Feds publish proposed microbeads ban
The federal government will go ahead with a ban of microbeads in personal hygiene products. We wrote last summer about both the then-Conservative government’s announced intention to institute a ban as well as the problems to Canadian waterways posed by the presence of microbeads in personal care products such as face wash, toothpaste, and soap. The Federal government has now...
Continue reading the post titled Feds publish proposed microbeads banFurther wind litigation in the Oak Ridges Moraine: Part II
Recently, the Environmental Review Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) allowed in part the appeal of a Renewable Energy Approval (“REA”) approving the construction of a wind turbine facility in the Oak Ridges Moraine Area in the City of Kawartha Lakes (the “Project”). The Tribunal concluded that, with respect to harm to the woodlands, neither the compensation nor...
Continue reading the post titled Further wind litigation in the Oak Ridges Moraine: Part IIEnvironmental Assessment in the Courts
A duo of recent decisions underscore yet again the need for an overhaul of the existing environmental assessment (“EA”) regime. Environmental groups Greenpeace Canada, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Northwatch, and the Canadian Environmental Law Association (the “Applicants”) filed two judicial review applications of the EAs conducted as part of the proposed expansion of a nuclear power...
Continue reading the post titled Environmental Assessment in the CourtsAnother Conviction under the Migratory Birds Convention Act
The Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 (MBCA) is again being used as a tool to protect migratory birds that are also species at risk. In early April, Bergedac Ltée, and a shareholder and employee of the company, were convicted and fined a total of $12,000 for violating Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 for the destruction...
Continue reading the post titled Another Conviction under the Migratory Birds Convention ActMaking the environmental grade: Ontario leads while Canada lags
A recent report published by the Conference Board of Canada has found Ontario to be the top environmental performing province in the country based on 9 criteria. But in the larger scheme of things, the same report found that the environmental record of Canada as a whole is woefully lacking compared to that of its...
Continue reading the post titled Making the environmental grade: Ontario leads while Canada lagsAnother Hefty Fisheries Act Fine
Another significant penalty has been ordered in relation to an offence under the Fisheries Act. Earlier this month, a Nova Scotia pulp and paper company was ordered by a provincial court to pay $225,000 in relation to a pipeline break that released 47 million litres of untreated effluent into the environment. The spill occurred in...
Continue reading the post titled Another Hefty Fisheries Act FineFurther momentum on cap and trade
The Ontario government announced earlier this week the signing of an MOU between Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba to link their respective cap and trade programmes. The agreement was signed while the Premiers of the three provinces were participating in the Paris Conference on Climate change (COP21) that is wrapping up this week. Manitoba is a...
Continue reading the post titled Further momentum on cap and tradeCould an update to the Environmental Registry be coming soon?
Change may soon be coming to the Environmental Registry. The Registry has been crucial to supporting public participation in environmental decision making in Ontario for nearly two decades. Created under the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 and administered by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (“MOECC”), the Registry provides public access to information...
Continue reading the post titled Could an update to the Environmental Registry be coming soon?Another piece to Ontario’s Climate Change response
On June 8, 2016, Ontario released its Climate Change Action Plan. The plan follows closely on the heels of the introduction of legislation that will put a cap and trade programme into place in the province. The 5-year plan is comprehensive, and hits on many of the same concerns as the Environmental Commissioner’s recent report,...
Continue reading the post titled Another piece to Ontario’s Climate Change responseCourt confirms PMRA’s duty to conduct special reviews of pesticides
A recent decision out of the Federal Court has confirmed the federal Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s (“PMRA”) duty to conduct special reviews. More specifically, the PMRA must conduct special reviews of any pest control product containing a special ingredient banned for environmental or human health reasons in another member country of the Organisation for Economic...
Continue reading the post titled Court confirms PMRA’s duty to conduct special reviews of pesticidesReceive Blog Posts
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