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CELA law interns presented their research in Bill C-28: The good, the Bad and the Ugly highlighting the review of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, aimed at students, with a focus on proposals to the bill in the evaluation and listing of toxic substances, consideration of Gender Based Analysis, and the importance of a federal commitment to protect vulnerable groups from toxic substances.
500+ Organizations Call on US and Canadian Leaders to Reject Carbon Capture and Storage as a False Solution to Climate Crisis
Advocates from the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO), The Advocacy Centre for Elderly (ACE), The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA), and the Low-Income Energy Network (LIEN) are raising the alarm about the growing impact of heat-related deaths in Ontario, as the incidence of extreme heat days increase due to the intensifying climate crisis.
In the quest to produce greener and more efficient energy, we cannot overlook the lifecycle impacts of energy production and their potential interactions with existing systemic inequities. Case in point, is nuclear power, which has been largely presented as a clean form of energy. However, the entire life cycle of nuclear energy production—from uranium mining to radioactive waste storage—must be considered. There are health risks and costs along the way, and already vulnerable people risk continue to risk bear them under the status quo.
After a decade-long effort spearheaded by the Innu of Ekuanitshit and local environmental groups, the Magpie River has officially attained legal personhood status – a first in Canadian history.
A Letter from CELA and other legal aid clinics was sent to the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario expressing their concern about the increasing impact of extreme heat on our client communities. Vulnerable people are more prone to heat-related death. With the climate crisis worsening, it is essential that the Coroner’s Office improves its tracking of heat-related deaths to better capture the true impact of extreme heat and to allow for government policy to address the full extent of the problem.
On behalf of several environmental organizations and individuals, CELA sought a judicial review in Divisional Court of the statutory decision by two Ontario Cabinet Ministers that denied our clients and other members of the public their legal right to be notified and consulted on environmentally significant legislative amendments contained in Bill 197 (COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020) before they were enacted by the Ontario Legislature on July 21, 2020. These amendments include changes to the Environmental Assessment Act (EAA), the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) and the Planning Act.
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