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Category: Environmental Page 26 of 53

Comments on the Proposed Species at Risk Act Permitting Policy

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On November 18, 2016

In Environmental, Protection of Spaces, Protection of Species

By: Shaun Fluker and Drew Yewchuk

PDF Version: Comments on the Proposed Species at Risk Act Permitting Policy

Proposed Policy Commented On: Government of Canada. Species at Risk Act Permitting Policy [Proposed]

Environment and Climate Change Canada has released a series of proposed new guidelines for interpreting various portions of the Species at Risk Act, SC 2002, c 29 (SARA). One of these new proposals is policy guidance on how section 73 of SARA will be interpreted and applied – the Species at Risk Act Permitting Policy. Section 73 is the provision in SARA which allows for the authorization of harm to listed endangered or threatened species or their critical habitat. In the absence of a section 73 permit, such harm constitutes an offence under SARA. The Public Interest Law Clinic was retained by the Alberta Wilderness Association and the Timberwolf Wilderness Society to assist them in formulating a submission to Environment and Climate Change Canada on this proposed new policy guidance for section 73, and this post reproduces the essence of that submission below.

This submission begins by setting out principles which should guide the interpretation of the Species at Risk Act, SC 2002, c 29 [SARA]. This submission then provides the relevant portions of section 73 along with judicial consideration thereof. This submission then proceeds by providing our comments on the proposed policy guidance.

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Oil Sands Emission Limit Legislation: A Real Commitment or Kicking It Down the Road?

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On November 3, 2016

In Climate Change, Energy, Environmental, Oil & Gas

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: Oil Sands Emission Limit Legislation: A Real Commitment or Kicking It Down the Road?

Legislation Commented On: Bill 25: The Oil Sands Emission Limit Act

Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan has four key planks:

  1. Phasing out emissions from coal-generated electricity and developing more renewable energy
  2. Implementing a new carbon price on greenhouse gas emissions
  3. A legislated oil sands emission limit
  4. Employing a new methane emission reduction plan

The province introduced legislation to implement an economy-wide carbon price in June (the Climate Leadership Implementation Act) and in the resumed session this fall (2016) it has introduced Bill 25: The Oil Sands Emission Limit Act to implement the third objective, a legislated oil sands emission limit. This was not something that the Leach Report had recommended but here is what the Government said in making this commitment:

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Extending Limitation Periods for Environmental Actions

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On October 6, 2016

In Environmental, Limitations

By: Nickie Nikolaou

PDF Version: Extending Limitation Periods for Environmental Actions

Case Commented On: Lakeview Village Professional Centre Corporation v Suncor Energy Inc, 2016 ABQB 288 (CanLII)

The nature of environmental contamination often requires the bending of usual legal rules. Because contamination can take years to develop or be discovered, the application of traditional limitation periods to actions for the recovery of damages from environmental contamination could result in unfairness. It could also mean the ultimate costs of clean-up would fall to the public purse if no financially viable party is liable for the clean-up. Alberta has modified its statutory limitation periods to address this problem. Section 218 of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, RSA 2000, c. E-12 (EPEA) allows a court to extend a limitation period “where the basis for the proceeding is an alleged adverse effect resulting from the alleged release of a substance into the environment.” After years on the books, this is the first case to clarify the procedure courts should follow under section 218 of the EPEA.

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Fisheries Act Review Should Be Evidence-Based

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On September 26, 2016

In Environmental, Fisheries Regulation, Protection of Species

By: Martin Olszynski

PDF Version: Fisheries Act Review Should Be Evidence-Based

Matter Commented On: Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans Review of the Fisheries Protection Provisions (section 35) of the Fisheries Act R.S.C. 1985 c. F-14.

Consistent with the Prime Minister’s mandate letter to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Liberal government’s announcement this past summer of a broad review of the federal environmental and regulatory regime, the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO) is about to begin its review of the changes to the habitat protection provisions of the Fisheries Act introduced by the previous Conservative government back in 2012. I have previously blogged about those changes here and here, and eventually wrote an article about them. What follows is a letter that I recently sent to FOPO with respect to the scope of its review, urging it to ensure that it has the evidentiary foundation necessary to make its review meaningful.

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The International Human Right to Science and its Application to Geoengineering Research and Development

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On September 7, 2016

In Environmental, Human Rights, International Law

By: Kristin Barham and Anna-Maria Hubert

PDF Version:  The International Human Right to Science and its Application to Geoengineering Research and Development

International Agreements Commented On: Article 27 of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 15 of the 1966 United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

“Scientific and technical advances bring unquestioned benefits, but they also generate new uncertainties and failures, with the result that doubt continually undermines knowledge, and unforeseen consequences confound faith in progress.”

  • Sheila Jasanoff, “Technologies of Humility: Citizen Participation in Governing Science” (2003) 41 Minerva 223, 224

There is a growing body of social science literature emphasising a need for science and technological innovation to be more accountable to society and to take into account the full spectrum of uncertainties surrounding these processes. These calls are often manifested as calls for greater reflexivity, transparency and public participation in R&D. Environmental law – with its focus on the prevention of environmental harm and precaution – provides an important site for regulation and governance for many advances in science and technology. There is an obvious logic to this choice, given the countless examples of technologies that have contributed to environmental damage at various phases of their lifecycles. However, there are conceptual limits to the application of environmental law for governing upstream R&D, as environmental obligations primarily aim at preventing or minimizing actual physical harm to the environment. Precautionary risk assessment and management are examples of governance tools for asserting greater control over research and innovation processes. However, although environmental law is increasingly informed by a broader framework of sustainable development that draws upon a range of legal subject areas, an environmental framing does not directly target the social and ethical concerns that dominate the early stages of science and the development of emerging technologies.

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