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Can Toronto enact a by-law that bans single-use plastics?

By: Madhavi Gupta The Environmental Context         Concern about single-use plastics has come to the forefront of the public’s attention, with a rising wave of support calling corporations to reduce their use. At a result, restaurants such as Harveys and East Side Mario’s are adopting biodegradable straws, while grocery stores such as […]

Federal Environment Minister approves Regional Impact Assessment following submission from Osgoode Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinic

In what is being described as “a stunning success,” Osgoode Hall Law School’s Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinic has received word from the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change that its request for a regional impact assessment for proposed mining and road infrastructure in Ontario’s Ring of Fire has been accepted. Dayna Scott Minister […]

New Ontario Law Could Restrict Government Liability for Harms to Aboriginal and Treaty Rights

By: Grace Hermansen On May 29th, 2019, the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act, 2019 (CLPA) officially became law in Ontario, replacing the Proceedings Against the Crown Act (PACA). This legislation outlines when and how lawsuits can be brought against the provincial government. Without this statutory framework, the common law principle of sovereign immunity dictates that […]

Generating Change with Your Dollar: Can B-Corporations be the Start to a More Sustainable Future?

By: Alex Dumais On October 8, 2018, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its report on climate change. Among other things, the report warned the world was approaching a devastating and irreversible environmental “tipping point” in the battle against climate change. But while governments drag their feet, action is coming from an […]

COP24: What does the new Paris Agreement rulebook mean for Canada’s climate pledges?

By: Isabel Dávila When the Paris Agreement was adopted during the COP21 in December 2015, news releases were filled with references to the landmark agreement. Statements from ENGOs,[6] celebrated what was seen as the most significant step forward in the international fight against climate change. On December 2018, the 24th Conference of the Parties to […]

How Can the Province of Nova Scotia Protect its Coast?

By: Piotr Rak Many jurisdictions are trying to enact new laws to protect their coastlines from various pressures, such as offshore oil drilling and climate change. Recent examples include the Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act and the Atlantic Coastal Economies Protection Act in the United States. Both of these statutes are limited to […]

Research-a-Thon: Understanding Bill C-69

Calling all students who have taken Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law or the Environmental Justice & Sustainability Clinic: You are invited to direct your collective brain power toward collecting data and researching legal outcomes that could help to debunk some of the arguments currently being used to prevent new federal impact assessment legislation from being […]