What would a good law look like? A Model Environmental and Sustainability Assessment Law may hold the answer.

15 Mar What would a good law look like? A Model Environmental and Sustainability Assessment Law may hold the answer.

What would a good law look like?
A Model Environmental and Sustainability Assessment Law may hold the answer.

Federal omnibus budget bills passed in 2012 brought dramatic changes to environmental regulation, particularly in the area of environmental assessments. Many of us are wondering what this means for environmental protection in Canada. This remains to be seen, and leaves us with another question: What would a good law – a law that incorporates environmentally sound principles – look like?

A Model Environmental and Sustainability Assessment Law, recently released by the Environmental Law Centre (ELC), strives to answer that question.

The Model Law:

• incorporates environmentally sound principles, enabling sustainable decision-making to become part of Canada’s landscape;
• embraces sustainability as its core objective;
• provides strong rights for public participation;
• provides fair, predictable and accessible assessment procedures; and
• provides a legal framework for strategic and regional assessment.

It is the ELC’s goal that the Model Law will be used by both provincial and federal governments to improve Canada’s environmental assessment processes.

You can read the annotated version, which provides background discussion and commentary at https://elc.ab.ca/Content_Files/Files/AnnotatedEAModelLawsDGLFinalJan2013.pdf. The version without annotations is available at https://elc.ab.ca/Content_Files/Files/EAModelLawsDGLFINAL.pdf.

The ELC thanks its funders – the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation and the Alberta Law Foundation – for supporting this project.

ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTRE:

The Environmental Law Centre (ELC) has been seeking strong and effective environmental laws since it was founded in 1982. The ELC is dedicated to providing credible, comprehensive and objective legal information regarding natural resources, energy and environmental law, policy and regulation in Alberta. The ELC’s mission is to educate and champion for strong laws and rights so all Albertans can enjoy clean water, clean air and a healthy environment. Our vision is a society where laws secure an environment that sustains current and future generations.

As a charity, the Environmental Law Centre depends on your financial support. Help us to continue to educate and champion for strong environmental laws, through tools such as our blog and all of our other resources, so that all Albertans can enjoy a healthy environment. Your support makes a difference.
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