Announcing a Summer Discussion Series on Recent Developments in Energy and Environmental Law |

By: Martin Olszynski and Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: Announcing a Summer Discussion Series on Recent Developments in Energy and Environmental Law

Event Commented On: 2017 Energy & Environmental Law Summer Discussion Series

The past year has been relatively busy from a legislative and policy reform perspective, especially with respect to Canadian energy and environmental law. At the federal level, all of the expert panels and parliamentary committees tasked by the current Liberal government with reviewing the Harper-era changes to Canada’s energy and environmental law regime have now delivered their reports: Forward, Together: Enabling Canada’s Clean, Safe and Secure Energy Future (regarding the National Energy Board); Building Common Ground: A New Vision for Impact Assessment in Canada (regarding federal environmental assessment processes); Review of changes made in 2012 to the Fisheries Act: enhancing the protection of fish and fish habitat and the management of Canadian fisheries; and A Study of the Navigation Protection Act. There has also been important litigation at the provincial level, especially the Alberta Court of Appeal’s recent decision in the Redwater litigation: Orphan Well Association v Grant Thornton Limited, 2017 ABCA 124 (CanLII).

While most of these developments have been discussed in this forum (see e.g. posts by Kwasniak, Fluker and Yewchuk, Olszynski, and Mascher with respect to environmental assessment and Bankes on the NEB report and Redwater), the Faculty and the Canadian Institute of Resources Law have decided that it would also be interesting to host a series of panel discussions over the summer to further analyze the issues.

The first such discussion panel, on the NEB modernization report, will take place next week, Wednesday June 28, from 3:00 – 5:00 pm. The session is being hosted by Blakes; registration is free and can be done online (space is limited). The panelists will be Nigel Bankes from the Faculty of Law, Jennifer Winters from the School of Public Policy, and Gaétan Caron, also with the School of Public Policy and former Chair of the NEB. Sandy Carpenter of Blakes will act as the moderator.

The second discussion panel will consider the Redwater litigation and is scheduled for July 18, 2017. Panelists include Anna Lund from the University of Alberta Faculty of Law, Barry Robinson from Ecojustice, and Nigel Bankes. Finally, the third panel will consider the other federal environmental law initiatives (Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, SC 2012, c 19, s 52; Fisheries Act, RSC 1985, c F-14; and the Navigation Protection Act, RSC 1985, c N-22). It is tentatively scheduled for early August and will include Professors Sharon Mascher and Martin Olszynski from the Faculty of Law (a third panelist is being confirmed). Registration information for the second and third panels will be posted in early July.

This post may be cited as: Martin Olszynski and Nigel Bankes “Announcing a Summer Discussion Series on Recent Developments in Energy and Environmental Law” (22 June, 2017), online: ABlawg, https://ablawg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Blog_MO_NB_Summer_Series.pdf

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