¶ Published Wednesday, August 5th In Environment - No Comments »
Environment Canada has already trained 43 new enforcement officers who have completed Basic Enforcement Training and will soon be deployed across the country – likely in the Fall. It’s related to the Federal government’s push this year to increase fines and expand enforcement tools aimed at ensuring a greater respect of environmental laws and regulations. The government this year amended nine environmental laws to achieve this. The enforcement officers are being given new powers to investigate cases. At the same time, the courts have new sentencing guidelines that ensure penalties reflect the gravity of offences. The new rules also aimRead the Rest…
¶ Published Thursday, April 23rd In Miscellaneous - No Comments »
When it comes to canadian environmental laws, you have a few options. First, you can consult government websites – they have the laws and some guidance. To simply gain access to legislation and standards, the people at Eco-Log and CCOHS offer good service at reasonable prices. To simply receive environmental law updates, you can subscribe to CERCN and Environmental Compliance Insider or various law firms’ newsletters. For management tools for your legal register, you can handle it in excel or outsource it to a consulting firm. Lastly, for explanations of existing laws, there are books by lawyers and publishing housesRead the Rest…
¶ Published Thursday, December 4th In Legal Issues - No Comments »
The city of Toronto has issued new reporting requirements for chemical releases to take effect in 2010. I have highlighted parts of this Globe and Mail article which summarizes the changes pretty well. The thrust of the by-law is a lowering of reporting thresholds to 100 kg, placing many small and medium businesses within the reporting requirements. We will be issuing a more detailed bulletin within the NIMONIK.ca site to better help you understand this requirement. To get you started here is a guide to understanding the “right to know” by-law, the information posted is till in draft form soRead the Rest…
¶ Published Monday, November 17th In Design & Features, Legal Issues - No Comments »
UK writer and consultant, Richard Susskind, considered by many to be the world’s pre-eminent legal futurist, is coming out with a new book, The End of Lawyers?, in December. It’s a sequel to his 1996 best-seller, The Future of Law, in which Susskind describes presciently how IT would radically change the practice of law and the administration of justice. Many of his projections came true, much to the despair of many a law firm managing partner. At conferences around the world, Susskind is now describing a world in which, legal services are following an evolutionary trajectory from “bespoke” services — Read the Rest…
¶ Published Wednesday, September 17th In Environment, Legal Issues - No Comments »
Canadian Environmental Regulations are getting stricter and broader by the day. We are here to help, but some companies are taking very proactive action (see this article from the Harvard Business Review). The first step to moving beyond compliance, is to understand the laws and regulations affecting your business – and even more importantly, staying on top of changes. Without that knowledge, how can you move beyond compliance? Though the article mentioned above applies mainly to the United States, it is very valid here in Canada. By proactively reducing your greenhouse gas emissions (Notice with respect to reporting of greenhouse gases (GHGs) forRead the Rest…
