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October
1999 Newsletter
More
Good News from the Courts
Another
federal court decision is providing good news for Red
Hill Valley. Canadian Press reported on October 13 that
the courts have rejected an appeal of a July 1998 decision
which we reported on in our September 1998 newsletter.
The
earlier decision ordered the federal government to reopen
an Alberta EA because "it failed to link together different
parts of the project and examine them as a whole" and
failed to "take into account the cumulative environmental
effects from the project".
The
decision was described by the Globe and Mail as "one
of the most important victories environmentalists have
ever won in environmental case law".
The
Globe stated "that federal environmental assessments
will have to become much broader, and will intrude into
areas currently considered the jurisdiction of the provinces."
The
story last week from the Canadian Press stated in part:
"[Justice] Rothstein wrote that once a federal agency
involved in an assessment defines the project and the
scope of the review, it is obliged to consider all cumulative
effects, including those outside its jurisdiction. For
example, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans can't
restrict its assessment to effects on fish habitat."
The
CP story continued with a quote from Justice Rothstein:
"Once engaged, the federal responsible authority is
to exercise its cumulative effects discretion unrestrained
by its perception of constitutional jurisdiction".
The
reporter noted provincial governments have argued that
this will lead to duplication and waste. "But Rothstein
wrote the federal agency may take into account studies
already done by a provincial government. If there are
gaps in that work, however, the feds are required to
fill them."
The
article also quoted Stewart Elgie of the Sierra Legal
Defence Fund: "This judgment requires the federal government
to look at the overall of development before making
specific decisions on a project."
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©
Friends of Red Hill Valley 1991-2005
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