Environmental Defence Canada

Environmental Defence Canada (formerly known as the Canadian Environmental Defence Fund) is a nonprofit environmental organization based in Toronto. The group is known for its innovative work on issues relating to environment on human health including urban sprawl, global warming, toxic chemicals, water quality and endangered species.

Key Accomplishments

Key accomplishments of Environmental Defence include:

• 1992 - Worked with other environmental groups to win a precedent-setting case in the Supreme Court of Canada that ruled the federal government must perform environmental assessments of all projects needing federal permits. ^[1]
• 1994 - Helped prevent construction of a municipal waste incinerator in Halifax.^[2]
• 1996 - Helped pass a Toronto by-law legalizing naturalized gardens on residential property.^[3]
• 1998 - Worked with the Innu Nation in Newfoundland to win a case at the Newfoundland Court of Appeal that ruled exploration work at the Voisey's Bay nickel mine must follow full environmental assessment rules.^[4]
• 2001 - Helped launch a $750 million class action lawsuit against Inco Limited for the contamination caused by its Port Colborne refinery. ^[5][6]
• 2002 - Helped halt construction of a large hog factory farm in Flagstaff County, Alberta.^[7]
• 2003 - Helped establish a Toronto bylaw restricting pesticide use on lawns; releases study showing pressure-treated wood is leaching arsenic into children’s sandboxes.^[8][9]
• 2004 - Spearheaded creation of 1,800,000-acre (7,300 km²) greenbelt in southern Ontario.^[10]
• 2005 - Certified four Toronto beaches the first blue flag beaches in Canada.^[11]
• 2006 – Worked to get new Clean Water Act passed in Ontario.^[12]
• 2006 – Toxic Nation campaign led to new national plan to better regulate toxic chemicals.<ref/”Harper introduces $300M plan to make Canada leader in chemical crackdown,” The National Post, page A6 – December 9, 2006</ref>
• 2007 - Helped pass Endangered Species Act in Ontario.^[13]

Environmental Defence websites

• Environmental Defence homepage
• Ontario Greenbelt Alliance
• Water Guardians Network
• Campaign Lake Simcoe
• Blue Flag

References

1. ^ "Friends of the Oldman River Society v. Canada (Minister of Transport), [1992] 1 S.C.R. 3" [Supreme Court of Canada Decision - January 23, 1992], site accessed 03/08/2007 http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/1992/1992rcs1-3/1992rcs1-3.html
2. ^ "N.S. trashes plan to build garbage incinerator in Halifax," The Gazette, page A8 - July 16, 1994
3. ^ "Weeds win Charter rights," The Globe and Mail, page A8 - September 13, 1996
4. ^ "Court approves injunction to halt Voisey construction," The Province, page A18 - August 27, 1997
5. ^ "Residents sue over contaminated soil," The Toronto Star, page A4 - March 27, 2001
6. ^ "Group moves to help residents in Inco case," Sudbury Star, page A5 - December 6, 2002.
7. ^ "Factoryfarm.org: Success Stories 2003" site accessed 14/08/2007 http://www.factoryfarm.org/resources/success/2003/
8. ^ "Council OKs bylaw to curb law pesticide," Globe and Mail, page A18 - May 23, 2003
9. ^ "Arsenic threat lurks in playground soil," The Globe and Mail, page A8 - January 5, 2003.
10. ^ "Greenbelt plan put into action; McGuinty unveils map of 325-km arc of protected land," Toronto Star, page A07 - March 1, 2005.
11. ^ "Beaches receive safety certification," The Globe and Mail, page A10 - June 28, 2005.
12. ^ ”Ontario legislature passes Clean Water Act,” The National Post, page A6 – October 19, 2006
13. ^ "MPPs pass species-at-risk bill," Toronto Star, page A7 - May 17, 2006.