Environmental Law and the Citizen – Roadmaps and Roadblocks
« Are our laws and courts failing to protect our wilderness? An expert panel exploring ongoing efforts to protect our ecosystems
Are Canadian laws and courts failing to protect our ecosystems? An expert panel exploring Canada’s attempts to protect the environment will aim to answer this question. We will explore topics like the effectiveness of environmental assessments, the intrinsic rights of nature, and why there is incentive to destroy green spaces for the benefit of development.
Meet the panel
Our panelists are Richard Janda, McGill professor of law, Dr. Yenny Vega Cardenas, Université de Montréal professor of law, Devon Page, Executive Director of Ecojustice Canada, and Peter Trent, former mayor as well as author. We also welcome special guest, Alison Hackney, Legacy Fund co-founder and activist. You can find their full bios below.
Peter Trent: Following an entrepreneurial business career, Peter Trent was elected Mayor of Westmount in 1991, stepping down in 2017. He led the fight against Montreal municipal mergers; then, as a private citizen, led the demerger movement. His book, The Merger Delusion, was a finalist for Canada’s best political book of the year. Mr Trent is a director of the Jarislowsky Foundation, the MGH Foundation, Les amis de la montagne, and the STM.
Devon Page: Devon Page is the Executive Director of Ecojustice, Canada’s largest environmental law charity. Devon spent his first seven years at Ecojustice channeling his love of wilderness into protecting Canada’s endangered birds, wildlife and fish. Devon obtained the first injunction in Canada to stop logging in old-growth forests home to an endangered species — the northern spotted owl — and launched the first cases under federal species at risk legislation. Devon became Executive Director in 2008, emphasizing litigation around key environmental and legal priorities, and expanding operations across Canada.
Dr. Yenny Vega Cardenas: Dr. Yenny Vega Cárdenas is President of the International Observatory on the Rights of Nature. She has been involved in the recognition of rights and personhood to the Magpie River, a first in Canada’s history. A lawyer in Quebec and in Colombia, with a Master’s degree in Business Law and a Ph.D. in Water Resources Law, she has been promoting the recognition of the Saint-Lawrence River in Canada as a subject of rights, as well as with communities here and abroad to encourage the shift toward an eco-centered paradigm.
Richard Janda: Richard [B.A., LL.B, B.C.L, LL.M] is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law at McGill University and an Associate Member of the McGill School of Environment. He began discussing and writing about climate impact scores and climate change, in 2012. Richard conducted the first experiment with Juan Pinto in 2013 and they co-founded Myko the following year. He is leading research into the problem of changing behavioural and social norms in real-time and has a particular interest in the governance of public goods.
Alison Hackney: Alison Hackney, activist and Legacy Fund board member is also a wildlife biologist with degrees from McGill University and Université du Québec à Montréal. She was the owner and operator of La Ferme du Fort Senneville where her best crop was other farmers. She has served on the boards of the Green Coalition and Bird Protection Quebec and was part of Sauvons L’Anse-à-L’Orme’s successful campaign to protect the land now incorporated into the new Grand Parc de l’Ouest. »
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Un événement organisé par Legacy Fund for the Environment