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Environmental Law

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Full-Text Articles in Law

State Sequestration: Federal Policy Accelerates Carbon Storage, But Leaves Full Climate, Equity Protections To States, Gabriel Pacyniak Jun 2023

State Sequestration: Federal Policy Accelerates Carbon Storage, But Leaves Full Climate, Equity Protections To States, Gabriel Pacyniak

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—the UN’s expert science panel—has found that limiting climate change to prevent catastrophic harms will require at least some use of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) unless the world rapidly shifts away from fossil fuels and reduces energy demand. There is significant uncertainty, however, about the level of lifecycle GHG reductions achievable in practice from varying CCS applications; some applications could even lead to net increases in emissions. In addition, a number of these applications create or maintain other harms, especially those related to fossil fuel extraction and use. For these reasons, many environmental justice …


Canada’S Arctic Policy Framework: Governance Transformation In Nunavut, C. Mark Macneill Mar 2022

Canada’S Arctic Policy Framework: Governance Transformation In Nunavut, C. Mark Macneill

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

On August 28, 2017 Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau committed to a renewed relationship with Indigenous Peoples based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership. To accomplish this mission, major structural changes in how the Government of Canada engages and relates with Indigenous peoples across the country were co-developed with indigenous, territorial and provincial partners to form a new Arctic Policy Framework (APF). This has had major implications of departmental transformation, particularly for the former Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAC), Nunavut. Regional Office (NRO), its staff, programs, and operations.


Splitting Canada’S Northern Strategy: Is It Polar Mania?, C. Mark Macneill Mar 2022

Splitting Canada’S Northern Strategy: Is It Polar Mania?, C. Mark Macneill

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

On July 15, 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s legislation splitting Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) into two new departments and dissolving INAC came into effect. The same legislation also formally established the mandates of the two new departments, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs (CIRNAC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC). The Government of Canada passed the legislation to develop deeper relations and higher levels of collaboration with Canada’s Indigenous people to build stronger and healthier northern communities. Dovetailing with the splitting of INC, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announce the Arctic Policy Framework (APF). The APF was co-developed with indigenous, territorial, …


The Right To Live: How North Atlantic Right Whales Are Going Extinct Despite Environmental Protections, Justin Weatherwax May 2021

The Right To Live: How North Atlantic Right Whales Are Going Extinct Despite Environmental Protections, Justin Weatherwax

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.


Indigenous Environmental Network And North Coast Rivers Alliance V. President Donald J. Trump, Et Al. And Tc Energy Corporation, Et Al., Kirsten D. Gerbatsch Ms. Sep 2020

Indigenous Environmental Network And North Coast Rivers Alliance V. President Donald J. Trump, Et Al. And Tc Energy Corporation, Et Al., Kirsten D. Gerbatsch Ms.

Public Land & Resources Law Review

A single cross-border pipeline project has been the epicenter of environmental litigation for the last decade—and it is not over yet. For years, TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, LP and TC Energy have sought to construct and maintain a segment of the Keystone pipeline between the United States and Canada to connect existing pipeline infrastructure and transport crude oil. To do so, the company must first apply and be approved for a permit. Between 2008 and 2012, President Obama twice denied TransCanada Keystone Pipeline and TC Energy’s applications. Then, in 2017 and again in 2019, President Trump unilaterally invited TC Energy’s application …


How Two Sunken Ships Caused A War: The Legal And Cultural Battle Between Great Britain, Canada, And The Inuit Over The Franklin Expedition Shipwrecks, Christina Labarge Feb 2019

How Two Sunken Ships Caused A War: The Legal And Cultural Battle Between Great Britain, Canada, And The Inuit Over The Franklin Expedition Shipwrecks, Christina Labarge

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.


Venezuela Undermines Gold Miner Crystallex's Attempts To Recover On Its Icsid Award, Sam Wesson Feb 2019

Venezuela Undermines Gold Miner Crystallex's Attempts To Recover On Its Icsid Award, Sam Wesson

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.


