In our March 2021 blog on the difference between Alberta and Saskatchewan's approach to Oil and Gas liability management, we commented on the differing approaches to liability management introduced in each province following...more
Recent information provided by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) in its Licensee Capability Assessment: What We Heard document and draft Licensee Life-Cycle Management Directive (Draft LLCM Directive) provides guidance for...more
We previously discussed the Alberta Court of Appeal's decision in Ravvin v Canada Bread Company, Limited, 2020 ABCA 424, which arose out of an alleged packaged bread price-fixing conspiracy. Plaintiffs started class...more
On May 12, 2021, the Government of Alberta issued a statement to announce that it will now be granting carbon sequestration rights through a competitive process. Carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) is a method where...more
On May 7, 2021, Bill 34, The Fuel Tax Amendment Act, 2021 passed the third reading in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. Bill 34 amends Saskatchewan's The Fuel Tax Act, 2020 and The Financial Administration Act, 1993...more
On April 7, 2021, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) released a revised Directive 067: Eligibility Requirements for Acquiring and Holding Energy Licenses and Approvals, which is designed to enhance its ability to ensure that...more
We previously discussed the Court's decision in Yukon (Government of) v Yukon Zinc Corporation, 2020 YKSC 16, which opened the door to partial termination of agreements in a receivership, an action generally considered...more
Following the Redwater decision (Orphan Well Association v Grant Thornton Ltd., 2019 SCC 5), and the steadily increasing number of orphaned oil and gas sites, governments have been evaluating opportunities to modify their...more
The Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta, in Setoguchi v Uber B.V., 2021 ABQB 18, recently dismissed an application for certification of a proposed class action resulting from a data breach because there was no evidence of harm...more
On February 1, 2021, the Government of Alberta launched Period 5 and Period 6 of the Site Rehabilitation Program (SRP), including additional information within the updated Site Rehabilitation Guidelines....more
On June 1, 2020, the Government of Alberta rescinded A Coal Development Policy for Alberta, which was also commonly known as the "1976 Coal Policy". The authors published Alberta to Rescind Coal Development Policy, on the...more
In November 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in 1688782 Ontario Inc. v Maple Leaf Foods Inc. This is an important decision clarifying the analytical approach to the duty of care analysis in negligence...more
Instability and uncertainty were the two constants in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic uprooted social norms and challenged businesses. The long range impact of that instability and uncertainty remains to be seen. For different...more
Amendments to the Oil and Gas Conservation Rules and Pipeline Rules to advance the Government of Alberta's new Liability Management Framework and address Alberta's inventory of abandoned wells, facilities and pipelines came...more
The New Energy Economy Series -
Following its recent announcement of A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, an accelerated climate plan for Canada, the Government of Canada released the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada:...more
In the wake of COVID-19, which has strained already limited judicial resources, the Alberta Court of Appeal has issued a decision addressing the need for judicial economy and the avoidance of duplicative and overlapping...more
Increasing Interest in Hydrogen in Canada and Alberta -
Hydrogen has gained the attention of Canadian policy makers and industry players. Notably, the Canadian government announced in June 2020 an upcoming national...more
The Supreme Court of Canada has clarified the scope of manufacturers’ potential liability under the law of negligence to the retailers of their products for “pure economic losses”—lost profits, lost sales, and reputational...more
In June, the Canadian government announced that it would be unveiling a national hydrogen strategy, which is now expected to be released this fall. Alberta's Industrial Heartland Hydrogen Task Force, a group of business,...more
On September 18, 2020, the British Columbia government announced that the first half of a $100-million fund earmarked for cleaning up dormant wells has been disbursed. The Dormant Sites Reclamation Program is dedicated to...more
On August 7, 2020, the Government of Alberta launched Period 4 of the Site Rehabilitation Program (SRP) and released further details about the SRP, including information about the submission process for abandonment work and...more
8/13/2020
/ Abandonment ,
Canada ,
Climate Change ,
Construction Project ,
Environmental Remediation Costs ,
Environmental Site Assessment ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
First Nations ,
National Environmental Policies ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Wells ,
Pipelines ,
Plant Closures ,
Rehabilitation and Restoration Plans ,
Service Contracts ,
Site Remediation ,
Subcontractors ,
Tribal Corporations
On July 30, 2020, the Government of Alberta announced that it will introduce a new oil and gas Liability Management Framework over the coming months. The framework is intended to accelerate the responsible reclamation of oil...more
On July 29, 2020, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) released its discussion paper exploring the question of the extent to which on-site generators should be permitted to self-supply power and export excess energy...more
On July 17, 2020, the Government of Alberta opened applications for Period 3 of the Site Rehabilitation Program. As described in our previous blog post, subsequent update and discussion of Period 2 of the Program, the Program...more
On June 12, 2020, the Government of Saskatchewan announced amendments to The Mineral Tenure Registry Regulations in response to the state of emergency declared on March 18, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 18,...more