Centre for Law and the Environment

“Indigenous Guardians” have gained recognition in recent years as an Indigenous-led approach to managing, protecting, and monitoring traditional territories.

Indigenous Guardians benefit twofold: They deliver effective environmental protection and uphold Indigenous laws within their Nations’ inherent jurisdiction. Since the official launch of the Indigenous Guardians program in 2017, the federal government has invested around $70 million in Indigenous Guardians.

Although many Indigenous Guardians deserve recognition, one in particular is making impressive strides in protecting a species best known for its appearance in films like Blackfish and Free W***y – killer whales. The QENTOL, YEN Marine Guardians Program was launched in 2022 by the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council.

Access the attached link to read the latest blog post by Brianna Patrick and learn more about Indigenous Guardians! https://lnkd.in/g5gUPV5v

Last week, the British Columbia government quietly shelved its controversial “alternative shelter” law, which would have authorized the forced eviction of homeless encampments from municipal land.

In our most recent blog post, our director, Stepan Wood tells the story of Bill45 and the campaign to stop it. It involved an impromptu coalition of housing rights researchers, lawyers, activists, volunteers, service providers and folks with lived experience.

The law’s quiet demise is an opportunity for the province and municipalities to go back to the drawing board and develop a human rights-based policy response to tentcities in partnership with unhoused and precariously housed people and their trusted allies.

Read Dr. Woods publication on our website here: https://rb.gy/0e4159

Is Belgium leading the way in criminalizing ecocide?
How could the amendment of British Columbia's Land Act effect reconciliation and increase the efficiency of project permitting?

Answer both of these questions by reading our latest blog posts below on the CLE website!

Elise David's blog post (https://rb.gy/7ipklk) provides a history of Ecocide Law and Belgium's recent recognition of Ecocide as a crime.

Recent Allard Law graduate Eric Murphy discusses the benefits of adopting a new framework regarding the government of Canada's duty to consult Indigenous groups when it issues permits for land project developments (https://rb.gy/tx3kdl).

Climate Change has a disproportionate impact on young people, partly because they are more vulnerable to its effects, partly because they will experience them longer into the future. Globally, youth have been taking legal action against various governments due to their inaction on climate change mitigation.

This spring the Centre for Law and the Environment gave local high school students a glimpse into this world of youth climate litigation by organizing a mock trial at Magee Secondary School in Vancouver, BC.

Professors Stepan Wood of and Nina Hewitt of later pilot-tested the mock
trial a second time in UBC Geography’s Geographical Sciences Field Course at the UBC-Teck Geological
Field Station in Oliver, BC.

Read our latest blog post and learn more about how the mock trails went and the student learning outcomes!

If you want to access the report, visit: https://allard.ubc.ca/about-us/blog/2024/youth-v-canada-pilot-testing-climate-change-mock-trial-high-school-and-university-students

Atomic Bamboozle: The False Promise of a Nuclear Renaissance is being screened at the International Uranium Film Festival this Friday April 12 at 6:30 at the Cineworks Independent Film Society. This feature-length documentary follows anti-nuclear activists, tribal leaders, scientists and attorneys as they draw lessons from the decades-long campaign to shut down the Trojan Nuclear Power plant in Oregon and extend those lessons into a new struggle to stop small modular reactors (SMRs) from being built in the Pacific Northwest.

Get tickets here:

Events | Atomic Bamboozle Check your spam folder if you have not heard back after a 48 hour time period. Thank you for submitting! Make sure to whitelist [email protected]

Do laws promote or hinder (LID)—development that minimizes environmental impacts by using or mimicking the functions and processes of healthy, intact ecosystems? Check out our recent report for the Coquitlam River Watershed Society, which comprehensively reviewed the official plans and bylaws relevant to LID in the City of Coquitlam - Municipality and City of Port Coquitlam, BC. Our report identified many ways that these laws support LID, along with opportunities to do more.

