Category Archives: Environmental

Minister Sharpens the Wetland Policy’s Teeth, and Beaver Pond is Spared

By: Arlene Kwasniak

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Decisions Commented On: Brookman and Tulick v Director, South Saskatchewan Region, Alberta Environment and Parks, re: KGL Constructors, A Partnership (24 November 2017), Appeal Nos. 17-047 and 17-050-R (AEAB), EAB Report, Minister`s Order, and Minister’s Reasons)

The physical setting relating to the 111 page EAB Report (ER),  Minister’s Order (MO), and Minister’s Reasons (MR), includes the geologically and ecologically unique Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park in south Calgary (containing the only delta in the City), the Tsuut’ina First Nation Reserve, a series of wetlands that drain into the Park and the Glenmore Reservoir, and the long-time materializing Calgary Ring Road. The complex and sometimes intense fact situation may be summarized as follows: Continue reading →

In Search of #BetterRules: An Overview of Federal Environmental Bills C-68 and C-69

By: Martin Olszynski

PDF Version: In Search of #BetterRules: An Overview of Federal Environmental Bills C-68 and C-69

Legislation Commented On: An Act to amend the Fisheries Act and other Acts in consequence (Bill C-68) and An Act to enact the Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, to amend the Navigation Protection Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (Bill C-69)

Last week, the federal government tabled its much-anticipated package of federal environmental law reforms. Regular ABlawg readers will know that the Faculty of Law’s Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law group has been actively participating in this process from the beginning, with several members submitting briefs and testifying before both parliamentary committees and expert panels (a full list of relevant ABlawg posts is included at the end of this post). In this post, I provide an initial overview and analysis of Bill C-68 (Fisheries Act) and the proposed Impact Assessment Act under Bill C-69. Subsequent posts will examine specific issues in more detail, as well as the proposed Canadian Energy Regulator Act. Continue reading →

Green Regs and Ham: Some Thoughts on Contaminated Sites, the Redwater Decision and the Principle of Intergenerational Equity

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: Green Regs and Ham: Some Thoughts on Contaminated Sites, the Redwater Decision and the Principle of Intergenerational Equity

Note: This post is a revised version of remarks presented at the Fifth Green Regs and Ham Breakfast convened by the Environmental Law Centre, Edmonton on October 3, 2017. The session was entitled “Municipal Environmental Jurisdiction: Contaminated sites and hockey fights” but my remarks principally addressed liability for abandonment and reclamation of oil and gas wells and facilities.

Good morning. I acknowledge that we meet on the traditional territory of Treaty 7 First Nations, the Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina, and Stoney First Nations. It is particularly important to acknowledge that connection given that we are talking today about our stewardship and custodial responsibilities for the land (and perhaps more specifically our failings).

There are three parts to the presentation: first, I will offer some remarks on the Court of Appeal’s decision in Redwater; second, some comments on a recent paper from the CD Howe Institute dealing with oil wells (see, Benjamin Dachis, Blake Shaffer and Vincent Thivierge, “All’s Well that Ends Well: Addressing End-of-Life Liabilities for Oil and Gas Wells”) and third, I will conclude with some more philosophical observations on the importance of the principle of intergenerational equity. Continue reading →

What Should Require Federal Impact Assessment? Proposed Triggers for a Credible Federal Impact Assessment Regime

By: Sharon Mascher

PDF Version: What Should Require Federal Impact Assessment? Proposed Triggers for a Credible Federal Impact Assessment Regime

Document Commented On: Environmental and Regulatory Reviews Discussion Paper, Government of Canada, June 2017

On June 29, 2017, the Government of Canada released a Discussion Paper outlining a series of “system-wide changes” under consideration “to strengthen Canada’s environmental assessment and regulatory processes” (at 7). In earlier posts, I provide an overview of the Discussion Paper; Professor Bankes discusses the Discussion Paper’s response to the Report of the Expert Panel on the Modernization of the National Energy Board; and Professor Kwasniak considers how to fill the gaps in the Discussion Paper to regain public trust in federal assessment processes. Professor Kwasniak’s post focuses, in particular, on the core questions of what impacts should be assessed, to what end impacts should be assessed, and how assessments should figure in decision-making relating to project approval or disapproval. This post focuses on filling the gaps in the Discussion Paper relating to another core question—what should require federal impact assessment? The answer to this question is, of course, central to the Government of Canada’s commitment to deliver credible impact assessment and regulatory processes that both regain public trust and protect the environment. Continue reading →

The Effect of Well Abandonment and Reclamation Obligations for the Valuation of Matrimonial Property

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: The Effect of Well Abandonment and Reclamation Obligations for the Valuation of Matrimonial Property

Case Commented On: Walker v Walker, 2017 SKQB 195 (CanLII)

Judicial decisions on the legal nature of abandonment and reclamation obligations may arise in the strangest of ways. Take this matrimonial property case, for example, in which Mr. Walker (Darcy) was seeking to argue that his assets should be discounted on the basis that a small oil and gas company (Outback) that he controlled had net abandonment and reclamation liabilities. Part of the challenge that he faced in making this argument was of course that the liabilities in question were the liabilities of the corporation. While a director or controlling mind of a corporation might ordinarily take some comfort from this state of affairs, in this case counsel for Darcy tried to suggest that his client would inevitably face personal liability under the terms of Saskatchewan’s The Environmental Management and Protection Act, 2010, SS 2010, c E-10.22 [EMPA] and The Oil and Gas Conservation Act, RSS 1978, c O-2 [OGCA] and s 59 of The Oil and Gas Conservation Regulations, 2012, RRS c O-2 Reg 6 [OGCR]. Actually the argument was even stranger insofar as Mrs. Walker (Becky) was also a director of the company (Outback) and thus might face the same liability should Darcy be correct. Continue reading →