Sustainability Spotlights
By McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law
Une initiative de la Revue de droit du développement durable de McGill, cette série de podcasts mettra l'accent sur une variété de questions qui se trouvent à l'intersection de la durabilité, du droit, du développement et des droits de la personne à travers des conversations avec des experts dans divers domaines.
Sustainability SpotlightsFeb 08, 2021
Ep 14: Les Ententes sur les Répercussions et Avantages avec Jacynthe Ledoux et Pascal Porlier
Qu’est-ce qu’une entente sur les répercussions et avantages (ERA) dans le secteur minier? Quel est le rôle des juristes et des différents acteurs, tels que les communautés autochtones, les minières et le gouvernement, dans ces ententes?
Maîtres Jacynthe Ledoux et Pascal Porlier sont deux avocats chez Cain Lamarre, se spécialisant notamment dans le droit autochtone et la négociation des ERA.
Dans cet épisode, Heidi Zahiri et Jerod Miksza discutent avec Maître Ledoux et Porlier de leur expérience avec la représentation des communautés autochtones dans la négociation des ERA.
Visitez le mjsdl.com pour en savoir plus sur la Revue de droit du développement durable de McGill.
Ep. 13: A Career in Marine Biodiversity Law with Dr. Olga Koubrak
Dr. Olga Koubrak is a "fish lawyer," a marine biodiversity lawyer who just completed her PhD at Dalhousie University. In this episode, Executive Editor Alexia Armstrong asks her about her path towards conservationism, her thoughts on marine legislation, her new NGO Sea Life Law, and more.
Ep 12: The SCC rules the Impact Assessment Act Unconstitutional, with David V. Wright and Martin Olszynski
On Oct. 13 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the 2019 Impact Assessment Act unconstitutional. What is the IAA? What is the history of this ruling, and the court's argument? What are the implications of it being a "Reference"? What does this mean for environmental impact mitigation in federal "big projects"?
Executive Editor Alexia Armstrong interviews Professors Martin Olszynski and David V Right of the University of Calgary to get some answers.
Ep. 11: Sustainability in Competition Law with Prof. Simon Holmes
Does the fear of competition law enforcement inhibit collaboration in tackling climate change? How does competition law address monopolies abusing their dominance? Is it more lenient towards mergers that creative efficiencies in sustainability? Can we think about sustainability in terms of consumer welfare for it to fit into existing scholarship on competition law?
In this episode, Executive Editor Alexia Armstrong interviews Professor Simon Holmes to answer these questions and more, bridging the seemingly conflicting aims of encouraging competition and mitigating climate change.
Simon Holmes is a visiting professor at the University of Oxford, teaching the post-graduate competition law course. He is also a member of the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal and an advisor to the NGO ClientEarth. For the past few years, he has focused on the relationship between sustainability, climate change and competition law.
Ep. 10: Activating Sustainable Lifestyles with Garrette Clark of UNEP
What does a sustainable lifestyle look like? Does the answer vary depending on the place or the person? What is the role of law, lawyers, and policymakers in promoting greener ways of living? The guest of today’s episode delves into these questions.
Garrette Clark is the head of the Sustainable Lifestyles Programme at the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris. In this episode, she shares insights based on her vast expertise with Associate Editors Gwyneth Boone and Thomas Nguyen.
For further reading, check out these UNEP reports recommended by Garrette Clark:
1) Reduce Plastic Pollution: Campaigns That Work (A report analyzing and illustrating examples to maximize the effectiveness of campaigns for sustainable plastic consumption)
2) Fostering and Communicating Sustainable Lifestyles: Principles and Emerging Practices (A four-step strategy roadmap for fostering and communicating sustainable lifestyles, illustrated by 16 initiatives and campaigns from around the world)
3) Talk the walk: advancing sustainable lifestyles through marketing and communications (Critical analysis of what works and what doesn’t in marketing and communicating sustainable lifestyles)
4) "Can I Recycle This?" A Global Mapping and Assessment of Standards, Labels and Claims on Plastic Packaging report (A report making recommendations to improve consumer information on plastic packaging, empower consumers to make sustainable decisions and reduce consumer confusion concerning plastic recycling)
https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/sites/default/files/from-crm/unep_ci_2020_can_i_recycle_this_1.pdf
5) Communicating Food Sustainability to Consumers (Offers recommendations for more effective communication of food sustainability information, including opportunities for better labelling, the use of complementary communications and other behavioural methods to drive lasting change in consumer behaviour)
6) Guidelines for Providing Product Sustainability Information (Guidance on making reliable and effective environmental, social and economic claims, to empower and enable consumer choice)
7) Policy Brief: Enabling Sustainable Lifestyles in a Climate Emergency (Guidelines for policy makers apply a lifestyles perspective to the sustainability challenge)
Ep. 9: Space Debris with Dr Upasana Dasgupta and Dr Maria Manoli
In this episode, Associate Editors Henri Cant and Alexia Armstrong dig into the topic of space debris (aka "space junk") with two graduates of McGill's Institute of Air & Space Law - Dr. Upasana Dasgupta and Dr. Maria Manoli.
First, our speakers explore the subject of space debris and the environmental challenge it poses. Then, they discuss the principles of space law and the rules governing space debris. They end on a hopeful note by discussing cooperation and sustainability in space.
You can read Upasana Dasgupta's thesis, “Preventing collisions between space objects in outer space: Clarifying the law of state responsibility for better enforcement”, here: https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/ms35tf265
You can read Maria Manoli's thesis, "The Immaterial territoriality of outer space: reconstructing territorylessness in modern space governance", here: https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/hd76s530m
Ep. 8: Sustainability, Everyday Life, and the Law with Prof. Richard Janda and Alicia Howse
In this episode, Associate Editors Jenna Daley and Léa Gruyelle speak with Professor Richard Janda and Alicia Howse on the place of sustainability in our everyday life, on our choices with regards to sustainability and their relation to the responsibilities that corporations and institutions hold, and on what law students can do to integrate sustainability in their thinking, practice, and careers.
