R v. Halifax (Regional Municipality), 2016 NSSC 37 (CanLII)

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

The Halifax Regional Municipality (“HRM”) was charged with having contravened Nova Scotia’s Environment Act by contravening a term or condition of the approval that governed the operations of the Otter Lake Solid Waste Management Facility. Specifically, the Crown alleged that the HRM had allowed the liquid effluent levels at the site to exceed what was allowable. The Judge of the first instance had granted the HRM’s motion for a directed verdict and acquitted the Municipality, as it held that the Crown had failed to prove the elements of the charge. The Crown appealed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, which determined that although the terms and conditions of the approval were ambiguous, the best interpretation was that the allowable limits for liquid effluent levels were limits on what could be discharged from the site rather than limits on what could be stored on the site. The Court therefore found that the Crown had failed to prove that the Otter Lake Facility had contravened the terms and conditions of its approval, and it affirmed the lower court’s decision to acquit.

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ns/nssc/doc/2016/2016nssc37/2016nssc37.html

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