Case Comment: 
Cassiar Watch v. Canada (Minister of Fisheries and Oceans)

In Cassiar Watch v. Canada (Minister of Fisheries and Oceans), the federal government's practice of issuing letters of advice (LOAs) was challenged by a non-profit society called Cassiar Watch. Cassiar Watch sought judicial review of an LOA issued to Shell Canada Energy by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in 2007. Justice Campbell of the Federal Court Trial Division dismissed the application on the basis that the LOA was a non-binding opinion having no legal effect. Published in the May 2010 (Vol. 19, No. 4) edition of Environews, the newsletter of the Environmental Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association.