Your parents may have told you: “If you make a mess, you have to clean it up.” In a nutshell, that is the basis of the “polluter pays” principle. There is a lot wrapped up inside the simple principle of polluter pays. The roots of the principle come from economics rather than from … [Read more...]
Important Concepts in Environmental Law – The “Precautionary Principle”.
Last issue we talked about sustainable development. This time the topic is the precautionary principle. Most human activity has risk. When we are deciding whether we should do something, we balance the risks against the possible rewards. Risk has two parts. First, there is the probability that … [Read more...]
Important Concepts in Environmental Law – the Idea of “Sustainable Development”
In the next few columns I am going to talk about some concepts that are important to understanding environmental law. The first is the idea of sustainable development. A quick search of the CANLII website shows the phrase appears in Canadian federal and provincial legislation 359 times and in … [Read more...]
Bicycle Law in Alberta
As a cyclist, do you follow the rules of the road? According to a University of Colorado Survey, about eighty-five percent of cyclists do obey the law when riding. Almost three quarters of the scofflaws who break the rules claim to do so for their personal safety – saying they are simply getting … [Read more...]
Are Environmentalists Good or Bad?
Tree-huggers. Greenies. Enviro-nazis. Eco-terrorists. Eco-extremists. City-dwellers. Radicals. Eco-vangelists. Eco-crazies. Sheeple. Foreign-funded __________________ (add any of the preceding epithets). What ARE environmentalists anyway? Are they good, wise, caring, rational, science-loving … [Read more...]
How Are Off Road Vehicles Regulated in Alberta?
You are thinking about spending a lot of money on a brand-new quad, dirt-bike, snowmobile or something similar. What are the rules? Who makes them? Where will you be able to use it? Almost every human activity has the potential to affect the environment in some way. Regulating activities always … [Read more...]
A River Runs Across It: Solving Trans-border Disputes Over Water
People get very passionate about both water and borders. So how do we avoid or resolve disputes involving rivers and lakes that cross the border between Canada and the United States? At almost nine thousand kilometers, our border with our closest neighbour is the longest unprotected political … [Read more...]
The Environment and Aboriginal Rights
In my inaugural column for LawNow (here) I suggested five reasons that environmental law can be challenging to understand. One of those reasons was that it requires some understanding of Aboriginal law, a complex subject in its own right. Even if I were up to the task, it would be impossible to … [Read more...]
Who’s The Boss? – Jurisdiction Over the Environment in Canada
In the last issue of LawNow I talked about some of the reasons environmental law can be challenging to understand. One of those reasons was that different levels of government in Canada have power to make rules about different things. In this article I want to discuss the basics of who has … [Read more...]
What is Environmental Law and Why is it Hard to Understand?
Carbon taxes. Rules about where and how you can fish. A bylaw saying you can’t wash your car on a city street. Provincial rules telling you to keep your “wheels out of the water” when operating your quad or dirt bike. Tax breaks so you can install solar panels on your house. Alberta’s Land Use … [Read more...]
