Category Archives: Environmental

Environmental Damages under Bill C-46 (Pipeline Safety Act)

By: Martin Olszynski

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Legislation commented on: Bill C-46: An Act to Amend the National Energy Board Act and the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources in the context of its study of Bill C-46, referred to as the Pipeline Safety Act, which amends the National Energy Board Act, RSC 1985 c N-7 and the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act, RSC 1985 c 0-7. Below are my speaking notes in slightly modified form. Interested readers are also referred to the Library of Parliament’s Legislative Summary of Bill C-46; you will also find commentary on the Bill here and here.  Continue reading →

Bringing Environmental Law Students Together: the CAELS Conference in Calgary

By: Jennifer Cox

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Conference Commented On: Igniting a Spark, Canadian Association of Environmental Law Societies 2015 Conference, Calgary

While many students travelled or relaxed during February’s reading week, I was fortunate enough to be a part of a group of second and first year students from the University of Calgary’s Environmental Law Society (ELS) who put together the 3rd Annual Canadian Association of Environmental Law Societies (CAELS) Conference. The two-day conference was attended by over 100 delegates from all across Canada and covered a wide array of topics with a focus on energy law.

CAELS is a Canada-wide and student-run association which gives Canadian law students a forum to discuss issues in environmental law. The conference, first held in 2013, is now a major part of this forum. ELS members attended the first two years of the CAELS conference, then held in Ottawa. We were impressed by the quality of the speakers and the discussions at the conference, and started talking about what a Calgary-led CAELS conference could look like. We wanted to bring students excited about environmental, natural resource, and energy law to Calgary to gain exposure to the city’s wealth of knowledge in that area. Led by CAELS Coordinator and second year University of Calgary law student Scott Allen, we were able to achieve that goal.

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University of Calgary is the Place to be for Environmental Law in 2015

By: Martin Olszynski, Scott Allen and Allan Ingelson

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Conferences Commented On: 2015 CAELS Conference: “Igniting a Spark”; CIRL/CBA NEERLS Symposium on Environment in the Courtroom; JELP 5: “Après le Deluge”

When it rains, it pours. And so it is that the first half of 2015 has the University of Calgary Faculty of Law hosting a series of national environmental law conferences.

2015 Canadian Association of Environmental Law Students (CAELS) Conference: “Igniting a Spark”, February 13 & 14, 2015

Formed in Ottawa a couple of years ago by the membership of the-then University of Ottawa Environmental Law Students Association, CAELS is a networking body connecting environmental law students across Canada. This past year, responsibility for organizing CAELS’ annual conference was transferred to the University of Calgary’s Environmental Law Society (ELS).

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All I Want for Christmas is the Justification for Shell Jackpine

By: Martin Olszynski

PDF Version: All I Want for Christmas is the Justification for Shell Jackpine

Case Commented On: Adam v Canada (Environment), [2014] FC 1185

On December 9, 2014, the Federal Court rendered its decision in Adam v. Canada (Environment). Chief Allan Adam, on his own behalf and on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), challenged two federal government decisions pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, SC 2012, c 19, s 52 (CEAA) in relation to Shell Canada’s proposed Jackpine oil sands mine expansion project. The first was the Governor in Council’s (GiC) determination pursuant to section 52(4) that the project’s anticipated significant adverse environmental effects are “justified in the circumstances.” The second was the Minister’s “Decision Statement” pursuant to section 54, which contains the conditions subject to which the project may proceed. In a decision that reads somewhat tersely but that also covers a lot of ground, primarily Aboriginal consultation and division of powers issues, Justice Tremblay-Lamer dismissed the ACFN’s challenge. This post – the first of what will likely be a series – focuses on the first challenged decision: the GiC’s determination that the project’s significant adverse environmental effects are justified.

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Two Alberta Perpetuities Stories

By: Nigel Bankes

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Matters Commented On: Bill 8, Justice Statutes Amendment Act and Gottlob Schmidt’s donation to the province of Antelope Provincial Park

This post covers two matters. The first is the amendment to the Perpetuities Act, RSA 2000, c. P – 5 enacted as part of Bill 8, the omnibus Justice Statutes Amendment Act which received third reading on December 9th and Royal Assent on December 17th. The second relates to a story carried in the Calgary Herald about Gottlob Schmidt’s generous donation to the province of a block of land for parkland purposes.

Section 9 of Bill 8, the Justice Statutes Amendment Act provides that

(2) The following is added after section 22 [of the Perpetuities Act]:

Rule against perpetuities not applicable to qualifying environmental trusts

22.1(1) In this section, “qualifying environmental trust” means a qualifying environmental trust as defined in section 1(2)(g.011) of the Alberta Corporate Tax Act.

(2) The rule against perpetuities does not apply to a qualifying environmental trust created after December 31, 2013.

The definition of a qualifying environmental trust (QET) is complex since it involves reference not only to the Alberta Corporate Tax Act, RSA 2000, c.A-15 but also to the QET provisions of the federal Income Tax Act, RSC 1985 (5th supp.), c 1. The basic idea of a QET is that it is a trust that is established to meet reclamation obligations principally in the natural resources sector. This amendment to Alberta’s Perpetuities Act became necessary (or at least desirable) as a result of the National Energy Board’s consideration of the need to make provision for the reclamation obligations of operators of federally regulated pipelines.

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