Access the report here:

allard.ubc.ca

What is a “reasonable limit” on the ? In our submission on Environment and Climate Change Canada's draft Implementation Framework for the Right to a Healthy Environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act ( ), we argue that reasonable limits cannot be pre-determined; must serve pressing and substantial objectives and respect the principle of proportionality; must be consistent with ’s purposes, principles and administrative duties; must not be used to excuse non-compliance with or derogation from other provisions of ; must be justified on a case-by-case basis by the government; and must be devised, implemented and justified through an open, transparent and fair process.

You can find our full submission here:

allard.ubc.ca

You can also find this report on our publications page: https://allard.ubc.ca/research/research-centres-and-programs/centre-law-and-environment/publications

The report on regulation addressing Low Impact Development in the Coquitlam River Watershed is finally ready! Big thanks to our partners at the City of Coquitlam - Municipality and the City of Port Coquitlam, UBC's Centre for Law and the Environment, our Development Project Committee, and the many people who contributed their expertise and time!

View the full report here: https://www.coquitlamriverwatershed.ca/download/low-impact-development-in-the-coquitlam-river-watershed/?wpdmdl=3730

Attention law students! Have you written a paper related to environmental, energy or resources law in Canada? Consider submitting it for the CBA Environmental, Energy and Resources Law Section Law Student Essay Prize. The deadline is May 2.

Details here:

Canadian Bar Association - CBA Environmental, Energy and Resources Law Section Law Student Essay Contest - Gowling WLG - David CBA Membership gives you access to complimentary accredited professional development programs from across Canada. Membership pays for itself.

Join us this Wednesday, April 3 for a research talk with Aimée Craft on Indigenous legal principles and freshwater governance. The talk will explore how Indigenous legal principles and values can be used to inform coordinated multi-jurisdictional and trans-boundary freshwater governance. Craft will also discuss how Canada' s new approach to water governance, which aims to redefine Canada's water future, is an opportunity to engage with Indigenous science, knowledge, laws, values, principles, and process in order to help ensure sustainability.

There is an in-person and zoom option and we will be serving lunch to in-person registrants.

Learn more and register here:

Indigenous Legal Principles and Values as an Opportunity for Coordinated Multi-Jurisdictional and Transboundary Freshwater Governance | Peter A. Allard School of Law Aimée Craft is an award-winning teacher and researcher, recognized internationally as a leader in the area of Indigenous laws, treaties and water.

Check out David R. Boyd's essay on the recent landmark decision from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and what it means for the right to a healthy environment. The case involved allegations that more than a century of catastrophic industrial pollution from La Oroya Metallurgical Complex in Peru violated the right to a healthy environment.

Read here:

Landmark Court Decision on Right to a Healthy Environment: La Oroya v Peru – GNHRE “Environmental degradation can cause irreparable damage to human beings, which is why a healthy environment is a fundamental right for the existence of humanity.” – Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 2024

April 3 we are looking forward to welcoming Aimée Craft for a talk on Indigenous legal principles and freshwater governance. The talk will explore how Indigenous legal principles and values can be used to inform coordinated multi-jurisdictional and trans-boundary freshwater governance. Craft will also discuss how Canada' s new approach to water governance, which aims to redefine Canada's water future, is an opportunity to engage with Indigenous science, knowledge, laws, values, principles, and process in order to help ensure sustainability.

There is an in-person and zoom option and we will be serving lunch to in-person registrants.

Learn more and register here:

Indigenous Legal Principles and Values as an Opportunity for Coordinated Multi-Jurisdictional and Transboundary Freshwater Governance | Peter A. Allard School of Law Imagine Indigenous legal principles and values leading a coordinated freshwater decision-making? It can be part of Canada’s freshwater future, given the Canada Water Agency mandate to ensure collaboration and coordination amongst federal departments, with provincial governments and with Indigenous...

For folks in Vancouver, there is going to be a Vancouver screening of Warrior Spirit on March 19 at the 7pm at the Rio Theatre.

Warrior Spirit follows Will George's journey to stop the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project from being built on his Nation’s unceded land without their consent. Warrior Spirit is a moving exploration of resilience, decolonization, and the ongoing struggle for justice.

