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LEGAL REPORT/ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW A growing area E nvironmental law has become one of the hot- test areas of law in Canada and abroad, both in terms of contentious issues to resolve for the good of society and the number of young lawyers looking to carve a niche in the profession. This fact has not been lost on the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law, which in recent years has seen its stable of envi- ronmental law scholars swell. The university has pumped out a long list of cutting-edge research through its IUCN Academy of Environmental Law University of Ottawa environmental law centre to bring together law and other environmental issues and disciplines in a unique milieu. BY ROBERT TODD and national green economy think-tank Global Sustainability. The school has also gained notoriety for hosting the Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic. But with all these siloed efforts, assistant professor Nathalie Chalifour says a sin- gle unifying body was needed to create synergies. Enter the school's new Centre for Environmental Law and Global Sustainability. The centre will serve as a research hub to promote interdisciplin- ary collaboration, and host a range of research projects, public lectures, con- ferences, and seminars on environmen- tal law issues. Chalifour, the centre's director, says it will also help the school attract top environmental law faculty and students. On top of that, it will focus on making significant contributions to environmental law in Canada generally. She notes the centre's creation is par- ticularly timely in light of the increasing segmentation within its subject area. "Environmental law is not a single topic anymore," says Chalifour. "It's really something that needs to be studied in intersection with a whole bunch of other subjects, both within law and outside of law. So the centre gives us an oppor- tunity to develop expertise, not just in Nathalie Chalifour at the official launch of the Centre for Environmental Law and Global Sustainability. www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com SEPTEMBER 2011 43