In March 2021, I wrote a blog post on Nova Scotia’s Bill 4, An Act to Provide for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Nova Scotia. The Bill had just passed second reading in the Nova Scotia Legislature and was on its way to the Law Amendments Committee for a mandated public review before it would return to the Legislature for its third and final reading. The text of the Bill that I considered, and wrote about, on March 17 was much different from that of the Bill that ultimately passed third reading on April 13, 2021.

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.