By: Sarah Murphy How Do Municipalities Fit into the Climate Change Conversation? Many governments are turning their minds to how they can respond to climate change and growing public concern. Federal and provincial governments in Canada are battling over jurisdiction to implement climate change policies on issues such as carbon taxing and pipeline expansion. However, […]
News & Posts
Environmental Law: What 2019 Can Tell Us About 2020
By: Ryan Chawner A flurry of important environmental law and policy news closed out 2019 and lay the groundwork for 2020. Climate justice activists scored a big win with the Dutch Supreme Court decision in The State of Netherlands v Stichting Urgenda (Urgenda). This decision affirmed that there is a real threat from climate change, […]
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 […]
Beyond the Climate Emergency: Exploring Municipal Solutions to a Global Problem
Osgoode students are formally invited to participate in a national law school research-a-thon, Beyond the Climate Emergency: Exploring Municipal Solutions to a Global Problem hosted by Osgoode’s Environmental Justice Clinic and Windsor Law’s Cities and Climate Action Forum. The event will take place on Monday, November 18, 2019, the Student Law Clinics Global Day of […]
Upcoming seminar on the new environmental assessment regime
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 […]
Osgoode’s EJ&S Clinic files a law reform submission on Ontario’s proposed repeal of the Far North Act
Co-Director, Dayna Scott, comments on the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry's (MNRF) proposal in support of the province’s review of the Far North Act. Read the full submission here: ERO Registry Submission
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 […]
