Articles 2019

Lynn comments on the 2015 British Columbia Court of Appeal decision in J.I. Properties Inv. v. PPG Coating Canada Ltd., 2015 BCCA 472, that upheld a $4.7 million award of statutory remediation costs against the former owner of a site who had previously remediated the site to the satisfaction of B.C. environmental regulators in the mid-1980s.

Laura comments on the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change's posting of an Excess Soil Management Policy Framework (“proposed framework”) that proposes a path forward and guiding principles for the development of policy related to the management of excess soil. Comments on the proposed framework may be submitted on the Environmental Registry up until March 26, 2016.

The authors provide their views on the impact of the Ontario Court of Appeal's decision in Midwest Properties Ltd. v. Thordarson, 2015 ONCA 819.

The authors comment on the Supreme Court of Canada's denial of leave to appeal the British Columbia Court of Appeal's decision in Precision Plating Ltd. v. Axa Pacific Insurance Co., which dealt with the interpretation and application of pollution exclusion clauses in commercial general liability insurance policies.

The authors examine ministerial mandate letters issued by Prime Minister Trudeau on November of 2015 and opine on their potential impact on fisheries policy.

The authors discuss the Paris Agreement signed by 196 nations on December 12, 2015, next steps and what's already being done in Canada.

Laura summarizes the Paris Agreement to decarbonize the economy, work collectively to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and limit global temperature increases that was adopted by 195 nations on December 12, 2015 at COP 21.

Laura Zizzo, a trained lawyer and strategic advisor focusing on climate risk management at Zizzo Strategy Inc., reports on the Untied Nations Climate Summit.

The authors briefly review the recognition of good faith performance obligations and the recent Bhasin v. Hrynew decision and go on to discuss the applications for this duty in litigation and environmental law contexts.

Sarah provides an overview of three of the many interesting topics covered by the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario ("ECO") in her Annual Report for 2014/2015, which was released on November 3, 2015.