West Coast Environmental Law
Research Foundation
NewsletterWest Coast Environmental Law
Research Foundation
NewsletterWest Coast Environmental Law Association is representing the East Kootenay Environmental Society, Earthlife and Land for Nature in asking the provincial government to pass a new endangered species law now. The new law should include, at a minimum, the following three provisions:
The current provincial statute dealing with endangered and threatened species only allows non-fish, vertebrate species to be designated as "endangered" or "threatened". Plants, invertebrates and fish are not included in endangered or threatened species protection. This must be changed in a new Act.
Destruction of habitat is probably the chief threat to most endangered species, and once a species has been designated, its habitat should receive automatic protection. The current law does not permit this to occur. Cabinet could be given the power to grant an exemption, if there is no reasonable and prudent alternative for meeting the same social objectives. Such a decision by Cabinet would be public, and subject to public scrutiny and debate.
All species that are truly endangered or threatened should be properly protected by law. Under the present Wildlife Act, the decision to designate a species as endangered or threatened is in the absolute and confidential discretion of Cabinet. One way to encourage Cabinet to make endangered species decisions based on the actual biological vulnerability of a species is to establish an Endangered Species Scientific Advisory Board.
The three points for legislation were widely discussed and agreed upon at the symposium on Community Action for Protection of Endangered Species held in Vancouver in September 1991. John Cashore, still in Opposition at that point, specifically agreed with the first and third recommendations. He did not agree that habitat would be automatically protected once a species was designated as endangered. He should be reminded of his promise, despite his recent move from Environment to Aboriginal Affairs, and his colleague, Moe Sihota, now Minister of Environment, should be asked to keep the same promise.
If you or your group would like to join the Endangered Species Coalition, or if you would like more information on this subject, please contact Linda Nowlan at West Coast Environmental Law Association.
West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation will be publishing a new report on economic instruments very soon. This report was prepared for Environment Canada. Here is a preview of the report.
The search for improved environmental protection -- and the urgency of the task -- challenges us to be ever alert to new or improved ways to accomplish our goal. Increasingly we recognize that our approach must encourage prevention rather than remediation of environmental degradation and that a variety of tools need to be used together to achieve this end.
Economic Instruments and the Environment: Selected Legal Issues examines the use of economic tools to improve environmental protection through the harnessing of market forces. These tools are not viewed as a single solution to environmental ills. However, an appropriate mix of environmental regulations and economic instruments may accelerate our progress to better environmental protection.
Canadian environmental law consists largely of regulations or permits and licences which prohibit industries from exceeding prescribed levels of emissions, require industries to install certain abatement equipment or prohibit the use of substances for specific purposes. If a business exceeds permitted levels or breaches regulations it can be charged with an offence and, if convicted, it can be punished by a fine or jail sentence. This "command and control" system of regulation has been successful in some areas of pollution. Atmospheric lead concentrations in Vancouver have dropped dramatically in the last fifteen years; the frequency of carbon monoxide concentrations in the Lower Fraser Valley exceeding air quality objectives has declined in the same period; and the discharge of organochlorines in pulp mill effluent has been reduced substantially in only a few years.(1) British Columbia, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, State of the Environment Report for British Columbia (Victoria: Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, 1993) at 14 to 24.(1)
However, there is a growing recognition that command and control strategies have limitations in terms of its ability to modify destructive conduct through enforcement alone. To help address these issues, some environmental organizations and economists have advocated the use of economic instruments in conjunction with environmental regulations to create incentives for compliance. Economic instruments include discharge fees, product levies, taxes, deposit-refund systems, subsidies and tradeable permit systems. This report examines three economic instruments that can be used to improve environmental protection: discharge fees, deposit-refund systems and tradeable permit systems. The report addresses some of the legal issues related to the use of these instruments. It examines which government bodies have the constitutional power to adopt these instruments and what potential legal challenges governments might face if economic instruments are implemented. The emphasis in this report is on the legal issues related to the implementation of economic instrument rather than a comprehensive analysis of their overall effectiveness.
The first crucial legal issue is to determine which level of government has the power to implement an economic instrument.
However, the potential and the reality may be quite different. Problems relating to monitoring and ensuring that traded permits represent actual reductions in emissions may negate the potential advantages of tradeable permit systems. Chapter 5 examines the elements of enabling legislation required to withstand legal challenges and to ensure that the environmental goals of tradeable permit systems are not abrogated by practical problems of implementation.
We hope this report will be a useful addition to the growing body of literature considering the application of economic instruments for environmental protection in Canada.
The report on Economic Instruments and the Environment: Selected Legal Issues will be released by WCELRF in early October. Please call or write our office if you wish to be put on the mailing list for a copy. The purchase price of the report will be $15.
The B.C. government recently released a series of ten discussion papers for a new water law for B.C. The current water law sorely needs revision, and eight of the discussion papers focus on subjects that the new law must address: groundwater management; water pricing; managing activities in and about streams; water management planning; water allocation; floodplain management; water quality management; and water conservation. The other two papers discuss the historical background of the current regulatory scheme for water and the government's plans for consultation on this issue.
