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Energizing the Nation to Nation Relationship: The Rise of Indigenous Participation in the Energy Industry

February 19, 2018Alberta Indigenous Green Energy Development Program, Bow Lake Wind Farm, energy economy, Feed-in-Tariff program, Indigenous, Indigenous ownership, Lumos Clean Energy, Okikendawt Hydro projectchmcleod

By:Hina Farooqi In 2016, Canada officially adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. One of the declaration’s principles states that signatories affirm that Indigenous control over developments affecting Indigenous lands and resources will strengthen their institutions. Each element of the declaration contributes to the overall goal of the reestablishment of […]

"A Major Disappointment": Osgoode Environmental Clinic Calls on Ministry to Improve Cumulative Effects Assessment Proposal

February 7, 2018Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Cumulative Effects Assessment, Environmental Registry, Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, Sarniachmcleod

On November 9, 2017, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) released a proposal ("The Proposal") for a new policy for Cumulative Effects Assessment in air approvals posted to the Environmental Registry. The proposal is a response to years of pressure for the Ministry to take action against increasingly high levels of pollution […]

Is Canada becoming a safe haven for toxic chemicals? Triclosan exemplifies the Canadian Environmental Protection Act’s desperate need of reform

January 13, 2018Canadian Environmental Protection Act, CEPA, Toxic Chemicals, Triclosanchmcleod

By: Cameron Smith The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (“CEPA”) is currently under scrutiny. And while the Government’s response to a recent report by the House of Commons Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development is not expected until the spring, many groups and experts are hoping for a major overhaul of the Act as it […]

The Growing Risks of Inadequate Climate Impact Assessment in Corporate and Financial Management

January 6, 2018Climate impact assessments, Hennick Centre, Osgoode Hall Law School, Schulich School of Businesschmcleod

By: Jacklyn Tuckey There’s a new way that environmental groups, organizations and individuals are fighting climate change, and it centres around securities. The trend for decades has been for the majority of companies to more or less ignore climate change signals in order to chase the dollar. The problem lies in the facts they’ve been reluctant […]

Vexatious Litigants and Climate Saviours: Resolute Forest Products v Greenpeace Canada

March 20, 2017Antonia Bosco

In 2013, Resolute Forest Products (“Resolute”) filed a $7 million claim against Greenpeace Canada for defamation and intentional interference with economic relations. While initially, Resolute attempted to bring into question the activities of Greenpeace worldwide over the past 40 years, Justice Pierce of the Ontario Superior Court noted in his 2015 ruling that if the litigation […]

Downstream Emissions in Canada’s New Environmental Assessment “Climate Test”

May 2, 2016Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, climate change, downstream emissions, environmental assessment, pipelinesErin Garbett

In late January 2016, Canada’s federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, and Minister of Natural Resources, Jim Carr, announced interim changes to environmental assessment processes as part of “efforts to restore public trust.” One of the changes is to assess “[d]irect and upstream greenhouse gas emissions linked to projects under review.” This is a […]

Our Home and Native Land: Indigenous Rights and Opportunities in the Extractive Industry

March 30, 2016Anna Murray

I recently attended the 2016 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention - the world’s leading mineral exploration convention. This was my first time attending as a law student, after participating in the convention as an employee of a corporation in the extractive industry – an industry in which I have worked for […]

Climate Change Litigation in Ontario: Hot Prospects and International Influences

March 18, 2016carbon budget, causation, climate change, foreign judgments, international law, justiciability, litigation, public nuisance, public trust, standard of care, standing, Stepan Wood, UrgendaStepan

I recently spoke about climate change litigation at the Ontario Bar Association's Institute 2016 as part of a panel with former Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Stephen Goudge, now of the law firm Paliare Roland, and John Terry of Torys, one of the authors of the excellent treatise The Law of Climate Change in Canada. The event was organized by Jennifer […]

Clinic Co-Director David Estrin receives 2016 Law Society Medal

March 18, 2016Stepan

Osgoode EJS Clinic co-director David Estrin has won the Law Society of Upper Canada's Law Society Medal 2016 for exceptional career achievements and community contributions. The Law Society's announcement described David's accomplishments: "Called to the Bar in 1971, David Estrin is recognized as a true pioneer in the development of environmental law in Canada and internationally through his work as […]