Law Commons^™

Big Oil Liability In Canada: Lessons From The Us And The Netherlands, David W-L Wu

Dalhousie Law Journal

The number of nuisance and negligence tort claims in the US against “Big Oil” companies have grown significantly in the last five years. The Netherlands case of Milieudefensie et al v Royal Dutch Shell represents the first major success of such a claim internationally. While the US cases and Milieudefensie demonstrate starkly different approaches as to how to seek accountability from Big Oil for climate change harms, the increasing judicial engagement on these issues may mean the time is right for similar lawsuits in Canada. Three Canadian common law causes of action are examined: nuisance, negligence, and unjust enrichment. Defences …

Transnational Corporations And Climate Governance: A Case Study Of Amazon.Com’S Net-Zero Climate Pledge, Jason Maclean

Dalhousie Law Journal

“Net zero” has become the predominant way of framing global, national, and nonstate climate change commitments. Hundreds of countries and thousands of corporations promise to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 or earlier. Hopeful as this may seem, early evidence suggests the need to carefully scrutinize corporations’ climate promises. Specifically, there is an urgent need to critically assess the claim that strategic collaboration and compromise at the science-business-society interface can deliver the transformative social, economic, and political change required to address climate change.

Analyzing Amazon.com’s net-zero pledge as a case study, this article argues that strategic conflict with—and within—transnational corporations is …

Teitiota V New Zealand, Climate Migration And Non-Refoulement: A Case Study Of Canada’S Obligations Under The Charter And The Iccpr, Mari Galloway

Dalhousie Law Journal

Climate change is expected to have an unprecedented impact on human migration and displacement over the next decade. Individuals forced to migrate on the basis of climate change or natural disasters remain, however, on the periphery of international and domestic environmental and refugee protections. Teitiota, a landmark decision by the UN Human Rights Committee (the Committee) in 2020 could, however, point the way toward filling these legal gaps by using the principle of non-refoulement under human rights law to prevent the deportation of those whose lives are at risk. As such, this paper seeks to explore the application of Teitiota …

Impact Assessment, Sustainability, And Climate Change: Lessons From Lower Churchill, Adebayo Majekolagbe

Dalhousie Law Journal

The attainment of sustainability is the overarching objective of impact assessment (IA). Over the years, IA has evolved from being a predominantly biophysical- environment assessment venture to a multicentric undertaking including hundreds of IA modes. IA’s proliferation has been attributed to the inadequacy of previously dominant modes (e.g. Environmental Impact Assessment and Social Impact Assessment) to cater to other areas of humanity’s concerns or recent phenomena. Climate change is one of such phenomena and the conceptualization of climate change impact assessment has been the response of the IA movement. Drawing lessons from the Lower Churchill project in Newfoundland and Labrador …

The Deliberative Dimensions Of Modern Environmental Assessment Law, Jocelyn Stacey

Dalhousie Law Journal

Environmental assessment (EA) is a cornerstone of environmental law. It provides a legal framework for public decision-making about major development projects with implications for environmental protection and the rights and title of Indigenous Peoples. Despite significant literature supporting deliberation as the preferred mode of engagement with those affected by EA decisions, the specific legal demands of EA legislation remain undeveloped. This article suggests a legal foundation for deliberative environmental assessment. It argues that modern EA can be understood through three public law frames: procedural fairness, public inquiry, and the framework for the duty to consult and accommodate. It further argues …

Manufacturing Consent To Climate Inaction: A Case Study Of The Globe And Mail ’S Pipeline Coverage, Jason Maclean

Dalhousie Law Journal

Canada has long been a climate change policy laggard. Canada is among the world’s poorest-performing countries in terms of climate action—not only is Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions-reduction target under the Paris Agreement insufficiently ambitious, Canada is not even remotely on track to meet it. Canada’s enduring inaction on climate change is legitimized and sustained by its mainstream corporate news media, which contribute to the oil and gas industry’s capture of Canadian climate and energy policy. In this article, I examine how Canada’s leading national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, editorially framed the completion of the controversial expansion of the Trans …

Corporate Risk And Climate Impacts To Critical Energy Infrastructure In Canada, Rudiger Tscherning

Dalhousie Law Journal

Recent climate events such as Hurrican Harvey in Texas foreshadow the dangers that could result from critical energy infrastructure failure in Canada due to physical impacts caused by climate change. This article examines the types of climate impacts that could affect critical energy infrastructure in Canada. The article argues that these impacts translate into three types of corporate risk to the owners and operators of the critical asset: economic risks to the infrastructure asset; management and operational risks to the corporation; and risks arising from corporate disclosure obligations. Applying the theoretical approach of "risk management," the article concludes that, on …

The Only Legitimate Rule: A Reply To Maclean's Critique Of Ecolawgic, Bruce Pardy