Due to the complex nature of the issue, a long consultation process of between three to five years is planned. The public's views are being sought on three of the subjects (groundwater management, water pricing, and managing activities in and around streams) by December 31, 1993.
Revising B.C.'s water law is crucial for environmental protection. For example, many environmental groups have been frustrated by the lack of legal protection for groundwater resources. West Coast Environmental Law Association will be preparing a submission to the government on how the new law can maximize environmental values.
If you have any information which would be useful for our submission, such as examples of environmentally related water problems experienced in your community, please contact the office by mail, phone or fax. For copies of the government's discussion papers, please contact the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Victoria phone: 387-1187.
We are delighted to announce that Carol Reardon has joined our team as staff counsel for a term assignment until the end of April, 1994. Carol has already been busy since the beginning of September delivering summary advice and writing a law reform brief on aquaculture, drafting a report to CORE from the combined Conservation Sectors meeting held in August, drafting an institutional proposal to CORE about governance, working on access to information, delivering a talk on contaminated waste, and preparing a paper for the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution Conference in October. Carol has taken a leave from the law firm of Heenan Blaikie for this period. She has been an enthusiastic volunteer with West Coast in the past, and her list of academic and career accomplishments include: helping to establish the East Coast Environmental Law Association, member of the Consensus Decision Making Task Force of the National Round Table on Environment and Economy, and completion of a Masters Degree in City Planning from MIT. Carol is a terrific addition to the West Coast staff!
The British Columbia government has introduced new contaminated sites legislation and has proposed changes to environmental assessment legislation which will have a major impact on a wide variety of interests, including yours. The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia is holding an all-day session on this important subject, New Directions in Environmental Law in BC, scheduled for Wednesday, September 29, 1993 at the Vancouver Renaissance Hotel. At this course, you will receive an overview of Bill 26 (Waste Management Amendment Act, 1993, "Contaminated Sites Bill") and an overview of the proposed changes to the environmental assessment regime. Learn how the proposed changes will affect business and industry. Find out how to deal with remediation issues, and understand the current trends in US environmental law, including "Superfund" liability systems. This course is coordinated by Margaret Eriksson (Blake, Cassels), Patricia Houlihan (McCarthy, Tetrault) and Patricia Bryne (CLE Program Lawyer). For more information or to register, contact Continuing Legal Education at 669-3544 or fax to 669-9260. The registration fee, which includes course materials, is $295 (plus GST).
Alternatives, an environmental quarterly of perspectives on society, technology and the environment will be focusing on international agreements and the environment in their upcoming issue. Some of the discussion in the forthcoming issue includes:
This issue of Alternatives is $6.25, and may be obtained from: Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1; phone (519) 885-1211 (x6783).
The official launch of the Howe Sound Round Table took place Wednesday, July 14, at Gleneagles Golf Course in West Vancouver. This inaugural meeting was a great success. Roughly 100 people turned up to meet the Round Table's members and discuss the role of round tables in community and regional planning.
Stephen Owen, Commissioner of CORE and Joy Leach, Chair of the B.C. Round Table on the Environment and the Economy were the evening's guest speakers. Owen argued that the great strength of round tables lies in the diversity of their memberships and in the grassroots, community nature of their organization. Any consensus reached by such a diverse group will carry considerable weight with elected politicians, claimed Owen.
Joy Leach stressed that the importance of local round tables is rooted in their sense of community and the value they attach to consensus building. Like Owen, she foresees round tables becoming very influential in local politics. Joy also mentioned that round tables are surprisingly well suited to excel at fundraising.
The Howe Sound Round Table has eighteen inaugural members. They are a very diverse group -- in terms of background, interests, and community of residence. We wish them well; years of difficult but exciting work lie ahead. Attention to detail will be important; the attentive ear would have noticed some justified grumblings that the coffee at the inaugural meeting was served in styrofoam cups!
For further information on the Howe Sound Round Table, contact Rozlynne Mitchell of the Steering Committee at 926-4808 or Julian Griggs of Dovetail Consulting at 737-6868.
TUNS, the Technical University Of Nova Scotia Continuing Education Division, announces a seminar on Environmental Audits. The seminar, to be held November 22, 1993, in Vancouver, will be an opportunity to gain knowledge of the requirements and regulations of Environmental Audits and the Federal Environmental Assessment and Review Process.
This seminar will describe trends and processes and present environmental impact assessment from the viewpoints of lawyers, environmental consultants and consulting engineers. For more information or to register for the seminar, contact TUNS at 1-800-565-0703 or fax (902) 420-7856.
WCELRF Newsletter, copyright 1993, is published by the West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation. This issue was produced by Morgan Ashbridge, Glenna Forrest, Ann Hillyer, Catherine Ludgate, Linda Nowlan, Carol Reardon, and Chris Rolfe. Subscription information is below. WCELRF does research and education and maintains an environmental law library. The West Coast Environmental Law Association provides legal representation and promotes law reform. The mission of WCELRF and WCELA is to provide legal services to protect the environment and to foster public participation in environmental decision-making. We are grateful to the Law Foundation of British Columbia for core funding of the West Coast Environmental Law Association and West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation. Donations to WCELRF are tax creditable.