A significant victory for access to justice
Mae Price, Breanna Merrigan, Tamar Koleba, Anthony Ho, Kyle McNeil, Dr. Lynda Gagné
On March 14, 2014, BC Supreme Court Justice Mr. Brian MacKenzie ruled that the BC Environmental Appeal Board (EAB) must reconsider its decision not to grant standing to four petitioners who had filed an appeal with the EAB challenging Rio Tinto Alcan’s permitted increase in sulphur dioxide emissions from 27 to 42 tonnes per day from its Kitimat aluminium smelter. In his ruling, Justice MacKenzie said that the issue at hand was important to the petitioners and the general public, that the appellants need only demonstrate prima facie evidence of harm to gain standing, and that registered societies and trusts are legal persons in their own right and can be considered ‘persons aggrieved’ under the Environmental Management Act. According to Professor Chris Tollefson, Executive Director of the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre (ELC) and co-counsel for the judicial review, this ruling represents “a significant victory for access to justice”. The decision was reported in the Globe and Mail at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/activists-allowed-to-reappeal-rio-tintos-kitimat-smelter-permit/article17506650/, and the Vancouver Sun at: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Supreme+Court+ruling+allows+wider+reach+appeal+standing/9624436/story.html.
The petitioners, which include the SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, the Lakelse Watershed Stewards Society, Charles Claus, and Dr. Lynda Gagné of the School of Public Administration, were represented by Prof. Tollefson and Richard Overstall of the Smithers-based law firm Buri, Overstall. Anthony Ho, a joint MPA/JD candidate, has been assisting co-counsel on the legal research for this case for several months. As part of his legal research, he completed his Master’s Project (ADMN 598) for the SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, which he successfully defended in the fall of 2013. Several other students from the ELC have also been involved in this legal research, including Mae Price, Grace Jackson, and Kyle McNeill. Two MPA candidates, Tamar Koleba and Breanna Merrigan, worked on evaluations of the impacts of SO2 on health and the environment for their Master’s Projects, with the SkeenaWild Conservation Trust as their client. Tamar successfully defended her project on March 27th and Breanna will defend in summer 2014.