Summer Student Series 2020: Ian MacKinnon

September 11, 2020

Amongst the uncertainty associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding delays to my articling position, I was very excited to be able to work with East Coast Environmental Law once again. Having completed my Environmental Law Certificate through the Marine and Environmental Law Institute at Schulich School of Law, I was grateful for another opportunity to be directly involved in environmental law issues in the Atlantic region.

This summer, my primary focus was developing environmental impact assessment Summary Series documents, which will be used to promote public legal education about the impact assessment processes for each of the four Atlantic provinces. Specifically, the documents’ purpose is to provide the public with information about the available assessment regimes within their province, so as to facilitate greater public participation and engagement throughout the decision-making processes. This was accomplished not only by outlining a province’s specific assessment procedures, but also by highlighting those opportunities within the process that welcome some form of public engagement.

In addition to my environmental impact assessment work, I was able to contribute to two other projects as well. The first project gave me an opportunity to work with materials related to Indigenous and environmental rights and to review the proposed Environmental Bill of Rights for Nova Scotia that East Coast Environmental Law and the Nova Scotia Environmental Rights Working Group launched in April 2017. And finally, at the end of the summer, I was responsible for reviewing and finalizing a report on species at risk in New Brunswick. 

Like my past experience working with East Coast Environmental Law, I once again felt as though I was a valuable member of the team and was always encouraged to participate, ask questions and learn about everyone’s ongoing work. Not only has all of my experience with East Coast Environmental Law been interesting and rewarding, but it has also provided me with the skills and confidence necessary for starting my legal career. 

Ian MacKinnon

Ian's work with us was funded by the Canada Summer Jobs program.