Professor Janda is an Associate Professor at McGill University, and Associate Member Bieler School of Environment. He teaches extracontractual obligations, business associations, administrative process and environmental law. He is currently leading the Myko project (www.myko.org), which explores how to connect everyone to the environmental footprint of their choices in real time. He has written, among other things, on corporate social responsibility, digital law, and theories of justice.
Alicia Howse is a 2L at McGill's Faculty of Law. Alicia graduated with a Bachelors of Science in 2021 in Environmental Science from the University of Ottawa and came to law school to bridge her knowledge between environmental science and environmental law. She worked with many environmental groups in various roles and is currently working for a Conservation Authority. Within the McGill Law Community Alicia had the Opportunity to work with professor Janda last year as a member of the Sustainability Committee. This year, she co-founded McGill’s Environmental Law Association (ADELA).
Ep. 7: A Career in Environmental Litigation with Chris Tollefson of CELL.
Senior Editor Victoria Flaherty interviews Chris Tollefson on his career in environmental law and litigation. Chris is a professor and lawyer who has an impressive record of public interest counseling, nonprofit work, and teaching at the University of Victoria. They discuss how Chris got his start in environmental law, his career advice, and reflections on how the field has changed throughout this career. This episode was co-produced by Victoria Flaherty and Grace Ma.
Ep. 6: COP26 and Disability Inclusive Climate Action with Katherine Lofts
In this episode, Senior Editors Angela Yang and Nicolas Kamran speak with Katherine Lofts about disability inclusive climate action at COP26. Katherine Lofts, Senior Research Associate with DICARP and the Canada Research Chair in Human Rights, Health, and the Environment, draws attention to the barriers disability rights activists continue to face even at the UN stage, but shares her hope for the future.
Thank you so much to Katherine Lofts for offering her time and sharing her wisdom with us.
Podcast edited by Angela Yang, Nicolas Kamran, and Chris Irwin, and podcast music by Alden Harris-McCoy.
Ep. 5: COP26 and Indigenous Legal Perspectives on Climate Governance with Professor Aaron Mills
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Ep. 4: Magpie River Legal Personhood Project with Me Vega Cárdenas
In this episode, Associate Editors Ashley Light and Emily Michelin speak with Me Vega Cárdenas, Professor of Law at the Université de Montréal and President of the International Observatory on the Rights of Nature, about her work on the Magpie River legal personhood project. Earlier this year, the Magpie River was granted legal personhood, transforming the river from an object of exploitation to a subject and rights-holder.
Please see the International Observatory on the Rights of Nature's Facebook page for more details on the book, A Legal Personality for the St. Lawrence River and other Rivers of the World: https://www.facebook.com/ObservatoireinternationaldesdroitsdelaNature.
Me Vega Cárdenas also invites listeners to sign this petition: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/fr/716/873/803/d%C3%A9claration-du-fleuve-saint-laurent-comme-sujet-de-droit/.
Thank you so much to Me Vega Cárdenas for her time and her insight into this fascinating movement of environmental personhood.
Podcast edited by Associate Editor Angela Yang and podcast music by Alden Harris-McCoy.
Ep. 3: Interview with Parisa Ariya, Professor of Chemistry and Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
In this episode, Associate Editors Leo Cen and Laura Charney speak with Professor Parisa Ariya to learn more about aerosol pollution, green and sustainable chemistry, and the impacts of COVID-19 on air pollution. Professor Ariya, a James McGill Professor of Chemistry and Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, conveys how important reducing aerosol pollution is in our fight against climate change and implores listeners to do their part to help the planet.
Thank you so much to Professor Ariya for offering her time and sharing her wisdom with us.
Podcast Music by Alden Harris-McCoy
Ep. 2: Indigenous Peoples Resilience Fund with Andrew Chunilall and Victoria Grant
In this episode, Associate Editors Vidish Parikh and Emma Pritchard engage in conversation with Andrew Chunilall and Victoria Grant from Community Foundations to learn more about the Indigenous Peoples Resilience Fund.
Andrew and Victoria explain how the Fund arose to support the needs of Indigenous communities in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the role of the Indigenous Advisory Council in governing the project.
We are very grateful for the time, wisdom, and work of our guests.
Podcast Music by Alden Harris-McCoy
Ep. 1: Le litige sur la taxe carbone avec Me David Robitaille
Dans ce premier épisode, deux éditeurs associés de la Revue, Joshua Johnson et Philippe Grenier, s'entretiennent avec Me David Robitaille.
Me Robitaille est un professeur de droit à l'Université d'Ottawa, dans la branche de droit civil. En septembre 2020, il a plaidé devant la Cour suprême du Canada à titre d'intervenant sur la question de la taxe sur le carbone au nom du Centre québécois de droit de l'environnement et d'Équiterre.
Me Robitaille a défendu qu'il était dans les droits constitutionnels du gouvernement fédéral d'imposer aux provinces de mettre en place un système de tarification des émissions de gaz à effet de serre.
En attendant avec impatience la décision de la Cour suprême, nous avons discuté des arguments mis de l'avant, des enjeux avec ce genre de litige, du fédéralisme et de bien d'autres sujets.
Un énorme merci à Me Robitaille pour son engouement de vouloir partager son savoir et son expérience hors-paire.
Podcast Music by Alden Harris-McCoy