Dalhousie Law Journal

Is autonomy "natural"? In Ecolawgic: The Logic of Ecosystems and the Rule of Law, I argue that a legal system of intrinsic neutrality is one over which no political office or branch of government has control and in which individuals have the autonomy to pursue their own interests. In 'Autonomy in the Anthropocene," the preceding article in this issue, Jason MacLean challenges the thesis of Ecolawgic. MacLean argues that autonomy is not a feature of neutral legal systems but a product of cultural norms and regulation. He maintains that Ecolawgic's prescription provides neither optimal economic outcomes nor effective environmental protection. …

Autonomy In The Anthropocene? Libertarianism, Liberalism And The Legal Theory Of Environmental Regulation, Jason Maclean

Dalhousie Law Journal

Can there be autonomy in the Anthropocene? Libertarian environmental law scholar Bruce Pardy's Ecolawgic: The Logic of Ecosystems and the Rule of Law argues that contemporary environmental law violates the right to autonomy and runs afoul of the rule of law. Pardyproposes an alternative model ofenvironmental law premised on the logic of ecosystems and free markets. Pardy's Ecolawgic suffers, however from the very same conceptual infirmities that substantially undermine the real-world application of the free market paradigm on which Ecolawgic is largely based. Notwithstanding this critical flaw, Ecolawgic may be read as an aspirational model of environmental law and policy …

Environmental Assessment As Planning And Disclosure Tool: Greenpeace Canada V. Canada (Attorney General), Martin Zp Olszynski

Dalhousie Law Journal

In Greenpeace Canada v. Canada (2014), the applicants successfully challenged the adequacy of the environmental assessment report prepared in relation to a proposed nuclear power plant. In assessing that report, the Federal Court described environmental assessment as an "evidence-based and democratically accountable" decision-making process. In this comment I suggest that this characterization represents the most significant-if perhaps also long overdue development in Canadian environmental assessment law since the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Friends of the Oldman River Society v. Canada. I also discuss some of the implications of this characterization, including the extent to which environmental effects must be …

"And The People Of The Province": Egspa's Social Deficit, Susan Tirone, Lkaren Gallant, Katie Sykes

Dalhousie Law Journal

The success of the Nova Scotia Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act (EGSPA) depends on citizen action, changes in attitudes and in the way citizens conduct their lives. In this article the authors discuss the challenges associated with encouraging citizen engagement with EGSPA, and in promoting public awareness and attitudes that support sustainability in Nova Scotia.

Negotiating The Interface Of Environmental And Economic Governance: Nova Scotia's Environmental Goals And Sustainable Prosperity Act, William Lahey, Meinhard Doelle

Dalhousie Law Journal

The year 2012 marks the fifth anniversary of the Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act (EGSPA). The Act is an experiment in improving government performance in promoting sustainable prosperity through the process of setting legislative goals and enhancing accountability This article provides an overview of the Act and an assessment of its performance over these first five years. As such, it supplies the context for the other contributions to the collection of essays on EGSPA in this issue of the Journal. The authors conclude that the Act has had a positive impact on government action on sustainable prosperity and that …

From Idea To Practice: Sustainable Development Efforts In Manitoba, A John Sinclair, Lisa Quinn

Dalhousie Law Journal

With a renewed global interest in achieving a more sustainable society, the authors reflect on the history of institutionalizing sustainable development in their province, Manitoba, and consider its future. This paper outlines that province's approaches to developing and advancing sustainable development and discusses the success of these approaches in shaping, guiding, and furthering sustainable development in the province. This is achieved through examination of legislation and review of sustainable development documents as well as interviews with various participants in the process including members of the Manitoba Round Table for Environment and Economy and members of the more recent Manitoba Round …

In Search Of "Compass And Gyroscope": Where Were Adaptive Management And Principled Negotiation In Nova Scotia's Forest-Strategy Process?, Peter N. Duinker

Dalhousie Law Journal

In his landmark 1993 book entitled Compass and Gyroscope: Integrating Science and Politics for the Environment, Kai Lee outlined the need for stronger processes in support of sustainable development. The science of adaptive management and the politics of principled negotiation were offered as the most promising approaches. The author uses these concepts to evaluate the process used to develop Nova Scotia's natural resources strategies of August 2011, specifically the forest strategy following the Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act. The findings show that, by comparison with similar policy-development processes used elsewhere in Canada, the Nova Scotia process lacked both foresight …

Are Climate Change Policies Fair To Vulnerable Communities? The Impact Of British Columbia's Carbon Tax And Australia's Carbon Pricing Policy On Indigenous Communities, Karen Bubna-Litic, Nathalie J. Chalifour

