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Author: Drew Yewchuk Page 2 of 20

B.A. (UAlberta) J.D. (UCalgary) LLM (U.B.C.) Drew was a full-time staff lawyer with the University of Calgary's Public Interest Law Clinic from 2018-2022. He is now an PhD student at the Peter A. Allard School of Law. His research focuses on administrative secrecy, access to information law, species at risk, resource law, and environmental liabilities.

Grading the 2024 AER Liability Management Performance Report

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On February 5, 2026

In Energy, Environmental, Natural Resources

By: Drew Yewchuk and Shaun Fluker

Report Commented On: 2024 AER Liability Management Performance Report

PDF Version: Grading the 2024 AER Liability Management Performance Report

In November 2025, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) published the 2024 Liability Management Performance Report (2024 Report). This is the third AER Liability Management Performance Report to the public on progress to reduce Alberta’s massive unfunded closure liability in the conventional (non-oil sands mine) oil and gas sector. We discussed the 2022 report here and the 2023 report here. In a positive change from earlier years, the AER has kept the 2022 and 2023 reports up on their website. While this allows the public to compare information in the current report with past years, it is noteworthy that the AER itself does not use the previous years to evaluate performance and the 2024 Report provides almost no discussion or analysis of the data set out in the report. This is one of the reasons why the 2024 Report receives an F grade.

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The Queue-Jumping Problem with Mandamus: Northback v the Minister of Environment and Protected Areas

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On November 18, 2025

In Access to Information, Administrative Law, Privacy

By: Drew Yewchuk

Case Commented On: Northback Holdings Corporation v Alberta (Environment and Protected Areas), 2025 ABKB 617 (CanLII)

PDF Version: The Queue-Jumping Problem with Mandamus:Northback v the Minister of Environment and Protected Areas

In Northback Holdings Corporation v Alberta (Environment and Protected Areas), 2025 ABKB 617 (CanLII), Northback Holdings Corporation (Northback), (formerly known as Benga Mining Limited) sought a mandamus order from the Alberta Court of King’s Bench that would require the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) to complete their review of the Minister of Environment and Protected Areas’ response to access requests made under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, SA 2000 c F-25 (FOIP). The Court of King’s Bench dismissed the application, finding that three years was not unreasonable delay in light of the OIPC’s lack of resources and workload, and that an order would have caused inequitable queue jumping.

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A Review of Closure Nomination for Inactive Oil and Gas Sites and AER Updates to Directive 088 

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On October 24, 2025

In Energy, Environmental, Natural Resources, Oil & Gas

By: Drew Yewchuk & Shaun Fluker 

Regulatory Bulletin Commented On: Alberta Energy Regulator, Bulletin 2025-32, Invitation for Feedback on Proposed Revisions to Closure Nomination Requirements in Directive 088 

PDF Version: A Review of Closure Nomination for Inactive Oil and Gas Sites and AER Updates to Directive 088 

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is taking comments on some proposed changes to the process for nominating oil and gas sites (facilities and wells) for closure work. The comment period is open until November 12, 2025. The AER’s closure nomination system has been in place since April 2023, and one of us commented on its commencement in Updates to the Oil and Gas Liability Management Framework: The New Closure Nomination and The Renamed Closure Quotas. The proposed changes adjust the timelines for the closure nomination. In particular, they shorten the timeline for nominated sites that had already been decommissioned to complete a phase 1 environmental site assessment from three years to one year, and they extend all closure nomination timelines to the end of the quarter-year. This post reviews the public information on the closure nomination process so far, discusses the AER’s proposed changes, and assesses the effectiveness of the closure nomination process so far.  

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The Non-Justiciable War on ‘Woke’ at the Law Society of Alberta

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On October 16, 2025

In Ethics and the Legal Profession

By: Drew Yewchuk 

Decision Commented On: Song v The Law Society of Alberta, 2025 ABKB 525 (CanLII)

PDF Version: The Non-Justiciable War on ‘Woke’ at the Law Society of Alberta

Back in February 2023, a group of Alberta lawyers petitioned for a special meeting of the Law Society of Alberta (LSA) to hold a vote seeking to remove the LSA’s powers to require its members to engage in continuing professional development and specifically, remove the requirement to complete an Indigenous cultural competency program called ‘The Path’. The petition was defeated at that special meeting: 2,609 votes against the resolution to 864 votes in favour of the resolution. See the ABlawg posts about the special meeting: Law Society of Alberta to Hold a Special Meeting to Debate its Power to Mandate Indigenous Cultural Competency Training and Fighting Over History at a Special Meeting of the Law Society of Alberta.

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The 2025 Mine Financial Security Program Update: Security Collected for Aging Syncrude Mine Offers a First Estimate of Mine Closure Costs

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On October 3, 2025

In Energy, Environmental, Natural Resources, Oil & Gas

By: Drew Yewchuk and Martin Olszynski 

Documents Commented On: Annual Mine Financial Security Program Submissions 2025 Submissions for 2024 Reporting Year; Mine Financial Security Program – Security and Liability, September 29, 2025.

PDF Version: The 2025 Mine Financial Security Program Update: Security Collected for Aging Syncrude Mine Offers a First Estimate of Mine Closure Costs

This is our annual update post in response to submissions for the Mine Financial Security Program (MFSP) being posted to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) website. See last year’s post here. The MFSP is Alberta’s troubled system for obtaining financial security to ensure the closure (decommissioning, remediation, and reclamation) of oilsands and coal mines when they stop operating. For a detailed assessment of the weaknesses in the MFSP, see our 2023 paper coauthored with Andrew Leach, “Not Fit for Purpose: Oil Sands Mines and Alberta’s Mine Financial Security Program”. The government conducted a review of the MFSP from 2021-2024 that concluded in February 2025 with minor changes that do not repair fundamental problems with the MFSP – see our post here.

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