Environmental Law (5814 articles) Every Great Lakes resident is protected by two kinds of environmental law. “Substantive laws?? are the rules and regulations that say who gets to dump contaminants or withdraw water and under what conditions. When a person or company impairs water quality or harms fish and wildlife, that’s a substantive issue. “Procedural laws?? are the rules that govern decision-making. These are the traditions and rules that enable citizens to influence decisions that will affect them, such as environmental assessment processes and notice-and-comment opportunities. You cannot have environmental justice unless every citizen is granted both substantive and procedural protections.
|  | Back in 1970, 20-million Americans participated in the first Earth Day activities. It was the largest public demonstration in U.S. history.The success of Earth Day and the public's appetite for clean air and water motivated governments to pass the world's strongest environmental laws. The U.S. Clean Water Act promised swimmable, drinkable, fishable water. The Ontario... (more) | | Canada Drink Environmental Law Features Fish Original Articles Swim Waterkeeper.ca Weekly |
| | | On April 17, 2012, CTV News staff reported that Canada will limit Canadians' ability to participate in environmental assessments:
The federal government plans to limit environmental groups' interventions in reviews of major resource projects as it speeds up approvals for energy and mining developments.Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said Tuesday the government will... (more) | | Canada Drink Environmental Law Fish Swim |
| | | Mike De Souza of PostMedia News reveals that government staff believe environmental assessments do have merit, in the face of government plans to eliminate most environmental assessments:
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver is weakening federal oversight measures that were once described by his department as "meaningful" and "important levers" to address "significant... (more) | | Canada Drink Environmental Law Fish Swim |
| | | This comment piece by Martha Hall Findley in the Globe and Mail on April 13, 2012 got the staff at Lake Ontario Waterkeeper chattering, for a bunch of reasons. She perpetuates the myth that there is a well-organized group of powerful environmentalists obsessed with "zero growth" (there isn't). She suggests that it would have been a terrible thing if we had never built the St.... (more) | | Canada Drink Environmental Law Fish Swim |
| | | Shawn McCarthy and Oliver Moore at the Globe and Mail talk to David Suzuki about the impacts of Canada's plan to monitor the activities of environmental organizations:
Green groups are responding to the Conservative government’s aggressive attacks on “radical” and “foreign funded” organizations, which culminated in $8-million in new spending in last month’s budget... (more) | | Canada Drink Environmental Law Fish Swim |
| | | Shawn McCarthy at the Globe and Mail offers a helpful guide to "environmental assessment" in Canada, including a summary of what's to come:
The federal government will no longer do environmental assessments for smaller projects, but only for those of national significance, although it remains unclear how that standard will be determined.Ottawa will turn over to provinces... (more) | | Canada Drink Environmental Law Fish Swim |
| | | In an April 18, 2012 editorial, the Toronto Star raises fears that Canada's environmental assessment changes are less about "streamlining" the process and more about expediting projects that will harm the environment:
The net result will be “stronger environmental protection,” Oliver promises. On that, we still need to be persuaded. There’s a risk these changes won’t... (more) | | Canada Drink Environmental Law Fish Swim |
| | | Changes to Canada's environmental assessment process will allow projects approved by provinces to by-pass federal review, writes Jason Fekete of PostMedia News:
Under the plan, provincial environmental processes will be substituted or considered equivalent to federal reviews so long as they meet the standards set out in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.The... (more) | | Canada Drink Environmental Law Fish Swim |
| | | Andrew Davidson at CBC writes about significant changes to Canada's environmental assessment process:
The federal government is reducing the number of departments and agencies that can do environmental reviews from 40 to just three to speed up approvals for projects that will bolster Canada's economy, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said today.Expanding on plans... (more) | | Canada Drink Environmental Law Fish Swim |
| | | Michael Woods writes about changes to Canada's environmental assessment laws in the Toronto Star, April 17, 2012:
Critics cried foul Tuesday over the federal government’s decision to overhaul its environmental assessment process, calling it a bid to fast-track big oil and gas projects at the expense of the environment....Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver said... (more) | | Canada Drink Environmental Law Fish Swim |
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