CLN4U
Canadian and International Law
Unit 2: Legal Foundations
Activity 4: Flashback

What happens when a child is missing?

Please read the following article written by CBC News in August 2009.

Did you notice?

There are connections between legal developments in the United States and Canadian law.
Citizens, police and the legislature all work together to achieve a specific legal purpose.
Technology and media play a role in law. They can influence developments in law and effect change.
The writer of this article used questions to guide the organization of the piece. Keep in mind that articulating questions is a key component of the legal inquiry process.
The event that precipitated the development of this law was tragic for the family. From a legal standpoint however the changes that were made as a result were significant. The family and certain groups advocated for reform which led to a change in the law.

An Event that has Resulted in Legal Change

Think of events that have occurred that have prompted legal change. You may wish to ask some family members about their recollections. You may wish to consider both national and international events. Once you have chosen one event to discuss, ask yourself the following questions:

Why was the event that occured important to the development of law? Use detail in your explanation.
Who was responsible for the change? Was it led by a particular group, citizens, the government who sought a particular outcome? Was it a courtroom decision that created the legal change?

Use the checklist below when considering these questions.

Yes/No	Some things you should consider
	I have used legal terminology accurately.
	I have identified a current legal event or issue that has prompted legal change.
	I have identified the individuals, groups and governments responsible for the change.
	I have discussed the impact of the change.
	I have drawn a conclusion regarding the effectiveness of the change.
	I have supported my arguments with logical reasoning.
	I have made connections between the issue, law or case presented and other relevant issues, laws or cases.
	I have sequenced my ideas to effectively support my answers to the questions provided.
	I have used my judgement to determine the right amount of information, and best way of presenting it so as to encourage further discussion.

Groups and individuals seek legal reform for a variety of reasons. Concerns around a particular issue may have emerged, social values may have shifted or perhaps new technology has necessitated change.

Environmental Concerns

One issue that has emerged is concern for the environment. Take a few minutes to consider the groups and individuals that are taking an interest in environmental changes that are occurring across the nation. Some of these events occurred recently while others focus upon events of the recent past. Use the Environmental Concerns Organizer to respond to the following questions:

What issue or development has prompted legal concerns for the environment?
Who are the various individuals or groups that are seeking change and what are their motivations?
What methods are being used to influence change? Are these methods effective?
What other factors influence this controversy and what challenges have emerged?
How do you feel personally about this issue? What role should citizens, governments, corporations and the courts be playing to effectively resolve the issue?

Tip

Please note that all of the videos and articles have a distinct perspective. Be sure to always question your sources.

Great Bear Rainforest Celebration

“After almost two decades of conflict and then collaboration, a unique partnership of First Nations governments and the British Columbia government along with environmental groups and forestry companies have come to a final long-term agreement on how to safeguard the beautiful Great Bear Rainforest for healthy communities and healthy forest. Celebrate with Greenpeace as 85% of the forested lands of the Great Bear Rainforest is now off limits to industrial logging!”
http://www.greenpeace.org/

A First Nations Community tells logging companies
“our land is not for sale.”

“The Cree Nation of Waswanipi is fighting to protect its ancestral land from logging. The Broadback Valley, located close to James Bay in northern Quebec, Canada is at heart of these lands and is one of the last intact forests in the region. The Broadback Valley is central to the Cree way of life, to their culture and livelihoods. “It’s in our heart, this is our life.” Less than 10% of their ancestral land remains intact. If protection doesn’t happen soon, encroaching roads and clearcuts will destroy this forest. The Cree First Nation of Waswanipi are asking for help to #SavetheBroadback. “We will do anything that we can to protect it.”
http://www.greenpeace.org/

Grassy Narrows protesters bring mercury fears to the legislature.

Security officials cleared the south lawn of tourists while hazardous materials crews tried to determine what the substance was. By afternoon, security staff said the substance was “determined not to be harmful.”

Great Lakes states approve U.S. city's plan to draw water from Lake Michigan.

“A suburban Milwaukee city won a hard-fought battle Tuesday to draw its drinking water from Lake Michigan in the first test of a compact designed to safeguard the Great Lakes region's abundant but vulnerable freshwater supply.”

Associated Press, June 20th, 2016

Minister McKenna launched the EcoFair 2016 in Ottawa during Environment Week.

The Canadian government signed the Paris Agreement which requires that Canada act to address global warming. In this quick video you can hear different Canadians explaining what they are doing to fight Climate Change at the EcoFair booth.

Protecting drinking water in Harrietsfield, Nova Scotia

Ecojustice lawyers represented three residents of Harrietsfield, Nova Scotia, in their fight to protect their drinking water from contamination. In several documented cases, residents of Harrietsfield learned that toxic substances such as boron, arsenic, cadmium, and uranium had been found in local groundwater at levels that exceed what is considered safe in the Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines. As a result of this contamination, our clients, Marlene Brown, Melissa King and Jonathan Andrews, were forced to rely on filling up jugs at their local church and at the homes of friends and relatives for their drinking water and to travel to the homes of family and friends to bathe and do laundry.

Long Description

There are a number of environmental concerns related to law that are challenging Canadians, non-governmental organizations, businesses and governments. Many people feel that several steps are necessary if we are to make progress and meet our international obligations. Some of these actions include:

This is an image of a globe. There are several hands holding up the globe.

enacting new laws in the House of Commons and in provincial legislatures;
recognizing environmental rights to clean water;
enforcing existing laws in courts by holding offenders responsible;
consulting and respecting the voices of Canadians including First Nations.

The environment is intricately linked to other legal areas including economic trade agreements, human rights, national security and the rights of Indigenous persons.

Look at the long list of concerns:

Energy e.g., oil pipelines, fracking;
People and Health e.g., chemicals in products, hazardous waste, Great Lakes;
Wildlife and Wilderness e.g., forestry, fisheries stocks, species at risk, biodiversity;
Resource Use & Extraction e.g., diamond mining, water supply, conservation;
Climate e.g., warming, severe weather, ecosystem destruction, sea levels;
Pollution e.g., air quality, contamination;
Sustainable development e.g., technological development.

This is an image of a person in a green canoe paddling across a very still body of water on a sunny day.

Public Domain

Which area is of concern to you?

Are the environmental laws in Canada effective and will they meet the challenges of the future?

The first step in answering this question is determining which laws currently exist in Canada.

Please refer to the Environmental Acts Cheatsheet. This is a summary of the existing environmental laws. Alternately, you may wish to access the Government of Canada website directly. Take some time to read the various legislation that exists. Note: Some government links have changed therefore you should search for the environmental law on the Government of Canada website.