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
Canada's duty to consult with Indigenous peoples does not guarantee outcomes, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA or Court) confirmed in Coldwater First Nation v Canada (Attorney General), 2020 FCA 34 [Coldwater]....more
In a decision released on October 22, 2019, the Alberta Court of Appeal addressed two questions raised by the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) in an appeal of a judicial review of an Aboriginal Consultation Office...more
On July 26, 2017, the Supreme Court released two seminal decisions that clarify the role of administrative tribunals, such as the National Energy Board ("NEB"), in fulfilling the Crown’s duty to consult with Indigenous...more
On July 26, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released two decisions on the role of the National Energy Board (NEB) and other regulatory tribunals in aboriginal consultation: Clyde River (Hamlet) v. Petroleum...more
On June 23, 2016, the Federal Court of Appeal delivered the Northern Gateway Project another procedural setback in its decision on Gitxaala Nation v Canada (2016 FCA 187). In a 2-to-1 split decision, the court overturned the...more
In January 2016, I wrote an article about the commencement of the new federal government’s promised review of its environmental assessment process. Given that the existing process has been an issue that has seriously divided...more
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has granted leave to appeal in two cases concerning the ability of a regulatory tribunal to discharge the Crown’s duty to consult. In Hamlet of Clyde River v. TGS-NOPEC Geophysical...more
In Coastal First Nations v British Columbia (Environment), 2016 BCSC 34, the Court decided British Columbia must issue its own environmental decision and consult First Nations on the Northern Gateway Project (NGP), instead of...more
In its recent decision in Coastal First Nations v. British Columbia (Environment), the B.C. Supreme Court (Court) held that the provincial government retains authority to impose conditions on the proposed Northern Gateway...more