Some years ago I was discussing the lack of Canadian action on climate change with a young man who confided that he was suffering from Lyme disease, which he had contracted in a region that not long ago had been free from the disease. For me, that young man remains the face of the health impacts of climate change.
Environmental Law Alert Blog
Through our Environmental Law Alert blog, West Coast keeps you up to date on the latest developments and issues in environmental law. This includes:
- proposed changes to the law that will weaken, or strengthen, environmental protection;
- stories and situations where existing environmental laws are failing to protect the environment; and
- emerging legal strategies that could be used to protect our environment.
If you have an environmental story that we should hear about, please e-mail Andrew Gage. We welcome your comments on any of the posts to this blog – but please keep in mind our policies on comments.
High up in the Peruvian Andes, a small farming community called Huarez finds itself in danger of being flooded by a nearby glacier.
Last week (on March 26th) Mr. Peter Tabuns, the Ontario NDP’s Environment and Climate Change Critic, introduced Bill 21, the Liability for Climate-related Harms Act, 2018 into the Ontario Legislature.
Things are heating up in the battle to stop Kinder Morgan. At time of writing, dozens of water protectors have been arrested for violating a court injunction issued last week. Here is a recap of how we got here.
The neighbour of a composting facility is sued by its owner when she complains about odours and pests. An elderly couple arguing that a trail across private property is public receive a threatening letter from a lawyer telling them that they will be sued if they don’t stop talking about the trail.
West Coast Environmental Law staff say "Pinot and pugs, not pipelines!"
On January 30th, 2018, the BC government decided to drop the private prosecution launched by Bev Sellars into the Mount Polley disaster. Through her private prosecution, Bev, a grandmother and former chief of the Xat’sull First Nation, gave the provincial government a second chance to show that BC can enforce its own environmental laws.
“Regardless of your views on this particular pipeline (we are opposed, in case that wasn’t clear), anyone who thinks their locally-elected government or local First Nations shouldn’t get railroaded by a US corporation just because they have a federal approval should be very concerned about these recent developments.”
“Politicians grant the permits, but communities grant permission.” – Justin Trudeau
Imagine for a moment that the so-called “war on drugs” focused entirely on addicts, with the manufacturers and sellers of street drugs celebrated as productive members of society who are “just providing a product.”