Shortcomings of the Current Legislative Regime of Contaminated Site Liability in Saskatchewan and a Principled Approach to an Alternative Model
Date
2000
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
Type
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the current legislative
scheme provided in The Environmental Management and Protection Act (the EMPA) and
the current strategy established by Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management
(SERM) in ensuring the cleanup of contaminated land where voluntary cleanup is not
forthcoming.
Both the EMPA and the strategy, based on the EMPA, are found inadequate for a
number of inter-related reasons.
The study is comprised of three parts. First, the EMPA itself is examined and in
particular its potential for unfair and arbitrary outcomes. The fact or perception of such
outcomes, it is argued, serve to undermine the accomplishment of the purposes the EMPA
is intended to effect by affecting the decisions of both SERM and parties potentially subject
to the regime.
The impact of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal's 1998 decision in Busse Farms
Ltd. v. F.B.D.B. is examined and found to both severely undermine powers provided to the
Minister under the EMPA and consequently the SERM strategy, and to reflect a confusion
between issues of fairness as between private parties and a broader concept of fairness in
the context of effecting public purposes.
Finally principles upon which to base an alternative model are proposed. These
principles are developed based on liability which may rationally and fairly be connected to
the purposes of preventing contamination and funding remediation.
Description
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Citation
Degree
Master of Laws (LL.M.)
Department
Law
Program
Law