Law Times

Page 6 November 21, 2016 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com electoral fight ahead of her to keep her job, she radi- ated everything that made her proud to be a judge. Good people doing good work — that's the part each professional can take to heart. LT COMMENT ©2016 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written per- mission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Law Times disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reli- ance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. LT.editor@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS $199.00 + HST per year in Canada for print and online (HST Reg. #R121351134), $199 + HST per year for online only. Single copies are $5.00. Circulation inquiries, postal returns and address changes should include a copy of the mailing label(s) and should be sent to Law Times One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto ON, M1T 3V4. Return postage guaranteed. Contact Keith Fulford at .............. 416-649-9585 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . or fax: 416-649-7870 keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com SALES AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Advertising inquiries and materials should be directed to Sales, Law Times, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON, M1T 3V4 or call: Business Development Consultant: Ivan Ivanovitch ...................................416-887-4300 ivan.ivanovitch@tr.com Canadian Sales Director, Legal Canada: Brett Thomson ....................................416-881-4013 brett.thomson@tr.com Client Development Manager: Grace So .............................................416-903-4473 grace.so@tr.com Account Manager: Kimberlee Pascoe ...............................416-996-1739 kimberlee.pascoe@tr.com Account Executive: Steffanie Munroe ................................416-315-5879 steffanie.munroe@tr.com Director/Group Publisher . . . . . . . . . Karen Lorimer Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Brown Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gabrielle Giroday Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alex Robinson Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia Cancilla CaseLaw Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leah Craven Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phyllis Barone Production Co-ordinator . . . . . . . . .Catherine Giles Electronic Production Specialist . . . Derek Welford Law Times Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON • M1T 3V4 • Tel: 416-298-5141 • Fax: 416-649-7870 www.lawtimesnews.com LT.editor@thomsonreuters.com • @lawtimes u EDITORIAL OBITER By Gabrielle Giroday A different world It is amazing how significant the election of a new United States pres- ident has been north of the border. This week, there are three stories in Law Times that highlight how the election of a new United States president will affect life in Canada. In one, the significance of a judge wearing a hat bearing the president's campaign slogan has come under dispute. In another, boutique immigration firms discuss how the elec- tion could boost Canada's ability to attract top talent. In a third, columnist Doron Gold shares profoundly wise advice on handling election-related anxiety. On a recent vacation to the United States in the days before the election, I happened to meet a Republican judge running for re-elec- tion in her state. She was thoughtful and clearly devoted to her work, beaming and expressing pride about her graduates from drug court. She loved her job and had handled tricky, high-profile cases, sub- ject to extensive media scrutiny. She had been beaten before, in running for a position on the bench. Campaigning for the judge's job was tough, she told me. I was lucky to meet her, as she reminded me that the stability of Canada's judiciary is an asset. In uncertain times, I was so delighted to hear that regardless of the Legislation closes circle on waste and CO2 C ome the new year, there are going to be a lot of headlines around Ontario's cap-and-trade regime. It kicks in Jan. 1 and the howling will start because gasoline, nat- ural gas and electricity will all cost more, fuelling the already smouldering resent- ment of this government as it ramps up for a general election in 2018. While cap-and-trade will be in the spotlight, Bill 151, the Waste-Free On- tario Act, also bears scrutiny. It scraps Waste Diversion Ontario, the electronics and tire-recycling agency, and replaces it with the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority, a new agency with regulatory powers and compliance en- forcement authority. Those powers are extensive, includ- ing the right to seek a search warrant from a Justice of the Peace, seizure pow- ers and the ability to demand documents and force companies to explain why they haven't complied or what they've done to comply. The act also touches on a myriad of existing legislation and asserts provin- cial interest and authority, giving it a wider mandate in future regulation and legislation. Fe de Leon, a researcher with the Ca- nadian Environmental Law Association, says the new agency directors have yet to be named and things won't get going for a few months yet. However, there are con- cerns out of the gate, she says, as to who is driving policies forward. "We'd rather see the min- ster driving the bus here, not the new agency, which should take direction," she says. The premise behind this law is to reduce Ontario's waste stream going to land- fill to zero and reduce GhG emissions from waste to zero. Like cap-and-trade, the details of ex- ecution remain vague. There are some 800 or more active landfill sites and the plan is to eventually close most, if not all. The Ontario Waste Management As- sociation says that in 2014 Ontarians generated more than 12 million tonnes of waste, 75 per cent of which went to landfill. At that rate, existing landfill sites will be full some time between 2025 and 2030, the OWMA estimates, although it notes Ontario's own figures suggest it could be sooner rather than later. This is the next phase of the Blue Box programs that started more than 30 years ago. While we already sepa- rate out our household or- ganic, recyclables and regu- lar garbage waste, we're go- ing to pay more for garbage that ends up in landfill, so there will be incentives to di- vert that stream. Also, manufacturers and importers will be respon- sible for their packaging and will ultimately pay the $230-million cost of the Blue Box program and be responsible for all waste stream costs created by their products and will have a vested interest in making recycling more effi- cient. The Ontario waste sector generated nine metric tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2013, about five per cent of the provin- cial total, with 93 per cent of that com- ing in the form of methane from organic solid waste in landfills. Part of the plan is to process organic waste through anaerobic digestion to control and capture methane as a fuel piped back into the natural gas grid rather than release it to the atmosphere. This, ostensibly, is the end of Genera- tion Waste. The linear economy is buy, consume and dispose; the circular economy, to which we're moving, minimizes the use of raw materials. Instead of dispos- ing of things, they are repaired, resold or recycled and re-engineered into new products. There are also jobs in the offing. The government estimates that for every 1,000 tonnes of waste diverted in Ontar- io, seven jobs will be created. Of course, they promised a jobs bonanza from the Green Energy Act that never material- ized, too. Still, to a politician, it sounds idyllic. Cut costs and CO2 and create jobs. It sounds plausible enough, but three companies have gone bust in the last five years despite investing tens of millions into recycling and remanufacturing plants. With an election looming, there's a huge political risk here in forcing such a fundamental change on to an already hurting electorate and a bigger risk that this government will over-promise and under-deliver, again. LT uIan Harvey has been a journalist for more than 40 years writing about a di- verse range of issues including legal and political affairs. His email address is ianharvey@rogers.com. Queen's Park Ian Harvey

• Cover