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New York, and three non-profit entities had standing to seek an injunction against six electrical utilities to restrict greenhouse gas emissions based on a public nuisance claim. State of Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co. Inc. is considered significant as it took the issue of climate change and emissions out of the realm of politics and into the courts. The appeal of Connecticut is now with the U.S. Supreme Court and a decision is expected in June. Partner Paul Cassidy of Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP agrees clients, both governments and corporations, have climate-change issues "on the legal radar." But still, he says: "There is no current evidence that we are seeing a trend or tidal wave of litigation of climate-change impact." Cassidy also believes Canada will not see a spike in litigation similar to the U.S. because the systems for bringing suits forward "differs with the U.S. providing more opportunity." He also says Canada in the past, as evidenced in the Ontario forest industry, has been able to create public dialogue on issues with hearings or commissions and arrive at solutions. "There are other ways of effective environmental discussion without going to the courts," he says, adding this might be "a Canadian way" between an outright conflict, such as B.C.'s "war in the woods," and court battles. Climate-change concerns are also starting to trickle down to corporate shareholders. Lawson Lundell LLP's Amy Carruthers, who practises corporate-commercial law with a focus on the renewable energy industry, says her corporate clients are aware of shareholder concerns. "Shareholders are looking for account- ability and disclosure and want to know about the company plan. What risk is being faced and how do they plan to address such risk," she says. Such concerns start right at project development, permitting, siting, and through to the operation of the facility. As a result, they are turning to legal advisers who can ensure every- thing complies with regulations. Renewable energy projects have also come under scrutiny with their siting. "Even projects that are climate-friendly have hurdles," she says. Saskatchewan-based Gary A. Meschishnick, a past chairman of the national environmental law section of the Canadian Bar Association, says his province has not experienced the conflicts seen in B.C. and Alberta. At the same time, traditional problems such as contaminated sites or water-quality issues are at the fore- front rather than overarching concerns about global warming. But recent bouts of flooding in Saskatchewan have started to move the liability and risk concerns of global warming forward, he acknowledges. Despite this, environmental law is still a small part of any ing. B.C. and Ontario have brought forward feed-in tariff pro- grams allowing the development of a wide range of electrical power sources such as run-of-river, solar, wind, and biomass. Environmental issues are developing around alternate energy and more lawyers' practices "straddle" those fields. "Another growth has been on the regulatory front and water issues have been big in this area," he says. Stefaniuk, along with Duff Harper from Blakes' environmental law group in Calgary, is chairing a Canadian Bar Association national environmental, energy and resources law conference April 7 to 9 in Banff on water law. "The main issue being focused upon is allocation," he says. "Who is entitled to what and where it goes, as well as the pro- tection of it." He says protection could also extend to groundwater and original sources. Some issues that have arisen are where using pressured water to drive oil deposits to the surface conflict with aquifers and groundwater sources. Another "crossover" area has been in First Nations consulting, which often involves environmental impact on lands, he says. But the field of environmental lawyers is still small, he says, estimating that between 100 to 150 lawyers in Canada today practise envi- ronmental law more than 50 per cent of the time. "And they tend to be concentrated in the larger centres," he says, "such as Toronto and Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver." PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY ntitled-5 1 practice in Saskatchewan, he says. "We see a lot of environmental issues dealt with but not on a lawyer's desk. It's through a regula- tory process and a government office," he says, adding that when a dispute does arise, "it is resolved before people call a lawyer." Meschishnick believes the reason for this is a strong provincial history of agricultural and water use, which has led to established practices. John Stefaniuk of Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP views environmental law in Manitoba as still "a growth area" but in "crossover" areas such as clean energy rather than global warm- ntitled-5 1 Supreme Court of Canada Counsel and Agency Services Henry S. Brown, QC Brian A. Crane, QC Guy Régimbald Martin W. Mason Graham Ragan Matthew Estabrooks Eduard J. Van Bemmel, Law Clerk 4/6/09 4:20:13 PM montréal ottawa toronto hamilton waterloo region 160 Elgin StreetSuite 2600OttawaOntarioK1P 1C3T 613-233-1781 calgary vancouver moscow london www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com A PRIL 2011 53 12/13/10 3:13:40 PM