Environmental groups denied standing on water appeals

An appeal by Alberta Wilderness Association, Water Matters, and Trout Unlimited ended when the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench found that the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) cannot grant “public interest standing” under the provincial Water Act. The groups sought to challenge a change to the purpose of water licenses that will allow Irrigation Districts to sell water for other uses.

The brief decision in Alberta Wilderness Association v Alberta (Environmental Appeal Board) is far from the policy-driven approach to standing emerging from the Supreme Court of Canada.
A case that could have been a missing link in public interest jurisprudence does little to enrich the law. If the EAB had power to grant standing then it might have been unreasonable not to.

Read “Environmental groups denied standing on water appeals” on the ELC blog.

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