The premiere includes a panel discussion featuring Will George, Tzeporah Berman, Raven Trust, and members of Will George's family.

🎟️ Get your tickets now:

Rio Theatre Tickets The Rio Theatre on Broadway and Commercial, Voted #1 in East Vancouver, is a multi media venue for premier independent cinema of first-run feature films and live entertainment.

This Wednesday is the final installment in our series on youth climate cases. Join us February 14 from 12:30-2pm PT either in person or via zoom for the session on Juliana v US, a constitutional climate lawsuit that was filed in 2015 against the US government, asserting that, because of the government’s affirmative actions contributing to climate change, it has violated the youngest generation’s constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property and has failed to protect essential public trust resources. We're looking forward to hearing from lawyer Andrea Rodgers of Our Children's Trust and Alex Loznak, a plaintiff in the case.

RSVP here:

In Their Own Words: Plaintiffs & Their Lawyers Speak About Youth Climate Cases, Part 4 – Juliana v US | Peter A. Allard School of Law The CLE’s four-part series, In Their Own Words: Plaintiffs and Their Lawyers Speak About Leading Youth Climate Cases, covers four leading cases. Each session in the series will delve into a particular case and attendees will get to learn about the case from one of the youth plaintiffs and one of t...

This Wednesday is PART 3 of our four part series on youth climate cases. Join us February 7 from 12:30-2pm PT either in person or via zoom for the session on Held v State of Montana, the first constitutional climate trial in the US. The decision in this case, the first of its kind in the US, is considered to set crucial evidentiary and legal precedent for the right of youth to a safe climate. We're looking forward to hearing from lawyer Nathan Bellinger of Our Children's Trust and Claire Vlases, a plaintiff in the case.

Register:

In Their Own Words: Plaintiffs & Their Lawyers Speak About Youth Climate Cases, Part 3 – Held v State of Montana | Peter A. Allard School of Law The Centre for Law and the Environment’s four-part series, In Their Own Words: Plaintiffs and Their Lawyers Speak About Leading Youth Climate Cases, covers four leading cases from Canada and the US in which youth are demanding climate accountability and action from their government. Each session i...

Join us January 31 from 12:30-2pm PT either in person or via zoom for part 2 of our series on youth climate cases. This session will focus on La Rose v Canada, which just last month was allowed to proceed to trial after a landmark ruling by the Federal Court of Appeal. We look forward to hearing insights about the case from Chris Tollefsen, one of the lawyers involved with the case, and Sadie Vipond, one of the plaintiffs in the case.

In Their Own Words: Plaintiffs & Their Lawyers Speak About Youth Climate Cases, Part 2 – La Rose v Canada | Peter A. Allard School of Law The Centre for Law and the Environment’s four-part series, In Their Own Words: Plaintiffs and Their Lawyers Speak About Leading Youth Climate Cases, covers four leading cases from Canada and the US in which youth are demanding climate accountability and action from their government. Each session i...

Wednesday January 24 from 12:30-2pm PST we are kicking off our four-part series "In Their Own Words: Plaintiffs and Their Lawyers Speak About Youth Climate Cases" with a session on Mathur v Ontario, a legal challenge against the Ontario government’s decision to significantly weaken the province’s 2030 climate target. In this session, we're excited to hear from Ecojustice Canada lawyer Danielle Gallant and youth plaintiff Shaelyn Wabegijig about the case, which was just heard at the Ontario Court of Appeal earlier this week. Attendees can join in person at Allard Hall or over zoom.

RSVP here:

In Their Own Words: Plaintiffs & Their Lawyers Speak About Youth Climate Cases, Part 1 – Mathur v Ontario | Peter A. Allard School of Law The Centre for Law and the Environment’s four-part series, In Their Own Words: Plaintiffs and Their Lawyers Speak About Leading Youth Climate Cases, covers four leading cases from Canada and the US in which youth are demanding climate accountability and action from their government. Each session i...

Please join us for a series of four hybrid events on Children’s Climate Change Litigation in Canada and the USA, Wednesdays at 12:30 pm, January 24 through February 14!

