Articles

Image of a finger going along text on a tablet. The below articles are published by the Environmental Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association. Members are encouraged to submit articles.

Editors: Alessia Petricone-Westwood and Joanna Vince.

Today
Today

Court of Appeal Upholds EA for Darlington Refurbishment

  • April 26, 2016
  • Stanley Berger

Stan reports on the Federal Court of Appeal's decision in Greenpeace Canada et al., v. Attorney General of Canada and Ontario Power Generation Inc., 2016 FCA 114 which was released on April 13, 2016.

Environmental Law

Statutory "Polluter Pay" Liability in British Columbia – The Perils of Pre-EMA Activity

  • March 08, 2016
  • Lynn Mitchell

Lynn comments on the 2015 British Columbia Court of Appeal decision in J.I. Properties Inv. v. PPG Coating Canada Ltd., 2015 BCCA 472, that upheld a $4.7 million award of statutory remediation costs against the former owner of a site who had previously remediated the site to the satisfaction of B.C. environmental regulators in the mid-1980s.

Environmental Law

Province Releases Excess Soil Management Policy Framework

  • March 08, 2016
  • Laura Bowman, a staff lawyer at Ecojustice.

Laura comments on the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change's posting of an Excess Soil Management Policy Framework (“proposed framework”) that proposes a path forward and guiding principles for the development of policy related to the management of excess soil. Comments on the proposed framework may be submitted on the Environmental Registry up until March 26, 2016.

Environmental Law

Insurers Off the Hook for Release of Pollutants Caused by Fire

  • March 07, 2016
  • John Georgakopoulos, Matthew Gardner and Julia Paillé

The authors comment on the Supreme Court of Canada's denial of leave to appeal the British Columbia Court of Appeal's decision in Precision Plating Ltd. v. Axa Pacific Insurance Co., which dealt with the interpretation and application of pollution exclusion clauses in commercial general liability insurance policies.

Environmental Law

The Paris Agreement: Winds of Change

  • January 21, 2016
  • Lana Finney and Simon Hurdon

The authors discuss the Paris Agreement signed by 196 nations on December 12, 2015, next steps and what's already being done in Canada.

Environmental Law

Historic Global Climate Agreement is Reached

  • January 05, 2016
  • Laura Zizzo

Laura summarizes the Paris Agreement to decarbonize the economy, work collectively to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and limit global temperature increases that was adopted by 195 nations on December 12, 2015 at COP 21.

Environmental Law