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper compares carbon pricing policies in British Columbia and Australia in order to identify differences between carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes (ETS) from a fairness perspective. We examine how taxes and trading systems impact indigenous communities in both jurisdictions. While the regressivity of carbon pricing is a critical part of any fairness assessment, we argue that socioeconomic and cultural factors must also be taken into consideration. We discuss the importance of accompanying carbon pricing with policies that mitigate not only distributional impacts, but also additional impacts. These may be funded by the revenue generated by the policy or …

The Justiciability Of Climate Change: Acomparison Of Us And Canadian Approaches, Hugh Wilkins

Dalhousie Law Journal

Climate change-related disputes, which often include novel, complex,or politically sensitive matters, have experienced a mixed reception by the courts. Defendants both in Canada and the United States have raised the issue of justiciabilitythe question of whether a matter is of the quality or state of being appropriate or suitable for review by a court-with some success in attempts to have these cases summarily dismissed. The author reviews the types ofclimate change cases that have been launched, examines the US and Canadian laws of justiciability analyzes the.paths in which the caselaw regarding justiciability in these countries is headed, and suggests how …

Mediation In Environmental Assessments In Canada: Unfulfilled Promise?, Meinhard Doelle, A John Sinclair

Dalhousie Law Journal

The federal environmental assessment (EA) process and most. provincial EA processes in Canada either specifically provide for mediation as an option or implicitly allow for it. Inspite of this, the actual use of mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has been almost non-existent in Canadian EA. There is an emerging view, however that mediation could be applied usefully at points of the process when there is conflict among the parties. Such adjustments in process would signal the need for approval agencies -andproponents to give serious consideration to more collaborative techniques of participation. The objective of this article …

Proceeding With (Pre)Caution: Environmental Principles As Interpretive Tools In Applications For Pre-Trial Injunctions, Heather Mcleod-Kilmurray

Dalhousie Law Journal

In many cases of imminent environmental harm, a trial may take years. To prevent harm in the meantime, pre-trial injunctions are essential. The author highlights the important role of interlocutory injunctions in Canadian environmental litigation, uncovers the judicial assumptions and attitudes toward the environment which these decisions reveal, and proposes a precautionary approach to interpreting the interlocutory injunction test in environmental cases. She argues that prevailing judicial attitudes and presumptions in relation to environmental claims often negatively influence how the discretionary elements in procedural rules governing pre-trial injunctions are applied. Although there has been much analysis of principles such as …

Revisiting The Doctrine Of Intergenerational Equity In Global Environmental Governance, Lynda M. Collins

Dalhousie Law Journal

In the absence of binding international enforcement mechanisms, global environmental governance must rely on a legal framework that has widespread normative force around the world. In addition, such a framework should be sufficiently detailed and pragmatic to allow for effective implementation, should achieve the goal of environmental protection, and should be reasonable in terms of the level of sacrifice expected of the present generation, particularly in the developing world. Itis arguedthat the comprehensive doctrine ofintergenerational equity is an effective and appropriate legal framework for global environmental governance. The doctrine ofintergenerational equityposits thepresent generation of humans as simultaneously beneficiaries of the …

Slow On The Trigger: The Department Of Fisheries And Oceans, The Fisheries Act And The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, Arlene Kwasniak

Dalhousie Law Journal

The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans plays an Important role in protecting fish and fish habitat in Canada, primarily under the Fisheries Act. Section 5 of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act requires an environmental assessment when the Department takes certain actions under the Fisheries Act. In the past few years environmental interests have taken the Department to task claiming that it has circumvented assessment. The alleged circumvention occurs when proponents of projects that will harm fish habitat, in consultation with the Department, revamp the project to avoid harm, and the Department issues a letter of advice to the proponent …

The Kyoto Protocol: Reflections On Its Significance On The Occasion Of Its Entry Into Force, Meinhard Doelle

Dalhousie Law Journal

When the Kyoto Protocol was signed in December 1997, there were high hopes in some quarters that it marked the beginning of a global commitment to climate change mitigation. In the past seven years, however, the Protocol has languished while many of the kev, States have done little to implement it. Until the fall of 2004 it was uncertain whether the Protocol would ever enter into force. To the surprise of many, with ratification by Russia, it came into effect on February 16, 2005, only three years before the start of the first period of commitments to reduce greenhouse gas …

Liability For Damage To The Marine Environment From Ships, Michael White

Dalhousie Law Journal

Marine pollution damage from ships is not a major problem in Australian jurisdictions, but there are regular incidents. The Australian law relating to marine pollution from ships closely follows the international conventions. Australia is a party to almost all of the relevant IMO conventions and, as is required for common law countries, the domestic legislation to give effect to them needs to be put in place. This has been done for the most part by the Commonwealth, the states and the Northern Territory as Australia is a federation. The Commonwealth and the states have established adequate enforcement resources for the …

The Allocation Of Civil Liability For Damage To The Marine Environment In The New Canadian Law Of Merchant Shipping, Or The Polluter Pays How Much?, Hugh M. Kindred

