Indigenous Peoples, Energy & Utilities Law

Aboriginal Law – The Crown’s Duty to Consult and the Involvement of Natural Resources Proponents in the Consultation Process

by Anne-Marie Dupont, Simon Ruel | Heenan Blaikie LLP on 5/10/2013

Natural resources proponents are often deeply involved in consultations with Aboriginal communities that may be affected by their projects. How far can the Crown delegate its constitutional duty to consult Aboriginal people...more

Aboriginal Consultation Levy Act Introduced into the Alberta Legislature

by Shawn Denstedt Q.C., Suzanne MacMillan, Terri-Lee Oleniuk | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 5/9/2013

On May 8, 2013, Alberta’s Aboriginal Relations Minister introduced Bill 22, the Aboriginal Consultation Levy Act, into the Legislature in an effort to provide Aboriginal groups in Alberta with the capacity and funding...more

Federal Court Provides Guidance on Adequacy of Consultation About Environmental Assessments of Major Resource Projects

by Jeremy Barretto, Thoma Gelbman, Suzanne MacMillan | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 5/8/2013

On April 23, 2013, the Federal Court of Canada released its decision dismissing an application commenced by the Conseil des Innus de Ekuanitshit (the Applicant) to judicially review the Order in Council (OIC) issued on the...more

The Government Of Québec Imposes A Temporary Moratorium On Uranium Exploration And Development

by Ann Bigué, Dominique Quirk | Dentons on 5/3/2013

On March 28th, Québec Environment minister Yves-François Blanchet announced that the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) will hold public hearings on the uranium sector in Québec. These hearings are...more

Renewable Energy Update -- April 23, 2013

by William R. Devine, Emily L. Murray, Patrick A. Perry | Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis... on 4/25/2013

Renewable Energy Focus - ..Weakest quarter for clean energy investment since 2009, Bloomberg - Apr 14: Global investment in clean energy in the first three months of 2013 was lower than in any quarter for the...more

A Look at the Obama Administration’s Upcoming Hydraulic Fracturing Regulations

by Harmon L. (Monty) Cooper | Sedgwick LLP on 4/23/2013

This spring, the oil industry and environmental groups are expecting the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to issue a revised rule that will regulate hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on federal and...more

Significant Changes Announced for Aboriginal Consultation in Alberta

by Jeremy Barretto, Martin Ignasiak, Suzanne MacMillan | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 4/22/2013

On April 2, 2013, the Government of Alberta released a revised draft of its First Nations consultation policy, corporate guidelines and consultation matrix for review and comment. This policy calls for significant changes to...more

The Alaska Constitution and Alaska Oil and Gas Projects

by Lisa Doehl | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 4/10/2013

In the March 29th decision of Sullivan v. Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands (REDOIL), the Supreme Court of Alaska held that the Alaska Constitution requires only one “best interest finding” (that an oil...more

Mineral Claims And The Duty To Consult In Yukon

by Brian Abraham | Dentons on 1/24/2013

On December 27, 2012, the Yukon Court of Appeal handed down its decision in Ross River Dena Council v Government of Yukon, 2012 YKCA 14. The decision related to an appeal of Mr. Justice Veale’s decision regarding the claim of...more

Alberta First Nations Challenge Constitutionality of Federal Regulatory Reforms

by Sander Duncanson, Martin Ignasiak, Jessica Kennedy | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 1/10/2013

On January 8, 2012, the Mikisew Cree First Nation and the Frog Lake First Nation (the First Nations), both located in Alberta, filed notices of application (the Applications) with the Federal Court seeking judicial review of...more

Renewable Energy Update -- December 10, 2012

by William R. Devine, Emily L. Murray, Patrick A. Perry | Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis... on 12/14/2012

In This Issue: Renewable Energy Focus - California lawmakers make plans to spend $2.5 billion in new energy funds; DOE unveils new procurement policy for renewable energy development on tribal lands; California's sprint...more

The Department of the Interior Issues New Rules Regulating the Leasing of Tribal Lands

by Christopher P. Colyer, Craig R. McPike, Mark D. Ohre, Heidi McNeil Staudenmaier, James M. Susa, Joyce K. Wright | Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. on 12/10/2012

New regulations enacted by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) applicable to tribal leases will have far reaching impacts on businesses, particularly renewable energy projects, utilizing tribal lands....more

Alberta Court of Appeal Decides Panel Not Required to Determine Adequacy of Crown’s Aboriginal Consultation

by Martin Ignasiak, Jessica Kennedy | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 12/1/2012

On November 26, 2012, the Alberta Court of Appeal released the decision of Justice Slatter denying leave to appeal a decision made by the Joint Review Panel (the Panel) established to evaluate Shell Canada’s application to...more

Energy Law Bulletin: Alberta’s New Energy Regulator: What Does it Mean for Project Development?

by Lawson Lundell LLP on 11/16/2012

On October 24, 2012, the Government of Alberta introduced Bill 2: the Responsible Energy Development Act (“REDA”). If enacted, REDA will establish a single energy regulator and create a new regulatory framework for energy...more

Focus on Mining: The New Fisheries Act: What Miners Need To Know

by Dentons on 11/8/2012

The repeal and enactment of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (“CEAA”) and amendments to other federal legislation is the most significant change in federal environmental assessment (EA) since the legislation was...more

The Amorphous "Unusual Circumstances" Exception to CEQA's Categorical Exemption Strikes Again

by Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 10/29/2012

Voices for Rural Living v. El Dorado Irrigation District, Super. Ct. No. PC20080398, (Oct. 4, 2012) The recent Voices for Rural Living v. El Dorado Irrigation District case from the California Court of Appeal’s Third...more

White House Announces Expedited Schedule for Renewable Energy Projects

by Burr & Forman on 10/26/2012

On August 7, the White House announced an expedited approval schedule for seven solar and wind projects on federal and tribal lands in Arizona, California, Nevada and Wyoming totaling 5,000 megawatts (MW) of energy-producing...more

Aboriginal Title Revisited - William V. British Columbia

by Dentons on 9/27/2012

Originally published in Mineral Exploration - Fall 2012. The decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) in William v. British Columbia issued June 27, 2012, is the most recent pronouncement on Aboriginal...more

McAfee & Taft RegLINC - July 2012: BLM issues proposed regulations concerning hydraulic fracturing by Jessica John Bowman

by McAfee & Taft on 7/10/2012

The Bureau of Land Management has proposed a rule intended to regulate the use of hydraulic fracturing on the 756 million subsurface acres of federal and Indian mineral estate overseen by the BLM. The proposed rule, which...more

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Indigenous Peoples › Energy & Utilities Law