Marine Renewable Energy Law And Policy In The Bay Of Fundy: The Impact Of Ambiguous Domestic Boundaries In Canada On Nova Scotia's Regulatory Framework, Esteban Salcedo Jan 2019

Marine Renewable Energy Law And Policy In The Bay Of Fundy: The Impact Of Ambiguous Domestic Boundaries In Canada On Nova Scotia's Regulatory Framework, Esteban Salcedo

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

Using a legal history methodology, this paper examines existing marine renewable energy law and policy in Nova Scotia with a focus on its application in the Bay of Fundy. This paper critically assesses the current approach to coastal management in light of recent recommendations summarized in the Fournier report. This paper argues that, despite clear calls to develop integrated ocean management and marine spatial planning in policies and regulations, Canada and Nova Scotia have failed to do so because of unclear federal-provincial boundaries. Ambiguous domestic borders in the Bay of Fundy have been at the source of an overly cautious, …


The Case For Effective Environmental Politics: Federalist Or Unitary State? Comparing The Cases Of Canada, The United States Of America, And The People’S Republic Of China, Justin Fisch Jun 2018

The Case For Effective Environmental Politics: Federalist Or Unitary State? Comparing The Cases Of Canada, The United States Of America, And The People’S Republic Of China, Justin Fisch

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Federalism, by its nature, is a segmented system of governance. The Canadian and American constitutional orders are divided along very clear lines of jurisdictional authority between levels of government. Environmental issues, by their nature, are holistic in scope—they transcend borders, governments, jurisdictions, and authorities. For this reason, one might assume that a unitary state would be better positioned to tackle them. Is this justified? This Article examines the Chinese unitary state, in comparison to the federalist systems in Canada and the United States of America, to discern whether a unitary government can better manage issues plaguing the environment.


Pursuing A Reconciliatory Administrative Law: Aboriginal Consultation And The National Energy Board, Matthew J. Hodgson Sep 2016

Pursuing A Reconciliatory Administrative Law: Aboriginal Consultation And The National Energy Board, Matthew J. Hodgson

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Environmental assessment within the process of regulatory review is recognized as the preferred means for carrying out the duty to consult and accommodate Aboriginal rights in administrative decisions over proposed resource development. Recent evidence suggests that integrating the duty to consult into National Energy Board (NEB) proceedings and subsuming the law of Aboriginal consultation under principles of administrative justice have not advanced the goal of reconciliation. This article considers whether the statutory mandate of the National Energy Board requires it to have sufficient regard to Aboriginal rights in a manner consistent with the adjudication of constitutional issues in administrative law. …


Process And Reconciliation: Integrating The Duty To Consult With Environmental Assessment, Neil Craik Jan 2016

Process And Reconciliation: Integrating The Duty To Consult With Environmental Assessment, Neil Craik

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

As the duty to consult Aboriginal peoples is operationalized within the frameworks of government decision making, the relevant agencies are increasingly turning to environmental assessment (EA) processes as one of the principal vehicles for carrying out those consultations. This article explores the practical and theoretical dimensions of using EA processes to implement the duty to consult and accommodate. The relationship between EA and the duty to consult has arisen in a number of cases and a clear picture is emerging of the steps that agencies conducting EAs must carry out in order to discharge their constitutional obligations to Aboriginal peoples. …


The Promise Of The Rule Of (Environmental) Law: A Reply To Pardy’S Unbearable Licence, Jocelyn Stacey Jan 2016

The Promise Of The Rule Of (Environmental) Law: A Reply To Pardy’S Unbearable Licence, Jocelyn Stacey

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This short reply clarifies and defends the argument presented in “The Environmental Emergency and the Legality of Discretion in Environmental Law.” It responds to the arguments that were made, and that could have been made, in Pardy’s critique “An Unbearable Licence.” The reply further develops the public-justification conception of the rule of law, arguing that it is at home within Canadian public law. It also argues that this conception of the rule of law highlights possibilities for future research directions in Canadian environmental law.


