Cumulative Effects

Province acknowledges destructive recreation: upped enforcement or flavor of the month?

“There’s no God-given right to mud-boggers” (Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, Nanton News, May 13, 2013) May long weekend is here: begin the bush parties, litter, trucks in the river. . . I wish I could find last year’s Sustainable Resource Development blog post about the...

17 May, 2013 / 0 Comments

Environment or economy? The divergent perceptions of the purpose of environmental assessments

This blog was triggered by a recent media report that a mining company in BC was planning to sue the BC government over the refusal to issue an environmental assessment certificate for a project. It was a reminder of the divergent perceptions of why we...

28 February, 2013 / 0 Comments

The story of Caribou policy in action, or is that inaction

A recent story of a road being built in the Little Smokey Caribou range reflects the provincial government’s narrative of the demise of a species. It reflects a disconnect between policy and action, both federally and provincially, and indicates an inability on the part of...

29 January, 2013 / 0 Comments

An environmental tune to celebrate the season

Last year we had "Twas an Alberta night before Christmas" - this year is a much shorter environmental round up - sung to "Let it Snow" Oh the omni-bus bills were frightful But the PR is so delightful And since the fish have no place to go We’ve been...

20 December, 2012 / 2 Comments

Creditor protection versus polluter pays: Laws leave environment cash strapped

The Environmental Law Centre promotes the polluter pays principle as central to effective environmental law. Inherent in the polluter pays principle is the assumption that, if you can’t afford to clean up a mess, you shouldn’t be in business to begin with. Of course nothing...

14 December, 2012 / 1 Comment

An approval too far: Cumulative effects must be considered prior to approving activities

The Government of Alberta (GOA) has started down the road of managing cumulative effects. It won’t be easy, but the government is armed with regulatory tools. Specifically, the GOA has put in place “environmental management frameworks” (EMF) through its regional planning process, which allow it...

03 October, 2012 / 1 Comment

The quandary of cumulative effects: Fitting a science peg in a law hole

In March 2012, ELC Executive Director Cindy Chiasson presented a paper called "The Quandary of Cumulative Effects — Fitting a Science Peg in a Law Hole" at the Canadian Institute of Resources Law (CIRL) Symposium. You can download the paper (in English or French) on the...

28 August, 2012 / 0 Comments

Environmental assessment and duplication: “Don’t we have a photocopier?”

There is significant rhetoric around how the federal and provincial governments have duplicative and therefore inefficient environmental assessment processes. The federal government has fully bought in on it and has indicated its intent to remove itself from many environmental assessments. I for one find the duplication...

17 April, 2012 / 2 Comments

Is basic science taking a back seat in policy development?

There is a mantra that I hear all too often in reference to environmental management. “We can’t manage what we don’t measure.” While I agree, it seems to be me that we rarely measure enough to make truly informed decisions, and things are getting worse....

02 March, 2012 / 0 Comments

Core Environmental Principles for Environmental Laws, Policies and Legal Processes

The Environmental Law Centre recognizes that the environment is a public good that must be protected. The Environmental Law Centre’s Strategic Plan 2012-2015 references several core environmental principles that are required for strong and effective environmental laws, policies and legal processes. These core principles are: sustainability, precautionary...

14 February, 2012 / 0 Comments