Contents:
Lawyers for the Great Bear Rainforest
February 2006 saw the long-awaited provincial government
announcement regarding the future of the “Great Bear Rainforest”, a 6.4 million hectare area on BC’s Central and North Coasts. The outcome? Protection of one third of the
Great Bear Rainforest from all logging, sustainable “ecosystem-based” management requirements for the remaining area by 2009, and commitments for collaborative management with Coastal First Nations in new protected areas.
But is this the end of the story? Far from it. A number of legal questions remain in ensuring that the agreements reached on the Coast achieve lasting change on the ground.
Read the full article: http://www.wcel.org/4976/31/04/01.htm
West Coast Joins RAV Court Fight
As drivers on Vancouver’s Cambie Street inch along past a long
trench flanked by construction machinery, it seems that the
Richmond-Airport-Vancouver transit line, now called the Canada Line, is a done deal. However, a legal battle in the BC Court of Appeal is shaping up that could determine not only the future of the rapid transit system, but also the future of BC’s environmental assessment legislation. West Coast Environmental Law will be there to make sure that environmental perspectives are heard.
Read the full article: http://www.wcel.org/4976/31/04/02.htm
Message from the Executive Director
If you haven’t heard about ’free entry’ yet, you will
Recently, I heard a small item on the news: another citizens’ group forming, organizing a petition against some big corporate interest. It was one of those very brief reports, barely more than a mention really, the kind that flutter by one’s attention without landing, like a moth on its way to somewhere else. But I’m willing to bet that this is an issue you’ll be hearing a lot more about in the months to come.
Read the full article: http://www.wcel.org/4976/31/04/03.htm
A Note of Gratitude and Farewell to West Coast
Staff Counsel Karen Campbell leaves West Coast Environmental Law
In the mid 1990s, my travels took me to England, where I imagined using my passion to save the planet through international law. I envisioned myself attending important meetings in London or Paris, influencing high-level decision-makers, all the while making a difference. After getting a taste of that world, I realized that I would be much happier protecting the environment at home in Canada, where the results of my efforts would be more tangible.
Read the full article: http://www.wcel.org/4976/31/04/04.htm
Oil and Gas Laws Need Strengthening, not Streamlining
Fix the system before you consider streamlining oil and gas regulations, please! This is the message West Coast Environmental Law and the Sierra Legal Defence Fund delivered to the BC government in response to its Oil and Gas Regulatory Improvement Initiative Discussion Paper.
The steady increase in oil and gas activity in BC is accompanied by regulatory reform by the BC government. In December 2005, the Ministry of Energy and Mines released a set of proposals to further streamline oil and gas laws. The Ministry, which is responsible for promoting oil and gas development while at the same time creating laws to guard against its negative impacts, has released 16 far reaching proposals to consolidate, harmonize, and reduce regulatory requirements for oil and gas development and production.
Read the full article: http://www.wcel.org/4976/31/04/05.htm
Editorial
Great Bear Rainforest Agreements Signal Need for Law Reform
Long-awaited announcements regarding the future of the Great Bear Rainforest bring to a head the two major trends of the past half-decade in land use planning and forestry law.
Read the full article: http://www.wcel.org/4976/31/04/06.htm
Top Secret Offshore Oil and Gas Documents to be Released
On February 1, 2006, the Freedom of Information Commissioner ordered the Ministry of Energy and Mines to release documents related to future offshore oil and gas development. The Commissioner’s decision means not only that the public will get to see these key documents, but also that the government cannot contract out of its responsibility to make documents available to the public.
Read the full article: http://www.wcel.org/4976/31/04/07.htm
EDRF Lawyer Profile: Mark Haddock
In this issue of our newsletter, we are going to step away from the traditional update on Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund (EDRF) successes, to begin a series of articles in which we will profile some of our more active lawyers. We will begin with an individual who has a long history with West Coast Environmental Law.
Mark Haddock was inspired to obtain his law degree after working for the Forest Service, where he learned that the industry was not bound by any meaningful regulations. The few rules that did exist were easily skirted by the forest companies.
Read the full article: http://www.wcel.org/4976/31/04/08.htm
Champions of the Environment – Donor Series
From the Kootenays to Paris and back: meet Ellen Zimmerman
Ellen Zimmerman can’t go into Golden without people asking her about her recent trip to Paris. Of course, this wasn’t just any spring time in Paris. Ellen was there, on International Women’s Day, to accept a prestigious Terre de Femmes award.
Since 2002, the Yves Rocher Foundation has been giving the Terre de Femmes awards to inspirational women who lead actions that benefit nature and humanity. This year, for the first time, Canadian women were eligible. Ellen was ranked first among three Canadians to be recognized as “Women of the Earth” for her work conserving the Columbia Wetlands.
Read the full article: http://www.wcel.org/4976/31/04/09.htm
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