide imidacloprid to protect aquatic insects; this pesticide, like other neonicotinoid pesticides, has been under fire for some time for its effects on pollinators, for which we ha…

The recent Ontario Court of Justice appeal decision in R v AJL Janssen Landscaping Ltd has offered some guidance as to the definition of “pit” under section 1(1) of the Aggregate Resources Act (“ARA”). AJL Janssen Landscaping (“AJL”) is a landscaping, road building, excavation, drilling, and…

On September 14, 2016, a gas-powered equipment merchant was ordered to pay fines totalling more than $65,000 for violating the Off-Road Small Spark-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (“CEPA”). The company owner plead guilty to four counts of …

A sole proprietor of a drinking water well company was fined $12,000 plus the twenty-five per cent victim fine surcharge by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change. The sole proprietor was convicted for maintaining four separate drinking water wells at two locations in the Peterbo…

Residents of Muskoka launched a $900,000,000 class action against the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (“MNRF”) on September 14, 2016. They allege damages related to “[MNRF’s] failure to adequately manage and lower the water levels of Lake Joseph, Lake Muskoka and Lake Rous…

On September 19th the Imperial Oil refinery and chemical plant located in the City of Sarnia pled guilty to one offence for discharging a contaminant, coker stabilizer, thermocracked gas, into the natural environment causing an adverse effect and was fined $650,000 in addition to the 25% vic…

Two companies, Consbec Inc. and Bruman Construction Inc., were fined a collective total of $150,000 for failing to notify the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (“MOECC”) of a fly-rock discharge. Bruman owns and operates an aggregate quarry located in North Bay.  Consbec was hire…

The seemingly never-ending litigation related to a spill of furnace oil fuel in the City of Kawartha Lakes is inching closer to resolution. In Technical Standards and Safety Authority v Kawartha Lakes, 2016 CanLII 41685 (ON ERT) the Environmental Review Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) tackled the …

In May of 2016, the Superior Court of Justice delivered reasons in Valco Instruments Canada v. Imperial Oil, dismissing in part a defendant’s summary judgment motion related to a contaminated land claim. The court concluded that the limitation period for a negligence claim had expired by the…

On July 27, 2016, the Ontario Court of Justice levied $70,000 in fines against a Hamilton company for contravention of the federal PCB regulations and for failing to comply with an Environmental Protection Compliance Order, issued under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).…