Articles

In October, the federal government made further announcements regarding the federal carbon-pricing “Backstop”, providing details on where the pricing system will apply and how the revenues for provinces and territories will be used. The Backstop ensures a national carbon-pricing system that applies to greenhouse gas emissions from a broad set of sources, which is revenue-neutral to the federal government. Ontario and Saskatchewan have commenced legal actions to challenge the Backstop.

In October, Canada published new regulations prohibiting the import, sale, and use of all forms of asbestos, as well as the manufacture, import, sale, and use of products containing asbestos filaments. In addition, under amendments to the Environmental Protection Act, Canada now prohibits the export of asbestos in all its forms. This article gives an overview of the affected industries, exceptions and activities not covered, as well as the new import and use permit regime.

The Court of Appeal in the Hague upheld the District Court's order that the Netherlands reduce CO2 emissions by 25% relative to 1990 levels by the end of 2020. The Court concluded that "a reduction obligation of at least 25% by end - 2020" is in line with the State's duty of care." The Appellate Court rejected the argument that there were multiple pathways to achieving the higher threshold of 2oC and concluded that the technology to achieve these pathways was uncertain and unrealistic.

On October 26, 2017, the Ontario government issued its latest Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP) pursuant to the Energy Statute Law Amendment Act, 2016, replacing earlier plans issued in 2013 and 2010. The LTEP, which includes forecasts as far as 2035, sets out the government’s goals and objectives relating to the electricity sector.

A discussion of emerging trends in environmental class actions, including the first certification of an environmental class action in BC; 2017's continued the trend in favour of certifying environmental class actions arising from single-incident torts where responsibility is a common issue; environmental claims dealing with historical and continuous harm with limitation period issues remaining a significant hurdle for plaintiffs.

Supporting Inclusive Resource Development in East Africa (SIRD) is a five year project, funded by Global Affairs Canada, and implemented by the CBA in partnership with law societies in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

This article discusses the impact that Prime Minister Trudeau's November 2015 mandate letter to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change may have had on the enforcement of the Fisheries Act). The article also considers the June 2017 proposals by the federal government to enhance protections for fish and fish habitat and a case study of the Montreal Sewage Dump. This article was originally published in the Fall 2017 issue of WEAO's INFLUENTS Magazine, and is republished with permission.

The authors discuss the Environmental Review Tribunal's decisions in Rubin v Ontario (Environment and Climate Change), [2016] OERTD No 20 and Technical Standards and Safety Authority v Kawartha Lakes (City), [2016] OERTD No 8.. In these decisions, the Tribunal explored the purpose of Notices of Allegation against third parties in appeals of environmental orders.

Ian reports on changes that the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change is considering to the way it assesses contaminant emissions in its environmental compliance approval process.

The authors discuss the role of experts in environmental litigation and summarize the trial decision in Weenen v. Biadi, 2015 ONSC 6832.