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
On June 26, 2020, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources (the Ministry) released new details regarding its Accelerated Site Closure Program (ASCP). As noted in our earlier blog on the subject, the ASCP will...more
From the lingering shockwaves of the Redwater decision, to more recent developments involving COVID-19 and reduced global oil demand in the face of continuing egress and access-to-market constraints, the Western Canadian oil...more
It has long been the law that termination of contracts is permissible under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) with the effect of the termination being to create an...more
World's Largest Capacity CO2 Pipeline Operational -
The Success -
On June 2, 2020, the $1.2 billion Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL) became operational. The ACTL is part of an integrated system designed to capture and...more
The pace of new class actions in Canada remains comparatively slower than in the United States. This past week saw additional claims against elder care facilities for their response to the pandemic, and against insurance...more
NOTE: Further information on the Alberta Site Rehabilitation Program can be found on our blogs addressing the announcement of the Program and an update on Program operations following the first few weeks of the Program's...more
On May 22, 2020, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources announced the creation of its Accelerated Site Closure Program (ASCP). In line with the Alberta Site Rehabilitation Program and British Columbia's Dormant,...more
Interest by investors in developing helium deposits in Alberta has to date been deterred by the lack of a helium specific royalty rate. On May 13, 2020, Alberta Energy announced the introduction of a royalty rate specific to...more
The class actions landscape remains active, particularly in the United States, as some businesses re-open and a semblance of some degree of normalcy returns to certain pockets of North America. In the last two weeks, we have...more
Effective June 1, 2020, the Government of Alberta is rescinding A Coal Development Policy for Alberta, also known as the 1976 Coal Policy. The effect of this rescission will be to remove the land use classification system...more
The number of COVID-19 related class proceeding and analogous claims continues to rise, with the number of actions in the United States approaching 300 and claims in Canada nearing 20. There are now claims on both sides of...more
On May 13, 2020, British Columbia announced how it will administer the $120 million in federal funds earmarked to clean up orphaned and inactive oil and gas wells under COVID-19 Economic Response Plan for the Canada's Energy...more
The wave of COVID-related claims against long-term care facilities and insurers shows no signs of breaking anytime soon. The past week has also seen several novel claims launched against test manufacturers and governments....more
On May 1, 2020, the Government of Alberta announced new information regarding how the Alberta Site Rehabilitation Program will be administered. Since then details of the program have continued to evolve. As we noted in our...more
As the novel coronavirus pandemic stretches into May, plaintiffs' lawyers across North America continue to initiate COVID-19 related class actions. While the attention on practices surrounding the economy's shutdown...more
Amidst a global collapse in oil prices, sectors of Alberta's industry have been hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies in the natural resource and energy industries are facing unique challenges associated with...more
In Fort McKay First Nation v Prosper Petroleum Ltd, 2020 ABCA 163 (Prosper) the Alberta Court of Appeal set aside the Alberta Energy Regulator's (AER) approval of Prosper Petroleum Ltd.'s application for the Rigel bitumen...more
On April 24, 2020, the Government of Alberta announced the creation of the Site Rehabilitation Program (the Program) to be launched May 1, 2020. The Program is the vehicle by which Alberta will distribute up to $1 billion...more
While some provincial and state governments roll out their plans for phased re-openings of their economies, the COVID-class action landscape continues to evolve. This past week saw a torrent of class actions tackling...more
As businesses and consumers begin to assess the wide-ranging damage wrought by the global coronavirus pandemic, the pace of new COVID-related class action claims has begun to increase rapidly. Claims for unpaid refunds...more
Since the release of the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Orphan Well Association et al v. Grant Thornton Limited et al (Redwater), the energy industry has been awaiting legislative direction on the approach to be taken...more