We all know mr Chief and Mr Crystal are all knowing about everything , but here's an actual expert on the law weighing in with an opinion on the Canada Marble law suit.
From the Hawkesbury paper.
The $ 96 million lawsuit seems to me, at first sight, punitive and disproportionate to the specific issues of this case, "said David Robitaille, tenured professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law, during an interview. with our newspaper.
Canada Carbon would normally have had to ask the Court to declare the resolution illegal and assert its acquired rights. This is the heart of the dispute and such a lawsuit would only have taken a few days to discuss. The mining company then attempted to prove that its project complied with the old regulations and that it had received all the required approvals. "
"The burden of proof is very high in municipal law: the company must prove the serious bad faith of elected officials or their fundamentally disordered exercise of power. This does not seem to be the case for Grenville-sur-la-Rouge. "
Mr. Robitaille also deduces that the prosecution demonstrates an attack on local democracy. It states that the courts have clearly recognized that municipal councils may change their minds about projects, particularly when council composition changes after an election.
"The courts have also emphasized the important role of local authorities in protecting the environment and the public interest. In this case, the citizens expressed themselves in an election by bringing councilors who opposed the project to the council. That's what the company is attacking.
With climate change, the collective awareness of the need to protect the environment and the decline in social acceptability for projects of this kind, this tendency to prosecute astronomical sums against municipalities and elected officials could increase.
This results in creating a climate of fear among elected municipal officials who must manage the taxes of citizens. Who will want to present himself as an advisor if, once elected, he is liable to prosecution? ", Concluded Mr. Robitaille. |
