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Indigenizing Impact Assessments?: New Legislation in Canada & BC
The next iteration of environmental impact assessments has arrived. Canada’s Impact Assessment Act[1] (IAA), the federal Physical Activities Regulation, and British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Act[2] (EAA) make significant changes to how we measure a proposed project’s impacts. Both Acts include...
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Penalty Creep: What is going on with Environmental Fines Across Canada?
In July of this year, a fine of $2.7 million was levied against Kirby Offshore Marine Operating LLC following its guilty plea for violations of the Fisheries Act involving a spill of diesel fuel and lubricants near Edge Reef in...
Les gouvernements de l’Ontario et du Québec réglementent le déplacement des sols
De grandes quantités de terre d’excavation provenant de projets de construction au Canada sont déplacées vers d’autres sites. Jusqu’à maintenant, cette pratique était réglementée de façon sporadique par les gouvernements provinciaux. En 2019, les gouvernements de l’Ontario et du Québec...
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Environmental Law and Construction Projects: Why Should You Care?
The scope of environmental regulation is broad and ever growing. One Ontario Court of Appeal judge famously asked in the midst of a case whether “MOE” stood for “Ministry of Everything?” It should not be surprising, therefore, that environmental law...
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B.C. Court Denies Provincial Attempt to Regulate Shipments of Heavy Oil through Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project
The B.C. Court of Appeal released its unanimous decision in Reference re Environmental Management Act (British Columbia) on May 24, 2019. A full sitting of the Court held that B.C.’s amendment to the Environmental Management Act (“EMA”) seeking to regulate...
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Saskatchewan Appeals Carbon Tax Judgement to the Supreme Court of Canada
The Government of Saskatchewan has appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada the judgment of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, which found that the federal government has authority to establish a minimum national standard for pricing greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions....
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Oil & Gas Meets Electricity: Flare Gas Energy Projects in Western Canada
In Western Canada “energy” is often considered to be mainly petroleum, oil & natural gas. “Energy” is not often thought of as including electricity generation, as it might be in other jurisdictions. In order to successfully develop a flare gas...
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Deductibility Changes for Clean Energy Equipment
The Canadian renewable and conservation expenses (“CRCE”) regime was introduced in March of 1996 to make clean energy projects (e.g. wind, solar, hydro) more attractive to industry. Under this regime, expenses incurred for specified development work in the clean energy...
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The Expert Witness and Environmental Law Practical and Ethical Considerations
Unearthing Complexities in the Subsurface: Soil and Groundwater Essentials for Lawyers
The complex nature of environmental issues that come across a lawyer’s desk often require highly technical expertise from any (or all) of a number of highly specialized disciplines. Expertise could be needed from fields that include geology; hydrology; hydrogeology, engineering,...
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Insolvency and Environmental Law Collide: Supreme Court of Canada Rules in Favour of Alberta Energy Regulator in Redwater Decision
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has released its decision in Orphan Well Association v. Grant Thornton Limited (2019 SCC 5) regarding the bankruptcy of Redwater Energy Corporation, and the strategy of Redwater’s trustees in bankruptcy to try to sell...
