Published In
Review of Constitutional Studies
Document Type
Working Paper
Publication Date
2016
Subjects
Environmental Law; Environmental Assessment; Rule of Law; Deliberative Democracy; Stephen Harper
Abstract
The article argues that Harper’s dramatic changes to federal environmental assessment give rise to a two-dimensional legacy in environmental law: first, a legacy of impoverished environmental decision-making that reflects a narrow, resource-oriented vision of the environment, and second, a legacy of undermining democratic and rule-of-law values in environmental law. The crux of this latter legacy is the argument that environmental assessment law provides an essential framework for publicly-justified decision-making in the Canadian environmental context. Indeed, as I suggest in this article, environmental assessment presently performs a quasi-constitutional role in Canadian environmental decision-making in the sense that it provides the means by which the federal government fulfills its constitutional obligation to govern the environment in accordance with the rule of law.
Citation Details
Jocelyn Stacey, "The Environmental, Democratic, and Rule-of-Law Implications of Harper's Environmental Assessment Legacy" ([forthcoming in 2016]) Rev Const Stud.
NOTE: The "Download" button above will provide access to a working draft, and the "Find in your Library" button below will provide access to the final published version.