"In Their Own Words: Plaintiffs and Their Lawyers Speak About Youth Climate Cases" is a four-part series on four Wednesdays from 12:30 to 2pm Pacific Time from January 24, 2024 to February 14, 2024.

Children and youth in Canada and the US are suing their governments for contributing to the climate emergency. Mathur v Ontario was the first such case in Canada to be decided on the merits and is currently under appeal at the Ontario Court of Appeal. La Rose was dismissed at a preliminary stage but was revived by the Federal Court of Appeal in December 2023. Farther south, in August 2023, Held v Montana became the world’s first children’s climate case to be won after a full trial with live witnesses and cross-examination, while Juliana v USA has been making its way through the US courts for years and recently passed the latest hurdle on its way to trial.

Youth plaintiffs in these cases, and their lawyers, will join us by videolink to share their stories of seeking climate accountability for young people and future generations through the courts.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear directly from the young people and their counsel who are trying to hold their governments legally accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis!

These events are free and open to the public. Lunch will be served to those attending in person at Allard Hall. CPD credit is available.

RSVP is required to attend virtually, and requested for in-person attendance to allow lunch planning.

Please visit tinyurl.com/climatecases for details and to register.

We hope to see you there!

News & Events | Peter A. Allard School of Law The Centre for Law and the Environment (CLE) is devoted to creating and sharing knowledge and ideas about the relationship between environment and law. The Centre hosts a variety of events, including talks, workshops, book launches, webinars, conferences, and our "No Fly Zone" Speaker Series.

Join us at Allard Hall next Wednesday November 29 for a presentation by Professor Hassan Ahmad on how the public trust doctrine ought to be integrated into the section 7 Charter analysis such that governments would be required to preserve natural resources for current and future generations.

Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP!

https://allard.ubc.ca/about-us/events-calendar/climate-change-hits-courts-public-trust-doctrine-and-environmental-protection-mathur

Want to learn more about ? The second of our recently published plain language legal guides focuses on what rights have been given to nature, presenting a list of rights commonly recognized in RON laws around the world.

https://allard.ubc.ca/research/research-centres-and-programs/centre-law-and-environment/publications

Interested in Rights of Nature but don't know where to start? The first guide in our plain language legal guide series on surveys common features of RON laws around the world and focuses on the basic question of who or what has rights.

Take a look here:

Publications | Peter A. Allard School of Law Guides and Reports

Join us from 5:30-7pm on Oct 26 for the launch of a report that takes a closer look at role of the courts in shutting down homeless encampments in BC. With insights from Centre director (and report author) Stepan Wood, Darlene Kavka of the Prince George Community Legal Clinic, Alex Kirby from Arvay Finlay LLP, and Anna Cooper from Pivot Legal Society.

Register here:

Rush to Judgment: Taking Stock of Court Injunctions Against Homeless Encampments in BC | Peter A. Allard School of Law Homeless encampments on publicly-owned land have become a common symptom of the housing crisis in British Columbia. Sooner or later, governments often respond to them by going to court for injunctions to shut them down, dispersing many occupants to streets, parks or new encampments. The BC courts se...

Want to know how the plaintiffs in the Canadian can win their appeal? Read this paper by Centre for Law and the Environment Director Stepan Wood on why the Ontario Court of Appeal should recognize a to a in , forthcoming in McGill Law Journal ~ R***e de droit de McGill vol 69. Our Children's Trust

Mathur V Ontario: Grounds for Optimism About Recognition of a Constitutional Right to a Stable Climate System in Canada In April, 2023 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed Mathur v Ontario, the first Canadian children’s climate case to be decided on the merits. The law

Meet the first two installments in our Rights of Nature Plain Language Legal Guide series! These know-your-rights style guides, intended for anyone curious about the subject, fill a gap by providing a general introduction to Rights Of Nature laws in plain language.

And these are just the beginning. We plan to publish three more guides in this series, so look out for those!

