Le droit pénal de l’environnement : une garantie d'impunité ?

The limits of pollution authorized by law are constantly being exceeded in Quebec and throughout Canada, as evidenced by acid rain, the disposal of dangerous refuse in nature and the uncontrolled use of pesticides. The criminal law on the environment exists, to be sure, but its application is highly relative. In principle, certain infractions under the Criminal Code can be used against polluters but the State rarely makes use of them. As to the statutory criminal law -the main subject of this article - the author notes that it suffers from a lack of clarity and precision. Complex and unorganized, it is characterized by a multitude of infractions and a disparity of sanctions. However, the fact is that the public administration very seldom resorts to the provisions of this law to have industrial activities conform to the laws and regulations. When it does do so, very often the courts hesitate to impose sanctions of a truly deterrent nature. In spite of all this, the fact is that the main obstacle to the criminal law on the environment is the lack of firm determination on the part of the legislators and public administrations to use severe measures against polluters. As long as this political will is lacking, notes the author, certain major industrials will continue to contaminate the environment with impunity

Le droit de l'environnement et le commerce international : quelques enjeux déterminants

Sous la pression de la mondialisation des échanges commerciaux, les tentatives d'harmonisation des normes et l'uniformisation des conditions d'exercice du commerce international ont entraîné de nombreuses modifications du droit. Ainsi, dans chacun des pays, la réglementation environnementale suit de près les orientations dès marchés et le commerce international dicte des contenus normatifs tout en exerçant une large part du contrôle de la conformité. L'étendue de cette emprise dépend, d'une part, de la portée accordée aux règles du libre-échange et, d'autre part, de l'étendue de la déréglementation environnementale en réponse aux pressions des marchés. En ce domaine, plusieurs clarifications restent à faire. Elles dépendent de l'évolution des relations entre le commerce international et la protection de l'environnement, de l'adaptation des règles commerciales au nouveau contexte international de la protection de l'environnement et des tensions qu'elles suscitent entre pays développés et pays en développement.Propelled by the globalization of commercial trade, attempts to coordinate the standards and uniformity of conditions for carrying on international commerce have brought about numerous changes in the law. As such, in each country environmental regulation has closely followed market orientations and international trade has imposed standardized content while exercising to a significant degree control over compliance. The extent of this control depends, on the one hand, on the scope given to free trade and, on the other, the measure of deregulatory action in answer to market pressure. Many issues remain to be clarified in this area. They depend on the evolution of relations between international trade and environmental protection, on the adaptation of commercial rules to the new international context of environmental protection and the tensions they generate between developed countries and those in the process of development

Le contrôle juridique des précipitations acides

Acid rain — which is a result of chemical alteration of sulfur and nitrogen oxydes when combined in the atmosphere with moisture — each year causes damages beyond repair to the environment. Because of the long-range transportation of pollutants and the local sensitivity of soils, Eastern Canada is particularly affected. The Province of Quebec is one prime target and it receives downwind air pollutants from the United States and Ontario. This article deals with the law as it relates to acid rain and studies recent developments at local, national and international levels. It analyses laws, regulations and by-laws under which governments regulate and control the precursor pollutants of acid rain. Until now government has not satisfactorily addressed the problem of acid rain so as to propose legal solutions. This is partly due to long-range transportation of pollutants which raises the question to an international level, making the issue of a negotiation on the subject between Canada and United States crucial

The Changing Aspects of Nature in Art

The purpose of this study Is to explain my theory of painting. Why I paint as I do Is a conplex natter. My painting Is neither accidental nor the tracing of surface reality. Neither my painting techniques nor the philosophy which guides then is purely spontaneous. On the contrary, both have consciously evolved out of the past. In this study I attempt to explain all the elements on which I have drawn on in my search for expression. (1) While my philosophy Is expressive of the realities of this atomic age. it Is still aware of Plato\u27s Insight Into reality. (2) While my techniques are somewhat In keeping with modern expressionism, they are definitely modified by classical overtones. (3) While my philosophy controls which I see, while my techniques control how I express what I see, and while I am not at all satisfied that I have achieved a proper fusion of these elements, the product bears that modification of those elements which make my unique expression

Child Poverty and Child Welfare in Nebraska

Children represent the fastest growing group of poor people in the United States today. An increase in the number of children living with one parent, an increase in unwed teenage pregnancy, a lack of child support, lower wages and benefits for women than for men, the cost of child care, and unemployment and underemployment in two-parent families contribute to child poverty. Policy options ranging from changing eligibility requirements for assistance programs to establishing state funded health insurance programs are presented. Methods of responding to abused and neglected children have changed dramatically. The effect of PI 96-272 on the child welfare system is analyzed, and the unique problems of Indian children are also discussed

La reconnaissance internationale des droits environnementaux : le droit de l’environnement en quête d’effectivité

La hantise des contraintes sociales et environnementales apparaît de plus en plus comme une des caractéristiques principales du processus de mondialisation économique. Elle se traduit notamment par une opposition constante des grandes entreprises à toute idée d’universalisation des normes environnementales. Cependant, la reconnaissance internationale du droit à l’environnement pourrait changer cet état de choses et générer peu à peu un contenu normatif minimal, des standards environnementaux nécessaires à la vie et à la santé humaine, liant l’ensemble des acteurs de la société civile. Dès lors, les États et les entreprises ne pourraient plus s’abriter derrière des engagements flous et des termes vagues et les droits environnementaux pourraient, au même titre que les autres droits fondamentaux, donner une voix aux victimes d’atteintes graves à l’environnement. Cet article s’intéresse à l’état du droit international relativement à ces enjeux et à ces attentes.An apprehension of social and environmental restrictions is increasingly coming to the fore as one of the main characteristics of the process of economic globalization. This is especially true in the continuous opposition by large businesses regarding any innovation for generalizing environmental standards worldwide. Nonetheless, legal international recognition for environmental issues could change this situation and slowly generate a minimal set of standards governing environmental concerns essential for life and healthy humans, thereby uniting all members of civil society. As such, States and businesses would no longer be able to take refuge behind ambiguous agreements drafted in vague terms and environmental rights could, just as do fundamental rights, give a voice to victims of serious threats to the environment. This paper deals with the status of international law as regards these critical factors and these expectations

Affordable Housing for Sustainable Cities: A North American Perspective, Detroit Metropolitan Area and Montreal (Quebec)

Housing is an integral part to elevating and maintaining a quality of life to ensure a healthy and productive citizenship. The overwhelming number of citizens in Montreal and the United States who are unable to find housing that is less than 33% of their income stifles that economic progression of individuals and the society in which these individuals live. The ability for cities to dictate their own plans for creating and maintaining affordable housing without mandates from the federal vacillates among the various levels of government with each level having certain positive and negative elements. Although city autonomy can provide tailored solutions, the financial and logistical pitfalls of a narrow city-centered approach to affordable housing will not eradicate the affordable housing crisis in any country. In this paper, specific housing policies of two North American cities in or near Montreal and Detroit are deconstructed to provide insight into the financing and creation of affordable housing and examination of the effect on the sustainability of the areas. This paper compares and contrasts economic development policies initiated by the city of Detroit and their effects on surrounding suburbs with the legal framework of affordable housing in Quebec