Regulation Of Chemical Risks: Lessons For Reform Of The Toxic Substances Control Act From Canada And The European Union, Adam D.K. Abelkop, John D. Graham Aug 2015

Regulation Of Chemical Risks: Lessons For Reform Of The Toxic Substances Control Act From Canada And The European Union, Adam D.K. Abelkop, John D. Graham

Pace Environmental Law Review

The purpose of this Article is to compare the regulatory systems in Canada and the EU, and use comparative insights to draw some lessons that may be of interest to U.S. policy makers engaged in TSCA reform. CEPA and REACH are seen by stakeholders as state of the art in chemicals assessment and management, and thus the U.S. may draw useful insights from them. Indeed, the European Union and Canada have each been urging other countries to join in a globalization of the REACH or Canadian programs, respectively. Regardless of what TSCA reformers choose to learn from the Canadian and …


Environmental Assessment As Planning And Disclosure Tool: Greenpeace Canada V. Canada (Attorney General), Martin Zp Olszynski Apr 2015

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 …


International Liability And Primary Rules Of Obligation: An Application To Acid Rain In The United States And Canada, John B. Lyle Mar 2015

International Liability And Primary Rules Of Obligation: An Application To Acid Rain In The United States And Canada, John B. Lyle

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.


Virginia's Moratorium: Is Uranium Mining On The Horizon In The Commonwealth?, William Brice Fiske Nov 2012

Virginia's Moratorium: Is Uranium Mining On The Horizon In The Commonwealth?, William Brice Fiske

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.


Environmental Damages After The Federal Environmental Enforcement Act: Bringing Ecosystem Services To Canadian Environmental Law?, Martin Z. P. Olsynski Jul 2012

Environmental Damages After The Federal Environmental Enforcement Act: Bringing Ecosystem Services To Canadian Environmental Law?, Martin Z. P. Olsynski

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The Canadian Environmental Enforcement Act [EEA] directs judges to consider actual environmental damage, or risk thereof, when setting fines for environmental offences. The EEA defi nes damage as including the loss of use and non-use values. While these terms are not unprecedented in Canadian environmental law, their use in environmental damage assessment is. Bearing in mind recent developments in environmental valuation in the United States and internationally, and considering the emergence of the “ecosystem services” paradigm in particular, this article explores the opportunities and challenges for ecosystem services based environmental damages assessment in the Canadian environmental sentencing context. The ecosystem …


The Justiciability Of Climate Change: Acomparison Of Us And Canadian Approaches, Hugh Wilkins Oct 2011

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 Apr 2010

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 Oct 2009

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 …


Canada-United States Cooperative Approaches To Shared Marine Fishery Resources: Territorial Subversion?, Ted L. Mcdorman Jan 2009

Canada-United States Cooperative Approaches To Shared Marine Fishery Resources: Territorial Subversion?, Ted L. Mcdorman

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Essay will focus on how Canada and the United States have both succeeded and failed in adopting cooperative approaches to managing ocean fishery resources. A critical factor that has influenced these efforts is the introduction of an international legal construct dictating that States have exclusive sovereign rights respecting all marine living resources within 200 nautical miles of their shores. Cooperative approaches to managing transboundary marine living resources between Canada and the United States are necessary for two reasons. First, in the case of marine living resources, the resource pays scant attention to human-constructed national boundaries. Put another way, marine …


The Role Of Local Governments In Great Lakes Environmental Governance: A Canadian Perspective, Marcia Valiante Jul 2007

The Role Of Local Governments In Great Lakes Environmental Governance: A Canadian Perspective, Marcia Valiante

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Restoration of environmental integrity in the Great Lakes Basin has been only a qualified success after thirty-five years of efforts pursuant to policies developed by federal, state, and provincial governments. Many unresolved problems stem from activities under local government control, yet in the past local governments were excluded from Great Lakes policy-making. By looking at recent changes in the powers, interests, experience, and influence of local governments in Ontario, this Essay concludes that local governments now have the ability to participate meaningfully in Great Lakes policy formation and implementation. To include local governments would improve the chances of successful restoration …


The Great Lakes As An Environmental Heritage Of Humankind: An International Law Perspective, A. Dan Tarlock Jul 2007

The Great Lakes As An Environmental Heritage Of Humankind: An International Law Perspective, A. Dan Tarlock

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Since 1985, the eight Great Lakes states and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec have cooperated to prevent almost all diversions of water from the Great Lakes basin. In 2005, the eight states signed an Agreement to create a tiered system of reviews for diversions and a draft interstate Compact, which creates a binding process to regulate diversions. This cooperation is primarily a state initiative, supported by the federal governments in both countries, which has paid little attention to the international character of the lakes. This Essay argues that there are three major benefits to the region from the …


The Polluter Pays Principle In Canadian Agriculture, Marie-Ann Bowden Jan 2006

The Polluter Pays Principle In Canadian Agriculture, Marie-Ann Bowden

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.


