Press release - February 15, 2018
15 February 2018 (OTTAWA) — Environmental and legal experts will be available to speak to media about Greenpeace’s formal intervention in today’s Supreme Court of Canada hearing on a case that will determine whether bankrupt companies are responsible for cleaning up their toxic industrial sites.
15 February 2018 (OTTAWA) — Environmental and legal experts will be available to speak to media about Greenpeace’s formal intervention in today’s Supreme Court of Canada hearing on a case that will determine whether bankrupt companies are responsible for cleaning up their toxic industrial sites.
Billions of dollars are at stake in the case, Orphan Well Association, et al. v. Grant Thornton Limited, et al. Under federal bankruptcy law, banks and creditors are seeking to avoid the costs of cleaning up debtors’ abandoned oil wells. On the opposite side of the bench, the Alberta Energy Regulator, farmers and environmental organizations cite provincial legislation, exorbitant costs on taxpayers, and the risk of water and soil contamination to hold oil company polluters to their environmental clean up responsibilities.
Greenpeace will argue that the environment is an “involuntary creditor” and that there is no conflict between federal and provincial legislation — cooperative federalism is at core of Canada’s environmental protection regime, which recognizes the “polluter pays” principle (see statement and link to Intervenor factum here).
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WHO: Keith Stewart, Senior Energy Strategist at Greenpeace Canada. Keith has a Ph.D. in political science (focus on environmental policy) and has been working on energy issues in Canada for two decades. Nader Hasan is a constitutional law expert and Greenpeace’s legal counsel. Nader represented the Inuit hamlet of Clyde River last year in their landmark Supreme Court victory against oil exploration in Arctic waters.
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WHERE: Supreme Court of Canada, 301 Wellington St., Ottawa. Following the hearing, Nader and Keith will be available to provide commentary from Ottawa-area television and radio studios.
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Contact:
Keith Stewart, Senior Energy Strategist, Greenpeace Canada, (416) 659-0294,
Nader Hasan, Stockwoods Barristers, (416) 593-1668,