Posts by Iler Campbell LLP

New rules give community based power projects priority access to feed-in-tariffs

July 13th, 2012 by Iler Campbell LLP

On July 11, 2012 the Minister of Energy issued a Directive to the Ontario Power Authority to allow greater access to feed‑in‑tariff (FIT) contracts for community based power projects.  The new rules will keep private sector projects in-check by ensuring 50 percent community based equity.

The Directive provides for priority to applications with a greater than 50 percent community equity interest held by a co‑operative where at least 50 or more members are local property owners, or where there is greater than 50 percent Aboriginal equity participation.  The OPA will offer contracts to these projects before offering contracts to other projects in the application window.

The OPA is also directed to amend the Community Energy Partnership Program eligibility requirements to align with the eligibility requirements for community projects under the FIT Rules.  The OPA shall allocate up to $1 million annually for education funding and capacity building.

The changes are great news for community power projects.  Iler Campbell LLP represents and advises organizations on a variety of community power projects.  For more information on this topic please contact us!

ONN requests delay of proclamation of Ontario Not for Profit Corporations Act

July 12th, 2012 by Iler Campbell LLP

On Monday, the Ontario Nonprofit Network sent a letter to Minister Best, the Premier and Minister Sousa requesting a delay of the proclamation of Ontario Not‑for‑Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) which is currently scheduled for January 1, 2013 to come into effect January 1, 2016. The letter argues that the Act will do serious harm to the operation of not‑for‑profit organizations and the communities they serve and that the costly and complex transition to the new act is ultimately unnecessary. We agree and hope the McGuinty government gets the message.

Read the letter here (pdf). Read more about the act and its impact on ONNs site. See our previous coverage of the ONCA here.

Come Article With Us!

June 21st, 2012 by Iler Campbell LLP

We’re currently accepting applications for the 2013 – 2014 articling year. We’re looking for like-minded progressive people to join our team. Please submit your application (including cover letter, resume, reference letters and copies of your transcripts) by Wednesday, July 18 to the Articling Student Hiring Committee at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!

Iler Campbell celebrates the International Year of Co‑operatives!

June 5th, 2012 by Iler Campbell LLP

With some 300 co‑ops on our client list, every year at Iler Campbell is a year of co‑operatives. However, the UN’s designation of 2012 as the International Year of Co‑operatives makes this year special. To mark this occasion, we stepping up our efforts to know and serve the housing co‑op sector in particular.

And in fact, we’re stepping out!

Continue reading “Iler Campbell celebrates the International Year of Co‑operatives!”

Iler Campbell Supports the Black Out Speak Out Campaign

June 1st, 2012 by Iler Campbell LLP

We’ve joined millions of Canadians to speak out in defence of two core Canadian values: Nature and Democracy.

Our land, water and climate are all threatened by the latest federal budget. Proposes changes in the budget bill will weaken environmental laws and silence the voices of those who seek to defend them.

On June 4th, we will black out our website and blog in support of the Black Out Speak Out campaign.

Be sure to visit the campain website to learn about what this bill will mean if it’s passed.

If you’ve been following our blog you’ll already have read about a number of the issues including how changes to the Income Tax Act will restrict charities’ political activities, and how proposed changes to fish habitat provisions of the Fisheries Act will impact fish species.

Please join us in supporting this campaign.

Learn More

The costs of hiding environmental information

April 26th, 2012 by Iler Campbell LLP

Laura Bowman wrote our Pro Bono column on rabble.ca this month. In it, she discusses access to environmental information:

For citizens and NGOs who want to challenge environmental decisions, the biggest obstacle is usually obtaining information about the potential environmental effects of a decision or project.  In the 1990s, the Ontario government passed the Environmental Bill of Rights which was supposed to make access to environmental information easier.

Read the column here