Assessing the success of Nova Scotia's environmental legislation

In 2007, the Government of Nova Scotia passed the Environmental Goals and Sustainability Prosperity Act (EGSPA). It was designed to make Nova Scotia a world leader in environmental protection, enshrining 21 environmental goals.

So how are we doing?

That’s the question considered by a new issue of the Dalhousie Law Journal, published to mark the EGSPA’s fifth anniversary. It includes articles that examine the legislation from various fields, including law, management and the social sciences.

The issue was launched at an event in the Mona Campbell Building on Thursday, January 31, attended by Premier Darrell Dexter, contributors to the journal, and students and faculty of the College of Sustainability.

William Lahey, professor at the Schulich School of Law (left), told the audience that “all academics have one wish — that their research be relevant,” and he continued, “your presence, Premier Dexter, at today’s event tells us that this work is indeed relevant in the realm of public policy.” Prof. Lahey has a unique perspective on the issue, having served as deputy minister of the environment for the province. He helped draft the Nova Scotia Environmental Act in 1992.

Meinhard Doelle, associate dean of research and director of the Marine & Environmental Law Institute, said, “Although the authors of this special issue conclude that the EGSPA legislation has been effective, evidence indicates that the Act and its implementation will have to be strengthened over time if it is to achieve its more ambitious goal of international leadership in sustainable prosperity."

Feature articles in the special issue of the Dal Law Journal include:

• Meinhard Doelle (right) and William Lahey: “Negotiating the Interface of Environmental and Economic Governance: Nova Scotia’s Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act”
• A. John Sinclair and Lisa Quinn: “From Idea to Practice: Sustainable Development Efforts in Manitoba”
• SRES prof Peter Duinker: “In Search of ‘Compass and Gyroscope’: Where Were Adaptive Management and Principled Negotiation in Nova Scotia’s Forest-Strategy Process?”
• Susan Tirone (Associate Director of the College of Sustainability), Karen Gallant & Katie Sykes: “‘And the People of the Province’: EGSPA’s Social Deficit”
  

Copies of the EGSPA issue of the Dalhousie Law Journal (Vol. 35 No. 1) are available for $30. For more information, visit its website.