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Case Commented On: The Regional Municipality of Waterloo v Named Respondents and Persons Unknown, 2026 ONSC 2971 (CanLII)

PDF Version: Canada’s Evolving Right to Shelter: Region of Waterloo v Named Respondents & Persons Unknown

On May 21, 2026, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the Court) released its decision in The Regional Municipality of Waterloo v Named Respondents and Persons Unknown, 2026 ONSC 2971 (CanLII) (the Decision). The Decision considered the constitutionality of a regional government bylaw that sought to remove residents from an encampment. Housing rights advocates are lauding the Decision as a significant step forward in terms of courts recognizing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter) as providing legal protections for the rights of unhoused Canadians, as well as its specific reliance on principles from international human rights law. This case comment provides a brief overview of the Decision, highlighting some of the key developments including:

$120,000 Penalty for the 2023 Kearl Tailings Overflow

By Drew Yewchuk

On July 2, 2026

In Administrative Law, Environmental, Oil & Gas

By: Drew Yewchuk

Regulatory Decision Commented On: AER News Release 2026-06-11, Imperial pleads guilty to EPEA violation in Crown’s summary disposition on Kearl

PDF Version: $120,000 Penalty for the 2023 Kearl Tailings Overflow

On 29 May 2026, Imperial Oil Resources Limited (Imperial) entered a guilty plea to a charge of contravening a term or condition of its Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, RSA 2000, c E-12 (EPEA) approval by releasing a substance from the Kearl oilsands mine in early 2023, and on 11 June 2026 the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) posted a news release publicizing that Imperial would pay a $120,000 penalty, $118,000 of which will go to a creative sentencing project.

Alberta Energy Regulator Makes Rule Changes Aimed At Gutting Participation by ENGOs

By Nigel Bankes

On June 8, 2026

In Administrative Law, Energy, Environmental

By: Nigel Bankes

Matter Commented on: Alberta Energy Regulator, Bulletin 2026-22: New Editions of the Alberta Energy Regulator Rules of Practice and Directive 031 and Alberta Energy Regulator Rules of Practice, Alta Reg 99/2013, as amended by Alta Reg 88/2026.

PDF Version: Alberta Energy Regulator Makes Rule Changes Aimed At Gutting Participation by ENGOs

Last month (May 2026) the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) issued a Bulletin announcing changes to its Rules of Practice. The AER made these changes on February 5, 2026 and filed them April 30, 2026; they were gazetted “for information purposes” in the Alberta Gazette, Part 2, May 15, 2026. The AER Bulletin is dated May 5, 2026. The AER has the authority to make the Rules of Practice under s 61 of the Responsible Energy Development Act, SA 2012 c R-17.3 (REDA) but only, of course, to the extent that such Rules are consistent with the Act and with any regulations made under the Act (see REDA, ss 60 and 61). So far as I know, the AER made these Rule changes without following any notice and comment procedure. In other words, the AER provided no advance notice of its intention to make these amendments, no supporting rationale for the amendments, and no opportunity for anybody to comment on the amendments. The amendments appear to be part of a systematic effort by the AER to limit the right of those trying to speak for the environment and public lands to participate in the AER’s decision-making processes. Whether or not the AER was prodded into making these changes by industry or by the Department or Minister of Energy and Minerals will likely only be revealed by a responsive access to information filing.

Standing in the Athabasca: AER Denies Nature Procedural Personhood in Alberta

By Hunter Folster

On June 1, 2026

In Environmental, Protection of Spaces, Responsible Energy Development Act

By: Hunter Folster and Shane Lethaby

Matter Commented On: Decision by AER re: Request for Regulatory Appeal filed on behalf of the Athabasca River Basin, 22 October 2025.

PDF Version: Standing in the Athabasca: AER Denies Nature Procedural Personhood in Alberta

In February 2025, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) provided public notice that it had an application from Canadian Natural Upgrading Limited (CNUL) for the renewal of the Jackpine Oilsands Mine, located beside the Athabasca River in northeastern Alberta. In response, the Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA), the Keepers of the Water (the Keepers), and the Athabasca River Basin submitted a Statement of Concern (“SOC”, see here) to the AER, each as a “directly and adversely affected person” pursuant to sections 36 and 38 of the Responsible Energy Development Act (REDA), SA 2021, c R-17.3. In March 2025, the AER informed the filers of the SOC that the AER approved the renewals without a public hearing, declining to rule on the Athabasca’s legal status because it deemed such a determination “not necessary” after considering the content of the filed concerns (see here at 3). In April 2025, Ecojustice filed a request on behalf of the Athabasca River for a regulatory appeal of the AER’s decision to approve the renewals without a hearing (see here).

Submission on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications

By Emily Laidlaw

On May 29, 2026

In Artificial Intelligence, Law Reform

By: Emily Laidlaw

Matter Commented On: Study on the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) in the information and communication technology sector, Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications

PDF Version: Submission on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications

Author’s Note:

In April I had the opportunity to testify before the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications on the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) in the information and communication technology sector.

Canada’s Evolving Right to Shelter: Region of Waterloo v Named Respondents & Persons Unknown

$120,000 Penalty for the 2023 Kearl Tailings Overflow

Alberta Energy Regulator Makes Rule Changes Aimed At Gutting Participation by ENGOs

Standing in the Athabasca: AER Denies Nature Procedural Personhood in Alberta

Submission on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications