Question 1

Compliance with the general provincial occupational health and safety legislation is always enough to avoid contract and tort liability.

Accepted Answer

Compliance with general provincial occupational health and safety legislation does not necessarily shield an employer from contract or tort liability, as there may be additional duties or standards of care required under contract law or tort law that go beyond the minimum requirements of occupational health and safety legislation.

Question 2

What workers' rights are given up in exchange for the benefit of compensation under workers' compensation legislation?

Accepted Answer

Workers must give up the right to sue their employer (in tort or contract) for causing their injuries.

Question 3

What actions may be appropriate for a professional engineer to take if an owner requests the engineer to certify work which the owner and the engineer agree does not comply with the building code?&#10;A) refuse to certify the work&#10;B) explain to the owner that the engineer has a duty to report code breaches to the regulatory authority&#10;C) report the incident to the regulatory authority if the owner refuses to rectify it&#10;D) all of the above

Accepted Answer

But, if after doing B, the owner promptly arranges for the work to be rectified and there is no immediate safety concern, the engineer probably need not report the incident to the regulatory authority.

Question 4

Where federal and provincial statutes both deal with the same issue, the federal legislation will always apply and the provincial one will not.

Accepted Answer

In Canada, when federal and provincial statutes both address the same issue, the principle of federal paramountcy applies. This means that if the two laws conflict, the federal law will prevail, but if they can coexist, both laws can apply. However, it's not accurate to say the provincial law will not apply in all cases where both levels of government have legislation on the same issue.

Question 5

What is the difference between an environmental site assessment and an environmental audit?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the difference between an environmental...

Question 6

Who may pass laws relating to acceptable standards of land contamination?&#10;A) federal government&#10;B) provincial government&#10;C) municipalities&#10;D) all of the above

Accepted Answer

The federal government can set standards for federal land. The provincial government can set standards for provincial land, or delegate the authority to municipalities to do so.

Question 7

What type of environmental assessment would likely be required for a pipeline project that will cut through First Nations land and will disrupt the migratory path of three species of nearly extinct animals?

A) screening
B) comprehensive study
C) mediation
D) panel review

Accepted Answer

Panel review is the most intense form of environmental assessment, and would be the likely option for such a sensitive project.

Deck 12: Environmental Law, Health and Safety Law