Written by: Kevin Latimer, KC. Facing daunting capital and operational challenges, Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) has amended its wastewater discharge bylaw to allow for cost recovery of wastewater services through a user pay model. The municipality sees this as the first step in a larger transformation. Like many Canadian municipalities, CBRM had aging wastewater […]
Now that two provincial governments have taken steps to streamline municipal decision-making on priority issues, maybe it’s time for municipal governments to consider whether, in the public interest, they themselves should examine ways to streamline other municipal processes. In both Ontario and Nova Scotia, provincial governments have dramatically changed the balance of power, ensuring that, […]
The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has been busy creating a new land title and economic development regime as the framework for the impending development of the wind-hydrogen industry in the province. This process has been proceeding since mid-2022 and has recently reached two critical milestones. On February 23, Newfoundland and Labrador Government (Government) released […]
Twelve years after the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment introduced a Canada-Wide Action Plan for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), it’s time for Nova Scotia to consider shifting the burden of waste management from municipalities to producers. In a traditional waste management system, municipalities are responsible for operating waste collection and management. With EPR […]
A 10 year review of appeals of municipal planning decisions before the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) shows that the UARB rarely overturns decisions of municipal councils and even more rarely if the appeal has been launched by interested citizens. Appeals by developers have been marginally more successful. But it would be wrong […]