Towards A Solution To The Problem Of The Common Anadromous Stocks Of The North Pacific, Christian C. Polychron May 2003

Towards A Solution To The Problem Of The Common Anadromous Stocks Of The North Pacific, Christian C. Polychron

San Diego International Law Journal

The problem of the common anadromous stocks of the North Pacific is currently addressed through a legal regime operating within the framework established by the UNCLOS. This legal regime operates on two distinct fronts, but the externalities and incentives that define a problem of the commons continue to exist on both fronts. On the high seas, inadequate enforcement enables vessels and nations to violate the ban against high seas salmon harvests and to externalize the costs of doing so. Within EEZs, ineffectual bi-national treaties enable nations to which salmon stocks migrate to over exploit salmon stocks that originate in other …


Toward The Twenty-First Century: A Canadian Legal Perspective On Resource And Environmental Law, Constance D. Hunt Apr 1993

Toward The Twenty-First Century: A Canadian Legal Perspective On Resource And Environmental Law, Constance D. Hunt

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This paper surveys existing and emerging Canadian approaches to environmental and resource management issues, and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of some of our past and current approaches. It considers the challenges posed by the fact that Canada is a federal state as illustrated by jurisdictional competition regarding environmental assessment. The successful utilization of cooperative strategies is considered and examples are given of new problems that need to be addressed. Difficulties faced by governmental, judicial, and administrative bodies are surveyed. Examples are given of emerging legislative strategies. It is concluded that, while much change is apparent, it is far from …


A Black (And Rising?) Tide: Controlling Maritime Oil Pollution In Canada, Suzanne Hawkes, Michael M'Gonigle Jan 1992

A Black (And Rising?) Tide: Controlling Maritime Oil Pollution In Canada, Suzanne Hawkes, Michael M'Gonigle

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

A series of dramatic oil spills in recent years has once again drawn critical attention to the nature and adequacy of existing domestic and international legislation regarding ship source oil pollution. Predictably, legislators and policy makers have responded with a plethora of studies, reviews, and consultations. However, past improvements to the domestic and international regimes have traditionally been slow and incremental, at best. In Canada, approximately three years have passed since the Nestucca spill took place off the B.C. coast. Yet, while there has been much discussion, domestic legislation remains virtually unaltered at the present time. The authors find that …


Individual Enforcement Of Canada's Environmental Protection Laws: The Weak-Spirited Need Not Try, Roger W. Proctor May 1991

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.


Federalism And Comprehensive Environmental Reform: Seeing Beyond The Murky Medium, Rodney Northey Jan 1991

Federalism And Comprehensive Environmental Reform: Seeing Beyond The Murky Medium, Rodney Northey

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article examines the legal constraints that Canadian federalism places on comprehensive environmental reforms. Having specific regard for the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and its regulation of toxic substances, the article questions the ability of federal constitutional powers to support a broad scope for the statute. The article then examines two approaches to this problem. First, it examines an alternative vision of federalism which provides the federal government with broad environmental authority. Secondly, it examines various mechanisms of federal-provincial cooperation for their application to comprehensive environmental schemes. It concludes that these options provide enough scope to regulate environmental activities comprehensively …


The Epa's Discretion To Regulate Acid Rain: A Discussion Of The Requirements For Triggering Section 115 Of The Clean Air Act, Stuart N. Keith Jan 1988

The Epa's Discretion To Regulate Acid Rain: A Discussion Of The Requirements For Triggering Section 115 Of The Clean Air Act, Stuart N. Keith

Cleveland State Law Review

Acid rain does not respect political boundaries; the problem of acid rain has had a devastating effect on human health and the environment of the northeastern United States as well as the area across the Canadian border. Recognizing the implications of trans-boundary air pollution problems such as acid rain, Congress amended section 115 of the Clean Air Act to permit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to order the reduction of air pollution menaces emanating from the United States which affect foreign nations. New York v. Thomas is the first major case to interpret section 115 and it will …