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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 …