The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s application to appeal its case against the controversial contaminated soil landfill above Shawnigan Lake.
The fact that it was dismissed “with costs” could also have financial implications for the district.
Jon Lefebure, chairman of the CVRD, said the regional district is “disappointed” as it felt it was important the decision by the B.C. Court of Appeal, made on Nov. 3, 2016, on the issue be reviewed.
“The B.C. Court of Appeal decision has significantly limited local government’s ability to regulate certain activities associated with mining, as the court found was the case with Cobble Hill Holdings’ contaminated soil landfill facility at their rock quarry operation in Shawnigan Lake,” Lefebure said.
“That is not in the best interest of our communities.”
The Supreme Court offered no reasons for its decision by press time.
The regional district had asked that the Supreme Court to review the decision made by the BC Court of Appeal that allowed the landfill, owned by Cobble Hill Holdings, to continue operations at the time.
That decision reversed a ruling made by the BC Supreme Court on March 21 that found that the landfill is not a permitted use of the property under the CVRD’s zoning bylaws.
The CVRD argued that the BC Court of Appeal erred in setting aside “key factual findings” of the case, and that the court incorrectly determined that provincial mining decisions take exclusive precedence over the regional district’s land-use bylaws.
The landfill’s permit to operate was pulled by the Ministry of Environment earlier this year, but the CVRD was determined to continue with the litigation to protect its ability to control land use through its zoning bylaws.
The Supreme Court of Canada was the CVRD’s final avenue of appeal.
A press release said the CVRD will continue to advocate for provincial ministries to respect the interests and concerns of local communities when considering approval of similar facilities in the future.
The CVRD may also be on the hook for significant legal costs as a result of the failed litigation after the B.C. Court of Appeal awarded Cobble Hill Holdings increased court costs in its ongoing legal battle with the district last month.
In that ruling, the court found that Cobble Hill Holdings has “paid a heavy price for the complex litigation, which was commenced by a state actor to address an issue that could only have been effectively resolved at the political level or at the Environmental Appeal Board.”
The court said that awarding ordinary, instead of increased costs, “would create an unjust result” for the company, and added that the CVRD had been advised by its own staff about the “exclusive provincial jurisdiction over mining” that led to the Court of Appeal’s ruling in favour of the company.
