Natural Resources
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February 21, 2024
Ontario introduces far-reaching Get It Done Act
As anticipated, Ontario’s government has introduced legislation to “get it done” by shortening environmental assessments, hastening the building of infrastructure, barring new highway tolls and giving voters a chance to nix any future carbon taxes.
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February 21, 2024
When courts are asked to rule on scope of s. 35, Montour provides racially just approach
In the second article of our firm’s four-part series on Montour, I examine how Montour’s shift in thinking about Aboriginal rights marks a crossroads in Canadian law’s commitment to racial justice in judicial decision-making (R. v. Montour [2023] Q.J. No. 11554).
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February 20, 2024
Alta.’s Justice Mary Moreau welcomed at celebration of first female-majority Supreme Court of Canada
The milestone appointment of Justice Mary Moreau was celebrated in Ottawa, where the ex-chief justice and former criminal lawyer and constitutional litigator from Alberta was lauded for her “unparalleled work ethic,” “great intelligence” as well as for her “humility” and “compassion.” “For the first time in the history of our country, the majority of judges sitting on the Supreme Court are now women,” federal Justice Minister Arif Virani said
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February 20, 2024
Court approves $14.5 million class action settlement for alleged defective trucks
The Supreme Court of British Columbia has approved the $14.5 million settlement agreement arising from the class action against Navistar Canada ULC, Navistar, Inc., Navistar International Corporation, and Harbour International Trucks Ltd. The lawsuit alleged that certain Navistar trucks were defective and had repeated engine failures requiring frequent repairs.
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February 20, 2024
Animal photos are good for your health
Human and animal health are linked, including in ways that you may not have suspected.
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February 15, 2024
Feds rebrand Climate Action Incentive to Canada Carbon Rebate, announce 2024-25 payments
The federal government has rebranded the Climate Action Incentive Payment as the Canada Carbon Rebate, in a release that also announced the amounts Canadians are set to receive this year.
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February 14, 2024
Court rules PM, justice minister ‘failed’ litigants & courts with many tardy judicial appointments
A Federal Court judge has refused to order the Trudeau government to fill the present high level of 75 superior court vacancies within specified timeframes; instead the judge recognized a “constitutional convention” that judicial vacancies “must be filled within a reasonable time” and declared his “expectation” that Ottawa will begin to discharge its unfulfilled constitutional duty to fix the country’s “untenable and appalling crisis and critical judicial vacancy situation,” including by reducing the vacancies to the mid-40s “within a reasonable time.”
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February 13, 2024
SCC’s output fell to 34 judgments in 2023, renewing questions, concerns within the bar
Is the Supreme Court of Canada giving enough legal guidance to Canadians, particularly in private law cases? It’s a question simmering within the legal community, one that attracts the attention of academics and litigators and that might benefit from the court shedding some light, especially because the numbers of cases the nine judges hear and decide have been trending down for more than a decade, without explanation.
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February 12, 2024
Court dismisses appeal, finds adverse interest in case related to fire at bitumen facility
The Alberta Court of King’s Bench has dismissed an appeal of an application where it was found that there was adverse interest between parties in a case pertaining to an explosion at an oil and gas facility.
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February 08, 2024
Barring intervener counsel from pleading in person at SCC ‘improves access to justice’: CJ Wagner
The Supreme Court of Canada’s controversial policy of restricting intervener counsel to virtual appearances, rather than giving them the same hybrid option as party counsel to appear in person before the judges, “offers substantial savings, especially to those farthest from Ottawa” and “as such levels the playing field and improves access to justice,” Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner told the Canadian Bar Association (CBA).