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ARTICLE · 17 JANUARY 2022

Injunctive Relief As A Remedy For Ongoing Contamination: Ward v. Cariboo Regional District

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On July 30, 2021, the British Columbia Supreme Court released reasons for judgment in Ward v. Cariboo Regional District, 2021 BCSC 1495, shedding light on the wide breadth of injunctive relief available in ...

CanadaEnvironment
Heather L. Jones
Heather L. Jones
Steven Evans
Steven Evans
Harleen Brar
Harleen Brar
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On July 30, 2021, the British Columbia Supreme Court released reasons for judgment in Ward v. Cariboo Regional District, 2021 BCSC 1495, shedding light on the wide breadth of injunctive relief available in circumstances of ongoing environmental contamination.1 The decision shows that a party responsible for depositing a polluting substance on another's property will bear responsibility to fix the situation, to remove that substance and remediate the property, and the legal consequences it may face if it fails to do so in a reasonable manner.2

Factual Background

The Plaintiffs are the owners of a rural residential property near Williams Lake, British Columbia (the "Property"). The Property is serviced by a gravity sewage system operated by the Defendant, the Cariboo Regional District (the "District"). In 2015, a power outage resulted in an estimated 49,000 gallons of raw sewage flooding the Property, including the Plaintiffs' basement and pasture, and resulted

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