March 22, 2019
Public Interest Law Clinic offers experiential learning for law students
For Shaun Fluker, the 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 Public Interest Law Clinic is a bridge connecting the Faculty of Law, the common good and a better future, for people and the planet.
鈥淚t鈥檚 experiential learning for law students, and that is something that law schools across the country are really encouraging these days,鈥 says Fluker, an associate professor in the 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 Faculty of Law, who stepped down from his role as the clinic鈥檚 executive director in February. 鈥淚鈥檓 really happy with the top-notch work we鈥檙e able to do.鈥
The work done by the Public Interest Law Clinic, which operates in the 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 Faculty of Law, is a close fit with Fluker鈥檚 own research, which primarily centres on public participation and transparency in resources and environmental decision-making; implementing environmental norms with law; and public interest litigation. The clinic focuses its legal work on addressing systemic issues in the public interest realm.
To this end, the Public Interest Law Clinic not only provides law students with academic credit and experiential learning opportunities, but also serves the community by providing pro bono legal services for cases that include a strategic law reform component.
A recent 聽example of this is the Redwater Energy case, heard by the Supreme Court of Canada last year. Christine Laing (a clinic staff lawyer who is now the clinic鈥檚 acting executive director) and Fluker, with the assistance of Drew Yewchuk (another staff lawyer with the clinic), appeared as counsel at the Supreme Court representing a local landowner group, the Action Surface Rights Association.聽
鈥淥ne of our arguments was to have the Supreme Court to uphold the 鈥榩olluter pays principle鈥 鈥 in this case the company that鈥檚 gone bankrupt,鈥 Fluker says. 鈥淭he result of the Supreme Court decision (released in late January) is that trustees overseeing the bankruptcy of oil and gas companies are subject to the authority of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), requiring them to effectively leave money in the bankrupt estate to cover the costs of cleanup 鈥 This decision has a positive impact for all Albertans.鈥
The Redwater decision still doesn鈥檛 fix Alberta鈥檚 orphan well problem, Yewchuk notes. 鈥淲ith the Redwater decision the AER has the power, if they have the political will to do it, to get that money. But the AER still doesn鈥檛 have the money or an enforcement mechanism to clean up all of the orphan wells ... The huge winners are actually other provincial environmental regulators. The Redwater decision will be incredibly helpful for their environmental protection laws.鈥
According to Laing, the Public Interest Law Clinic will always have a strong environmental law base, while at the same time, it鈥檚 also building capacity to handle matters of human rights law.
聽鈥淲e鈥檝e started doing some very exciting work at the intersection of poverty and the law,鈥 she says. 鈥淭here is a lot of work to be done to improve access to justice across the board for people who can鈥檛 afford lawyers, and we want to be developing our capacity and expertise in that field.鈥
The Public Interest Law Clinic is helping law students 鈥渄evelop a professional identity and begin to see themselves as the stewards, and ultimately the shapers, of our justice system,鈥 Laing adds.