Coalition of Citizens for a Charter Challenge v. Metropolitan Authority, 1993 CanLII 4582 (NS SC)

This case was heard in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.

In 1989, the Metropolitan Authority (which represented the Town of Bedford, the Municipality of the County of Halifax, the City of Dartmouth, and the City of Halifax), began to explore options for a new waste management facility in the region. The Metropolitan Authority established a Solid Waste Management Advisory Committee ("SWMAC"), and in 1990 the SWMAC produced a shortlist of three waste-management options. Only one of these options included incineration as part of the suggested program, and that option was ranked third. In 1991, the Metropolitan Authority approved a waste-management system that included incineration, and in 1992 it initiated the formal environmental assessment process that was required under Nova Scotia’s Environmental Assessment Act.

In 1993, a group of concerned citizens and organizations formed the Coalition of Citizens for a Charter Challenge. The Coalition wished to challenge the Metropolitan Authority’s decision to adopt a waste-management plan that included incineration, but before the issue could proceed to trial, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia had to decide whether the Coalition had standing. To do that, the Court considered whether the Coalition had raised an issue that was both serious and justiciable (i.e., one that courts had the authority to consider), whether the Coalition had a “genuine interest” in the issue, and whether there was any alternative means to bring the issue forward.

Counsel for the Metropolitan Authority argued that because the proposed waste-management plan would be put through a strict environmental assessment process, it was premature to bring the issue before the courts. After considering the Coalition’s arguments, the Court disagreed. The Coalition had decided to use Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms as the basis for its challenge, claiming that the air pollution caused by the incineration would interfere with citizens’ constitutional rights to life, liberty, and security of the person. Since the environmental assessment process was not equipped to deal with Charter challenges, the Coalition argued, the case needed to come before the courts. With this in mind, the Court granted the Coalition standing and allowed the issue to proceed to trial.

To read about this case in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, go to Metropolitan Authority v. Coalition of Citizens for a Charter Challenge, 1993 CanLII 3111 (NS CA). 

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ns/nssc/doc/1993/1993canlii4582/1993canlii4582.html

Disclaimer:
Case briefs in our Resource Library are drafted by law students who work or volunteer with East Coast Environmental Law, and East Coast Environmental Law does not guarantee their fullness or accuracy. Library users should not rely on case briefs as comprehensive accounts of the issues, facts, reasoning, or outcomes at stake in any given case. 

If you require more detailed information about a court decision or legal issue, please consider using our Environmental Law Inquiry Service to request information from our staff.