Navigable waters may be litigable waters if Bill C-45 passes As has been widely reported, the second omnibus budget bill has been tabled in Parliament (Bill C-45). Part of the Bill is aimed...
Closed waters: Managing toxins in Alberta’s surface waters will be far from simple A recent study about high microcystin concentrations in lakes across the country hit the media recently. The study found that lakes across Canada and many...
ELC's Analysis of the 2012 federal budget (Bill C-38) and its changes to Canada's environmental laws Click here to read ELC's Analysis of the 2012 federal budget (Bill C-38) and its changes...
Rio + 20 = 1867? Canada’s interesting math On the verge of the end of Rio +20 and the passage of the federal budget bill (C-38), I felt it worthwhile to do some...
EPA finds fracking causes water contamination A draft report from the US Environmental Protection Agency on fracking for natural gas in Wyoming found that disposal pits caused shallow groundwater contamination. The report also...
Will Statoil’s “creative sentence” prevent illegal water use? Norwegian giant Statoil has pled guilty to breaching the terms of a Water Act license, joining Suncor and Syncrude as the third oil sands...
Court directs precaution in pesticide review case A recent decision from the Federal Court of Canada is notable for its interpretation of the how the precautionary principle must guide government decisions when dealing...
Buffalo Lake Integrated Shoreland Management Plan: A model for lake management? The Government of Alberta recently published the Buffalo Lake Integrated Shoreland Management Plan (BLISMP) with the view of managing current and future...
The Alberta Water Authority: Should the idea sink or swim? Last month the Report of the Premier’s Council for Economic Strategy Shaping Alberta’s Future outlined five “big” ideas to further provincial economic diversification and...
“Water exchange” vs. money for a licence – regardless the environment needs law and policy to evolve There has been a bit of a media fury around the idea of a...
Canada Water Week and standing To kick off Canada Water Week (the 14th to the 22nd of March) with a legal spin I have borrowed a quote from a case from our southern neighbours in...
“Water worlds” and nutrient management policies: recent isotope hydrology studies may have significant policy implications Jeffrey McDonell, a hydrologist from Oregon State University and this year’s Birdsall Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer, was recently...