Blakes Weekly Digest | August 18, 2023
ENVIRONMENTAL
“The Buck Stops At The Top” – Lessons Learned: Mining Company Executive Found Guilty Of Environmental Offences
Tony Crossman, Rochelle Collette and Nicholas Tollefson
In R. v. Mossman and Meckert, the British Columbia Provincial Court found the president and chief operating officer of a mining company guilty of several environmental offences. The company had discharged water containing zinc and total suspended solids above the allowed thresholds. The court found that the individual had not taken reasonable steps to prevent the exceedances. The case contains lessons for company leaders with environmental compliance obligations.
ENVIRONMENTAL
Canada Seeks Input On Draft Clean Electricity Regulations
On August 10, 2023, Canada released draft regulations intended to form an essential part of its approach to achieving economy-wide net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The regulations establish strict emissions intensity performance standards that will apply to electricity generated from fossil fuel within Canada.
领英推荐
LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Appeal Courts Stay The Course On Arbitration Clauses In Consumer Contracts
Karine Russell, Robin Reinertson, Laura Cundari and Victor Lima (Articling Student)
In its recent companion decisions in Williams v. Amazon.com Inc. and Petty v. Niantic Inc., the British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld partial stays of proposed consumer class actions. The court found that arbitration agreements contained within electronic standard-form contracts were valid and enforceable. These decisions came a week after the Federal Court of Appeal similarly upheld a stay in Difederico v. Amazon.com Inc. — another proposed consumer class action involving similar facts — in favour of arbitration. The three decisions confirm that, in the absence of clear legislative intervention to the contrary, arbitration agreements will generally be enforceable, even in standard form contracts of adhesion.
TAX
2023 August 4 Draft Legislation: Selected Tax Measures
On August 4, 2023, the Department of Finance released a large package of draft legislative proposals and related explanatory notes. The August 4 Proposals include updated legislative amendments to proposed draft legislation from the 2023 federal budget, previously released draft legislation and certain other technical amendments. This bulletin analyzes the most significant tax measures addressed in the August 4 Proposals.