Dalhousie Law Journal

Infrequent but catastrophic incidents of pollution by ships have attracted worldwide attention to the regulation of the merchant shipping industry for the protection of the marine environment. Under the detailed legal regime that has been established, ships and their owners are held strictly liable for the pollution of the oceans that they cause. Less well known but equally well established are other principles of maritime law that allow shipowners to limit their liability for the expense and damage their polluting ships incur. Canada has recently undertaken a major reform of its shipping laws and, in the process, it has revamped …

Welcomed Participants' Or 'Environmental Vigilantes'? The Cepa Environmental Protection Action And The Role Of Citizen Suits In Federal Environmental Law, Marcia Valiante

Dalhousie Law Journal

In the 1999 amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the federal government added a new citizen enforcement tool, known as an "environmental protection action." This was the first "citizen suit" provision in Canadian federal environmental law but it is unlikely to play more than a minor role in advancing enforcement of CEPA and is unlikely to be adopted in other environmental laws. This is because, despite initial interest in and commitment to citizen enforcement, the government was persuaded by industry representatives and others to significantly constrain the action and, shortly afterwards, to drop it entirely from the Species At …

From Kyoto To Marrakech; A Long Walk Through The Desert: Mirage Or Oasis?, Meinhard Doelle

Dalhousie Law Journal

This article reviews the results of four years of negotiations of the parties to the UNFCCC,3 from the Kyoto Protocol signed in 1997 to the Marrakech Accords in 2001. This process was intended to provide the details and operational rules needed for parties to make decisions on whether to ratify and how to implement the Kyoto Protocol in time for the start of the first commitment period in 2008. The author analyzes the Marrakech Accords with respect to the Kyoto Mechanisms, reporting, verification, compliance, and developing country issues, and concludes that the Kyoto Protocol in itself is a negligible step …

Future Directions In International Environmental Law: Precaution, Integration And Non-State Actors, James Cameron

Dalhousie Law Journal

In this, the Horace E. Read Memorial Lecture for 1995, James Cameron discusses three developments in international environmental law,-the principles of precaution and of integration and the roles of non-state actors. The precautionary principle calls for regulatory intervention to prevent environmental harm even though the risk of damage remains scientifically uncertain. A wide consensus exists in favour of a precautionary approach to environmental management and state practice is sufficient to assert the principle has attained the status of customary international law, but it remains controversial because it demands changes in practice. The principle of integration takes a holistic approach to …

Individual Enforcement Of Canada's Environmental Protection Laws: The Weak-Spirited Need Not Try, Roger W. Proctor

Dalhousie Law Journal

It is no secret that public awareness and concern for environmental protection in Canada has increased significantly in recent years. Legislators have addressed these concerns by implementing new laws to regulate the various practices that impact negatively on the environment. With statutes in hand, environmentally conscious individuals are beginning to intervene personally to monitor compliance and ensure enforcement of these new laws.

Acid Rain And Ozone Layer Depletion: International Law And Regulation, Kernaghan Webb

Dalhousie Law Journal

Although international customary and conventional law have addressed aspects of transfrontier pollution problems for decades,' the regional and global environmental degradations which have come to the forefront in the 1980s and 1990s - acid rain, ozone depletion, and global warming, to name but three - represent new challenges to existing international law institutions and concepts. In a sense, the world has over the past two centuries gone through a period of what could be called "technological adolescence", as individuals and corporations, largely from industrialized nations, exploited the earth's resources with little if any concern for the immediate and long-term implications …

Conflicting Principles Of Canadian Environmental Reform: Trubeck And Habermas V. Law And Economics And The Law Reform Commission, Rod Northey

Dalhousie Law Journal

Early in the 1970s, the American legal scholar, David Trubeck, made a far-reaching observation: Law is a practical science. It does not ordinarily dwell on fundamental questions about the social, political and economic functions of the legal order. Satisfied with implicit working assumptions about these matters, legal thought moves rapidly to more tractable questions. But when law's solutions to social problems fail to satisfy, it becomes necessary to examine the basic theory from which they derive. Trubeck expounded this thesis in connection with legal developments in the Third World. Using an idea he termed the "core conception" of law, Trubeck …

Marketable Pollution Permits: Their Values, Theory, And Application, D. Fraser Macfayden

Dalhousie Law Journal

The Economic Council of Canada recently expressed interest in exploring alternatives to the traditional command and control model of pollution control. The marketable pollution permit (MPP) scheme proposed by Dales is one such alternative.' This idea will be examined to assess its potential for practical application. I conclude that the MPP idea has little potential for widespread application. It is not suited to replace the command and control model. There is potential for the supporting principles of the scheme to provide a useful adjunct to current regulatory controls. The issue will be discussed in three sections. The first section will …