Access here: https://allard.ubc.ca/research/research-centres-and-programs/centre-law-and-environment/publications

Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature - GARN Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund United Nations Harmony with Nature Programme Nature's Rights

What does Canada's currently planned growth of oil production mean for our climate future? Our newest working paper, written by David Gooderham, delves into the Canada Energy Regulator | Régie de l’énergie du Canada's "Canada's Energy Future 2023" Report. He breaks down each scenario, helping us see the effect of each on rising temperatures and pointing out the shortcomings of the reports findings.

For an overview check our new blog: https://allard.ubc.ca/about-us/blog/2023/new-working-paper-driving-global-heating-17deg-c-and-above

Or read the full working paper: https://allard.ubc.ca/research/research-centres-and-programs/centre-law-and-environment/publications

New Working Paper: Driving Global Heating to 1.7° C and Above | Peter A. Allard School of Law This blog provides a glimpse into the Centre for Law and the Environment's newest working paper, "Driving Global Heating to 1.7° C and Above: The New

Calling university students everywhere, our 2023 Inspirathon has launched!

By participating in this year's Green Rights and Warrior Lawyers Inspirathon, university students will directly support Dr. David R. Boyd's upcoming report on businesses and the right to a healthy environment by providing case studies and participating in a brainstorming session around proposed solutions. It's free to participate and a great opportunity to contribute to Dr. Boyd’s efforts to advance the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment around the world.

Learn more and register today:

Green Rights and Warrior Lawyers Inspirathon 2023: Business and the Human Right to a Healthy Environment | Peter A. Allard School of Law The Green Rights & Warrior Lawyers Inspirathon is an innovative event open to university students at any level of study (undergraduate through doctoral) in any discipline, anywhere in the world. Part “researchathon,” part law and policy-oriented “hackathon,” the Inspirathon allows students t...

We're hiring! If you're a JD student at the Peter A. Allard School of Law and interested in environmental law, we'd encourage you to apply to be our Green Rights & Warrior Lawyers Project Manager. It's a part-time paid position open to Allard JD students of any year. The project manager will be working to plan this year's Green Rights & Warrior Lawyers Virtual Academy and Inspirathon.

Apply via ACE:

The University of British Columbia You may be seeing this page because you used the Back button while browsing a secure web site or application. Alternatively, you may have mistakenly bookmarked the web login form instead of the actual web site you wanted to bookmark or used a link created by somebody else who made the same mistake.

In September 2022 the Spanish Parliament passed a law recognizing the Mar Menor lagoon and its basin as a legal person and granting it a set of explicit legal rights.

Our newest blog, written by Emma Chapman, covers how this law compares to Canada's own Magpie River Resolution and the larger implications of this law for environmental protection law and the movement.

Access here:

From “Green Soup” to Legal Person: An Analysis of Spain’s New Law Recognizing the Mar Menor Lagoon as a Legal Person | Peter A. Allard School of Law “The time has come to make a qualitative leap and adopt a new legal-political model, in line with the international legal vanguard and the global movement for the recognition of the rights of nature,” declares the preamble of a new Spanish law (unofficial English translations by DeepL Translate)...

Climate activist Marjan Minnesma successfully sued the Dutch government and legally bound them into taking action to fight climate change.

Learn more about Minnesma's work in today's profile, written by Allard Law Green Rights & seminar student Jade Windsant.

Access here:

Warrior Lawyer Profile: Marjan Minnesma | Peter A. Allard School of Law Fueling a Sustainable Future with Passion and Purpose

Recently, PFAS, known as 'forever chemicals', have become a hot topic of conversation. But Rob Bilott has been using the law to obtain justice for those with adverse health effects due to PFAS contamination since 1998.

Our newest Warrior Lawyer profile, written by Allard Law Green Rights and seminar student Emily Sainsbury, covers Rob Bilott and his tireless work in this field.

Access here:

Warrior Lawyer Profile: Robert Bilott | Peter A. Allard School of Law The Corporate Defence Lawyer who Took on Dupont In recent months, the Guardian alone has published several articles detailing the worrying presence of per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment, from