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ARTICLE · 08 NOVEMBER 2010

Now Can They Make You Talk?

Siskinds LLP
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Most of the "Open for Business Act" changes to Ontario environmental laws won’t take effect till next year or so. But one important change has already happened: they may be able to make you talk.

CanadaEnvironment
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Most of the "Open for Business Act" changes to Ontario environmental laws won't take effect till next year or so. But one important change has already happened: they may be able to make you talk.

For more than 20 years, there has been an uneasy tug of war between the Ministry of the Environment's desire to obtain evidence of environmental offences, and the reluctance of those facing the ministry's enforcement muscle to give them that evidence. The courts have upheld the rights of individuals and businesses to decline to answer such questions, except where there is a current emergency. That is, where the ministry requires information right now to deal with a spill or other environmental crisis that is underway, the businesses and individuals have had to comply. But where the ministry is simply seeking to force people to confess details of problems that have occurred in the past, people have had a right to remain silent. This was upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal

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