Posts by Laura Bowman

Lake Simcoe five years later: Limitless growth causes limitless problems

June 17th, 2013 by Laura Bowman

This upcoming December will mark the fifth anniversary of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act (LSPA), the passage of which led to the implementation of the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan. This legislation was the result of a lot of hard grassroots work by many people in the community.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment claims that actions under the LSPA and the Plan have resulted in decreasing levels of total phosphorous in the spring, more naturally reproduced sport fish and increasing deep water oxygen levels. These are important steps toward a healthy Lake Simcoe, but do these claims stand up to scrutiny? How much real progress has been made toward protecting Lake Simcoe, and is there room for improvement?

Continue reading “Lake Simcoe five years later: Limitless growth causes limitless problems”

Understanding foreign worker issues: Intra-company transfers vs. temporary foreign worker programs

May 31st, 2013 by Laura Bowman

A large number of migrant worker issues have been discussed in the media lately.  However, there are different migrant worker programs in Canada, and these give rise to different legal and policy issues. Unfortunately, the press has referred to all programs as the “temporary foreign worker” program and has failed to explain the different categories and processes involved. Calling these programs a “temporary foreign worker program” is vague; it is like saying there is an “environmental program” rather than a collection of laws that govern the use and treatment of the natural environment in its various forms.

The entry of temporary foreign workers is guided by Immigration and Refugee Protection Act regulations and the general provisions of the Temporary Foreign Workers Guidelines, and is supplemented by provisions contained in international trade agreements for citizens of signatory countries.

Many of the recent controversial transfers rely on the “intra-company transfer” program. The intra‑company transfer program originated under NAFTA and it has become even more explicit recently. This program is very popular with employers who exist as a “multi‑national” corporate entity.

Read more on rabble.ca

Federal government posts proposed revisions to regulations under CEAA 2012

April 17th, 2013 by Laura Bowman

Late Friday night, April 12, 2013, the federal government posted the latest revisions to the Regulations Designating Physical Activities under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.   These regulations determine which projects are potentially subject to a federal assessment under the new Act.

The existing regulations were put in force without any public consultations when CEAA 2012 was enacted in July 2012.  The regulations were based on the comprehensive study list regulations under the old version of CEAA which was repealed in mid-2012.

The amendments to the Regulations Designating Physical Activities proposed by the government at this time are limited.  Some projects are removed and others are clarified.   Diamond mines, apatite mines, railway yards, international and interprovincial bridges and tunnels and “the first offshore exploratory wells in exploration licence area” and expansions to oil sands mines would be added to the project list.  Just being on the project list no longer guarantees an assessment is required.

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Shark Fin Ban Case: Does Biodiversity Have Anything to Do With Social and Civic “Well-Being”?

April 2nd, 2013 by Laura Bowman

In November 2012 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that Toronto’s shark fin by-law was ultra vires.

Eng v. Toronto (City) was an application seeking a declaration that By-law No. 12347-2011 of the City of Toronto (Shark fin by-law) was ultra vires and of no force and effect. The by-law provides, in section 3, that “no person shall possess, sell or consume shark fin or shark fin food products within the city of Toronto”. The by-law was passed by a vote of 38-4 at council. The applicants argued that the shark fin by-law’s purpose was directed against the extinction of sharks and lacked a proper municipal purpose. The court agreed that this environmental threat was a purpose of the ban on shark fin food products as it was “a theme that persists in the public record of the proposed ban” and “environmental well-being of the City” was mentioned the preamble.

The applicants submitted that the City was the “wrong level of government” for the by-law and that there was no identifiable environmental benefit to the city. The court rejected the first argument and accepted the second.

Read more in the Ontario Bar Association’s Envronews (pdf) »

How conflict of interest rules affect the public interest

December 20th, 2012 by Laura Bowman

Since the Redford, Katz, Ford and other scandals of late, there has been much discussion about conflict of interest rules, what is and isn’t a conflict of interest, and whether there can be degrees of conflicts of interest. What should the legislative penalties be where a conflict is found?

Conflict of interest can be a difficult subject. Various provincial and federal statutes govern conflicts of interest. Roughly speaking, a conflict of interest for a public office holder is usually defined as the exercise of an official power, duty or function that provides an opportunity to further private interests.

Read more on rabble.ca

 

The evolving world of social finance in Ontario

December 7th, 2012 by Brian Iler and Laura Bowman

Social enterprises can find it difficult to raise capital from community‑minded investors.  Even in the non “social enterprise” sector, most capital for small and startup enterprises is still raised from friends and family rather than banks, wealthy investors or other more traditional sources.

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