Yves Faguy and Dianne Saxe recently had the chance to sit down and talk environmental enforcement and liability in Ontario, here is the result:

Be sure to download our report on environmental fines in Canada here.

Speaking of lax enforcement, Hugo Tremblay (check out his Water Law Blog), comments on Alberta’s “endemic problem in water law and management.” Again, there is very little enforcement when it comes to monitoring water licence holders, which explain repeated abuses in illegal water withdrawals. Hugo attributes this mostly to lack of funding and political will.

The Gazette explains why Quebec has fallen so far behind Ontario when it comes to handing out fines to major polluters. Quebec was one of the first provinces to adopt the polluter pays principle, but essentially has failed to enforce it. All that will be coming to an end if the government follows through on its intention to legislate significant fine increases. Individuals caught emitting prohibited contaminants risk fines up to one million dollars — that’s 40 times where they are now. For company directors and officers, maximum fines will be raised to two million dollars, up from $25,000.

Just as significantly, the government is also planning to give inspectors the means to enforce the law. If passed, the law will give much greater administrative powers to inspectors who will to issue administrative sanctions against obvious polluters without having to go to court. Such fines can vary between $250 and $10,000.

Another sign that governments in Canada are beginning to tighten enforcement against environmental violations: The Manitoba government proclaimed this month several amendments to the province’s Environment Act. The changes bolster the inspection powers of environment officers and contain new reporting requirements for the release of pollutants.

Environment officers are now able to inspect wastewater systems in sensitive areas (namely the north Red River corridor) and may intervene preemptively to avoid adverse environmental effects.

Pollutants causing adverse effects to the environment must now be reported. Further, all proposed projects must now be evaluated with respect to potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions before approval is granted.

Manitoba also plans to will hire more environment officers as it expands the inspection programs to cover Killarney Lake, St. Clements and East St. Paul regions in 2010.

The days of a “slap on the wrist” are a thing of the past with seven figure penalties being assessed even against companies that inadvertently contribute to water pollution.

- By Isaac Rudik at Compliance Solutions Canada – A Nimonik affiliate

Along with acting against other pollution issues, the federal and provincial governments are cracking down on water contamination caused by industrial, agricultural and municipal sources. Not only is Ottawa pouring more money into dealing with water pollution, it’s nearly doubling the number of inspectors and enforcement officers to more than 320.

Unlike water itself, it is increasingly difficult for businesses to drip through the cracks as anti-pollution laws and regulations covering water get tougher – and fines get steeper. The days of a “slap on the wrist” are a thing of the past with seven figure penalties being assessed even against companies that inadvertently contribute to water pollution.

It’s happening because environmental experts agree that the best way to tackle pollution is through something called “polluter pays.”

Basically, this means that whoever causes pollution pays for the clean up, in numerous ways:

• Tanker owners must buy insurance covering the cost of any oil spill cleanup.
• Factories using rivers must have water inlet pipes downstream of their effluent outflow pipes, so if they cause pollution they are the first to suffer.
• Even shoppers pay, being charged for plastic grocery bags – now required in Toronto – to encourage recycling and minimize waste.

Ultimately, polluter pays is designed to deter people from polluting by making it less expensive for them to be green. Continue Reading Here.