Last March I penned an open letter to Prime Minister Harper asking him to recognize that the global atmosphere was at least as essential to our national security as pipelines and highways. We didn’t rece
Environmental Law Alert Blog
Through our Environmental Law Alert blog, West Coast keeps you up to date on the latest developments and issues in environmental law. This includes:
- proposed changes to the law that will weaken, or strengthen, environmental protection;
- stories and situations where existing environmental laws are failing to protect the environment; and
- emerging legal strategies that could be used to protect our environment.
If you have an environmental story that we should hear about, please e-mail Andrew Gage. We welcome your comments on any of the posts to this blog – but please keep in mind our policies on comments.
The Liberal Party’s main campaign promises on environmental legal protection
Last week, at the close of the hearings for the legal challenges to the federal government’s Enbridge Northern Gateway approval, Justice Dawson thanked legal counsel for their submissions and added that she could recall, from her days as a lawyer, the feeling at the end of a case when the responsibility shifts from the lawyers who have made the
Walking a long road, together
In 2013 Typhoon Haiyan smashed into the Philippines, killing at least 6,300 people, and displacing an estimated 4 million people. Viewed as a natural disaster, it was tragic. But given what we know about the impact of climate change on the intensity of tropical storms, should it be viewed purely as a natural disaster?
I recently traveled to Whitehorse to present on a panel at the Yukon North Slope Conference. I had been invited to talk about the treatment of Indigenous knowledge in the courts and by environmental decision-making bodies.
The sixth and final day of the Enbridge hearing was as charged and exciting as the first. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) was up first to make submissions on whether or not the Enbridge pipeline is in the ‘public interest’.
Day 5 of 6. A core group of concerned community members persisted in the courtroom and listened intently to the dynamic exchanges between the judges and counsel for the Respondents. The judges started the day by addressing Northern Gateway’s last minute attempt to introduce fresh evidence.
It was another exciting day down at the Federal Court of Appeal. The day started with Northern Gateway seeking to introduce fresh evidence to the Court. Yesterday, the judges instructed Northern Gateway to seek an agreement with the applicants with respect to the admissibility of this evidence. No such agreement was reached.
First up this morning, Chris Tollefson presented arguments on behalf of BC Nature, a B.C.-based conservation group.