This blog post is the second installment of a two-part series inspired by the proposed Environmental Bill of Rights that was introduced to Prince Edward Island’s Legislative Assembly on April 8, 2021.

On April 8, 2021, Bill 108—a proposed Environmental Bill of Rights—was introduced to Prince Edward Island’s Legislative Assembly. The bill was tabled as a Private Member’s Bill by Lynne Lund, Green MLA for Summerside-Wilmot and party Critic for Environment, Water, Climate Change and Green Development. If it were enacted as tabled, the bill would create substantive and procedural environmental rights for all residents of Prince Edward Island.

East Coast Environmental Law has been advocating for the creation of a Nova Scotian Biodiversity Act for some time, and we were pleased to see the Bill tabled. Others have responded with concern, and we are aware of several contentions now being voiced in opposition to the Bill.

Things have changed dramatically since February 29, 2020. On that date, while the global COVID-19 pandemic escalated, the Final Report of the Regional Assessment of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploratory Drilling East of Newfoundland and Labrador (“Newfoundland Offshore RA”) was published. This was Canada’s first regional assessment (RA): a new type of federal environmental assessment created through the Impact Assessment Act (IAA) structured to study and assess multiple potential or ongoing activities in a region and their environmental risks. RAs are intended to guide future decision-making in the region, accounting for cumulative effects of natural processes and anthropogenic activity.

What does it mean to be a treaty person in Canada today? The answer to that question will differ from person to person, as, for each of us, it depends on who we are, where we are from, and where we live and travel.

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.

As a soon-to-be second-year student at Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law, I had the opportunity to work with East Coast Environmental Law as a Legal Researcher this summer. It was a heartening surprise to work with an organization that specializes in Environmental Law, which I will soon be studying. I am truly grateful to have gained experience, knowledge, and connections to anchor my burgeoning path in Environmental Law, a path I did not expect to step on to so soon after my first year of legal studies.

I am so grateful to have had the incredible opportunity to complete an internship with the East Coast Environmental Law Association. I have always loved and admired the beauty, strength, and stability of the natural world. I have always cared deeply about the role the natural world plays in keeping the world not only healthy and balanced, but beautiful and meaningful. As such, I knew early on that I want to do everything I can to protect and restore the environment. As my education progressed, I also came to appreciate the deep importance of issues surrounding Indigenous peoples in Canada and how these issues so often intertwine with environmental issues. Eventually, I came to understand that law and policy play an integral role in both Indigenous and environmental issues. The law guides and influences everything that happens in our society. This means that if we can effect positive changes in the law, positive changes in society will follow. This is why my goal is to use the law as a tool for protecting the environment and pursuing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada throughout my legal career.