Recent Developments in Environmental Law - March 2007

Canada

• The Minister of the Environment promised new federal regulations limiting greenhouse gas emissions from all industrial sectors. The regulations are expected to be issued by end of March 2007.
• The House of Commons passed Bill C-288 entitled the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act. If proclaimed into force, this legislation requires the federal government to comply with Article 3, paragraph 1 (i.e. the provision requiring Canada to meet its target) of the Kyoto Protocol within 180 days of the legislation coming into force. This act would also require (unlike the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, which permits) the government to make, amend or repeal regulations under it or any other act to ensure the federal government meets its Kyoto target.
• Private sector economists estimate that 40 percent of the Toronto Stock Exchange's total market capitalization would be affected by a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade system. The economists estimate coal-fired electricity generators and oil sands producers would be hardest hit.

Alberta

• Following consultation with the public in the fall of 2006, a committee comprised of First Nations, Métis, industry, environmental groups, as well as local, provincial and federal government officials released an interim report identifying “a vision and key principles” for the development of Alberta's oil sands. Recommendations include that oil sands development honour the rights of First Nations and Métis, the application of the precautionary principle, setting of limits and utilizing best available technologies. The second phase of consultation will begin in March 2007. The final report is to be submitted to the government by June 30, 2007. A copy of the report can be found at: http://www.oilsandsconsultations.gov.ab.ca
• Alberta Environment recently released Assessing Drilling Waste Disposal Areas: Compliance Options for Reclamation Certification. This document provides guidance for complying with requirements to assessing drilling waste disposal areas for reclamation, including when Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment work is required.

Ontario

• The Ministry of Labour has announced that the Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario has issued The Musculoskeletal Disorder Prevention Guideline for Ontario. This guideline, while not a regulation, may contribute to the new standard employers must meet to take all reasonable steps to prevent these types of injuries in Ontario workplaces pursuant to the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Copies can be obtained from the following website: http://www.wsib.on.ca/wsib/wsibsite.nsf/public/PreventMSD
• Ontarians must now pay deposits for containers when purchasing wine, beer and liquor products from the province's licensed alcoholic beverage retailers. While these deposits are recoverable if the containers are returned to the retailers, the government filed O.Reg. 17/07, which could make it an offence of the Environmental Protection Act to seek refunds for old containers or containers acquired outside the province.

Meet the Ministries

The attorney general of a provincial or federal government employs all the government lawyers in that government's service (these are truly the largest law firms in the country!). These lawyers are often assigned to a particular ministry and may even occupy space within a ministry's office, but their responsibility is to execute the Attorney General's responsibility to advise ministries about matters of law affecting those ministries and not to actually do the work of those ministries. This small, but important distinction is intended to ensure that government lawyers can focus on advising the ministry and its officials based on legal criteria, free of any political considerations.

Grant Sprague and Darin Stepaniuk are members of the Environmental Law Section of Alberta Justice. Rand Roszell, Vickie Kondo and Fran Carnerie lead the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario's Legal Services Branch serving the Ministry of the Environment. Each of these groups advise their respective ministries about environmental laws and represent their government before the courts and administrative tribunals such as the Environmental Appeals Board in Alberta and the Environmental Review Tribunal in Ontario.

Did You Know?

The largest wind turbines in North America just completed their first month of commercial operation on Prince Edward Island. PEI Energy Corporation's Eastern Kings Wind Farm features Vestas V-90, which is the largest model of wind turbine in North America.