The Canadian Bar Association : Challenging Litigation Issues Arising in Environmental Civil Claims, Administrative Appeals and Quasi-Criminal Prosecutions

Andrea C. Akelaitis

Letcher Akelaitis LLP
Vancouver, BC

Andrea Akelaitis* provides advice and representation on a full range of environmental and regulatory matters. Ms. Akelaitis has acted as advisor and co-counsel on many of British Columbia’s contaminated sites matters including before the Environmental Appeal Board on behalf of the successful party in Seaspan ULC v. Director, Environmental Management Act and Domtar Inc. et al (May 9, 2013). Ms. Akelaitis works in air and odour management regulatory issues and in a range of issues related to recycling and waste management. She acted as co-counsel in the leading Canadian odour management decision West Coast Reduction Ltd. v. District Director of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (BC Environmental Appeal Board, March 8, 2010). Ms. Akelaitis also works in permitting, compliance, defending environmental prosecutions and environmental assessment regulatory and litigation issues. She appeared as co-counsel in the B.C. Environmental Appeal Board case Worthington MacKenzie Inc. and Daniel Alexander White v. Director, Environmental Management(January 19, 2010). Ms. Akelaitis has also had significant experience working in foreign tort issues concerning environmental law matters. Ms. Akelaitis has acted for a range of Canada’s leading corporations and in 2014 Ms. Akelaitis acted for the Nisga’a Nation in litigation involving important aboriginal law and environmental law issues. Ms. Akelaitis has appeared before all levels of British Columbia Courts. Together with Mr. Letcher, she acted for the successful plaintiff in a leading case related to “economic force majeure” in the context of a contract for the supply of caustic soda (Domtar v. Univar, 2011 BCSC 1776.) Ms. Akelaitis is recognized for environmental law in Best Lawyers in Canada 2017. She has authored and presented “Provincial Environmental Law, Regulations and Policy” and “Groundwater, Regulation and Quality Control”. In November of 2013, she presented a paper on allocating contaminated sites environmental risk at the CLEBC Environmental Law Conference 2013 and in March 2015, she delivered a paper on Expert Evidence at the National CBA Environmental Energy and Resources Summit on Environment in the Courtroom in Calgary. In September 2015, she was a keynote speaker at the International Odour Management Conference in Toronto. *Personal Law Corporation

Stuart W. Chambers

McLennan Ross LLP
Edmonton, AB

Stuart is a partner at McLennan Ross practicing in the areas of energy, environmental & regulatory and commercial litigation, focusing on environmental and occupational health and safety regulatory law, and class actions. Stuart has extensive experience advising oilsands and other industrial operators in relation to environmental and health and safety law issues, in particular in preparation for and responding to regulatory investigations and prosecutions. Stuart has a wide range of experience in commercial litigation matters, including contractual disputes, recovery of funds and class actions. While Stuart has extensive experience in complex multiparty litigation, he is equally comfortable in finding efficient solutions for smaller disputes. He utilizes alternative dispute resolution methods including mediation and arbitration to resolve issues and has significant experience acting as both plaintiff and defendant counsel in class actions in Alberta and in British Columbia. Stuart advises organizations on contract interpretation, drafting and policy issues and has advised government and administrative tribunals on policy and adjudicative matters.

Jean Piette

BCF s.e.n.c.r.l.
Québec, QC

Jean Piette has 45 years of experience in environmental law and policy. He was the first lawyer in Québec to develop a practice entirely devoted to environmental law since 1972. As a partner with the law firm of Norton Rose Fulbright, he received the highest distinction in the Martindale-Hubbel directory, that is the AV rating. In 2010, he was named Best Lawyer for environmental law in Quebec. He now enjoys the highest ranking of private sector environmental lawyers in Canada in the Chambers directory as he has been ranked Senior Statesman in environmental law, a category in which there are only two lawyers in Canada. Mtre Piette provides legal counsel and strategic advice on matters of provincial, federal and international environmental law. He also advises clients with respect to environmental permit applications, environmental audits, environmental due diligence for business transactions and the environmental governance of business organizations. He represents clients in negotiations with environmental authorities, in environmental litigation before administrative and judicial tribunals in civil and penal matters, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and in commercial and real estate transactions involving environmental issues. He has been involved in some of the leading cases of environmental law before the Supreme Court of Canada. As a registered World Bank consultant in environmental law, he was entrusted with the preparation of the pesticide legislation of Uzbekistan. He chairs the Environmental Law Committee of the Bar of Quebec, is a founding member of the Canadian Center for Environmental Arbitration and Mediation and has been for many years a member of the International Council on Environmental Law. Before joining the predecessor firm of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada, he worked successively for the Environment Protection Services, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Environment of Québec. Within the Ministry of Environment of Québec, he acted as General Counsel from 1976 to 1983, Director of Environmental Strategy and Policy Development from 1983 to 1986 and Director for Intergovernmental Relations from 1986 to 1991. As General Counsel for the Ministry of Environment of Québec, Mtre Piette often appeared before Québec administrative tribunals such as the Québec Municipal Commission, the Environmental Public Hearing Board (BAPE) and the Liquor Control Board, as well as before federal administrative tribunals such as the National Energy Board, and before both civil and criminal courts. He was responsible for the planning and drafting of all environmental laws and regulations in Québec from 1972 to 1983. He has taught environmental law within the framework of the B.A. and Masters programs in law at Université Laval (2010, 2013 and 2016). Education - Masters Degree in Comparative Law (George Washington University) (1972). - Member of the Québec Bar (1971). - Licence en droit (Université de Montréal) (1970). - Baccalauréat ès arts (Université de Montréal) (1967).

Barry Weintraub

Weintraub Erskine Huang LLP
Toronto, ON

Barry is a partner at Rueters LLP. Barry’s practice includes litigation of corporate/commercial, environmental and employment matters. Barry is an experienced and successful trial and appellate counsel. He has made more than 1000 appearances in various types of proceedings before various courts at all stages of litigation and has also appeared before several different administrative tribunals. Barry has acted as counsel in numerous mediations and commercial arbitrations. Barry is Chair of the Civil Litigation Section of the Ontario Bar Association and Treasurer of the National Environment, Energy and Resources Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association. He was previously Chair of the OBA Environmental Law Section and was an adjunct professor of law for several years at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and Queen’s University Faculty of Law. He has a long record of service to the profession, including teaching in the Law Society of Upper Canada Bar Admission Course and serving on a joint bench/bar/attorney-general committee on the implementation of case management in Ontario. He writes and speaks frequently on a variety of commercial and environmental litigation matters.

Challenging Litigation Issues Arising in Environmental Civil Claims, Administrative Appeals and Quasi-Criminal Prosecutions

Apr. 16, 2021
Online

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Challenging Litigation Issues Arising in Environmental Civil Claims, Administrative Appeals and Quasi-Criminal Prosecutions: Similarities, Differences and Inter-relationships

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