Jason Unger
Jason Unger
Executive Director
I am a lawyer, a father, a lover of science and an excessive consumer (I am working on it). In all my roles in society I see three futures, the future we need, the future I want, and the future that is likely. On any given day I will have differing perspectives of what the future holds.
My path to environmental law was rooted in my interactions with nature both in leisure and in work. Growing up in Canada, I took advantage of the wealth of opportunities to get out in nature. This was in turn followed by an evolving love of science and a yearning to travel and work in different ecosystems. Weighing the opportunities between returning to school for a masters in resource management or law, I was accepted into the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, where there was the ability to specialize in environmental and marine law. I jumped at the chance.
Fast forward over a decade and I see a future of environmental sustainability being hindered by a variety of challenges: knowledge, technical, legal, behavioural. Addressing some of these challenges is why the work of the ELC is important to me.
Publications
View Jason Unger’s publications, posts and presentation here
Our Liquid Assets: Moving Alberta’s laws toward treating water as a public resource
(Environmental Law Centre, 2013)
Reclaiming Tomorrow Today: Regulatory timing for abandonment and reclamation of well sites in Alberta
(Environmental Law Centre, 2013)
Conservation Easements for Agriculture in Alberta: A Report on a Proposed Policy Direction
(Environmental Law Centre and Miistakis Institute, 2012)
Consistency and Accountability in Implementing Watershed Plans in Alberta: A jurisdictional review and recommendations for reform
(Environmental Law Centre, 2010)
A Guide to Public Participation in Environmental Decision-Making in Alberta
(Environmental Law Centre, 2010)
Legal Aspects of Conservation Easements
(Environmental Law Centre, 2007)
Presentations
Environmental Liability in Canada: Private & Public Exposure to Risk (Canadian Association of Environmental Law Societies, February, 2015)
Environmental Stewardship Planning Framework: Law and Policy Drivers (Alberta Stewardship Network Stewards in Motion workshops, various dates & locations)
Environmental Future Legislative Past: Water Law and the complexity of resources management (Canadian Society of Bioresource Engineers, June, 2014)
Municipalities and the Environment (Canadian Bar Association, September, 2014)
Whose water are we selling? (Synergy Alberta Conference, November, 2014)
Fluid (Legal) Dynamics (Synergy Alberta Conference, October, 2013)
Property Law and the Environment: Conflict or Confluence (Environmental Law Centre webinar, January 2012)
Water Law in Alberta (March, 2012)
Nature in Development: Environmental Reserves and Other Planning Tools for Environmental Preservation (Legal Education Society of Alberta, September, 2011)
Cumulative Conundrums: Difficulties in Regulating Cumulative Impacts on Surface Water Quality in Alberta (Watertech Conference, April 14, 2011, and Canadian Water Resource Association (Alberta Chapter) and Alberta Low Impact Development Partnership, April, 2011)
From H20, Basin Transfers in Context (Community Planning Association of Alberta, April, 2011)