Creating an environmental law workshop to encourage public participation in environmental decision-making Access to justice is a recurring theme throughout law school. Through coursework, extracurricular activities, and Osgoode’s Public Interest Requirement, we are introduced to our role as lawyers both within and outside the courtroom and how it implicates access to justice for the clients […]
News & Posts
Lessons from the Past for a Sustainable Future
2015 marked the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, or the “Great Charter”, the foundational document that laid the groundwork for the rule of law and civil liberties in the English-speaking world. Next year, in 2017, the world will mark the 800th anniversary of yet another great charter, perhaps slightly less well-known: the Carta de Foresta, […]
EJS Clinic co-director David Estrin to co-host special climate change litigation events in Oslo
On June 21, 2016, EJS Clinic co-director and CIGI International Law Research Program Senior Research Fellow David Estrin will co-host two special side events on climate change litigation at the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law's annual Colloquium in Oslo, Norway. If you will be in Oslo, check out these important events! Access to Justice in […]
Empowering Youth and Communities through Public Legal Education
I had the honour of interacting with youth from many parts of the world during my extensive teaching and summer camp experience prior to attending law school. I carried my teaching experience forward as a volunteer with the Law in Action Within Schools (LAWS) program, which seeks to “provide a positive and engaging exposure to […]
Putting Pipelines to the Test: Incorporating Climate Impacts into the Pipeline Review Process
On January 27 2016, the Liberal Government announced that oil and gas projects under federal jurisdiction will now involve an assessment of upstream greenhouse gas emissions and this information will be made public. “Upstream” effects refer to GHG emissions from oil and gas exploration and production. For projects currently under review, including Trans Mountain Expansion […]
Downstream Emissions in Canada’s New Environmental Assessment “Climate Test”
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 […]
Climate Change Risk Disclosure: A Disruptive Idea
What can a simple sticker possibly do to counter the systemic and intricate causes of climate change? The answer appears to be “lots!” for the right sticker at the right place. As part of the Osgoode Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinic, I have had the honour of working with the non-profit organization Our Horizon this year. […]
The Importance of Public Participation
Canada has established itself as a powerhouse in diamond production over the last few decades, and is currently the world’s third-largest producer of diamonds. The first economic diamond deposit was discovered in 1991, and three diamond mines are currently operating in the country: Ekati and Diavik in the Northwest Territories, and the Victor open-pit mine […]
Osgoode JD students help rural community challenge wind energy development
[Editor's note: This year five Osgoode JD students--Stephen Gray '16, Imelda Lo, Sabrina Molinari '17, Timon Sisic and Amanda Spitzig '18--volunteered their time and energy as part of the Osgoode Public Interest Requirement to help a rural community group prepare an application for judicial review of a wind energy project proposed for idyllic Prince Edward County, Ontario. Promoting renewable […]
Our Home and Native Land: Indigenous Rights and Opportunities in the Extractive Industry
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 […]
