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Are the Alberta Ethics Commissioner’s actions subject to parliamentary privilege or judicial review?

On May 8, 2018

By: Hasna Shireen

PDF Version: Are the Alberta Ethics Commissioner’s actions subject to parliamentary privilege or judicial review?

Case Commented On: McIver v Alberta (Ethics Commissioner), 2018 ABQB 240

Ric Mclver, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, made comments during Question Period about power companies. His comments were subject to a complaint that he was in conflict of interest as his wife is a sole shareholder and director of a power company. The Ethics Commissioner investigated and determined that he breached the Conflict of Interest Act, RSA 2000, c C-23 [CIA] [Any following references to legislative sections are assumed to be to the CIA unless otherwise noted] and eventually sanctioned Mr. McIver. He was ordered to apologize to pay $500 and to apologize to the Legislative Assembly. In an application for judicial review, Mr. McIver challenged the Ethics Commissioner’s decision and argued that she exceeded her jurisdiction in interfering with his free speech (McIver, para 2). Justice Janice Ashcroft of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench addressed the following issues.

What is the role of the Ethics Commissioner in this judicial review?
Is the decision to sanction Mr. McIver subject to judicial review, or is it protected by the constitutional doctrine of parliamentary privilege?
If the decision is subject to judicial review, did the Ethics Commissioner exceed her jurisdiction? (McIver, para 9)

Bills C-68 and C-69 and the Consideration of Sex, Gender and Other Identity Factors

By Jennifer Koshan

On May 2, 2018

In Energy, Environmental

By: Jennifer Koshan

PDF Version: Bills C-68 and C-69 and the Consideration of Sex, Gender and Other Identity Factors

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)

Over the past couple of months, several of my colleagues have posted comments on Bill C-68 and Bill C-69 (see here). My focus in this post is on one section that is common to Bills C-68 and C-69, which provides that when making a decision under the relevant Act, the decision-maker may or indeed must consider, among other things, “the intersection of sex and gender with other identity factors” (see proposed section 2.5(i) of the Fisheries Act (“may”), section 22(1)(s) of the proposed Impact Assessment Act (“must”), and sections 183(2)(c), 262(2)(c) and 298(3)(c) of the proposed Canadian Energy Regulator Act (“must”)). The preamble of Bill C-69 also states that “the Government of Canada is committed to assessing how groups of women, men and gender-diverse people may experience policies, programs and projects and to taking actions that contribute to an inclusive and democratic society and allow all Canadians to participate fully in all spheres of their lives.”

Implementing the Capacity Market for Electricity in Alberta: Bill 13 and the AESO’s CMD.2

By Nigel Bankes

On April 30, 2018

In Utility Regulation

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: Implementing the Capacity Market for Electricity in Alberta: Bill 13 and the AESO’s CMD.2

Bill Commented On: An Act to Secure Alberta’s Electricity Future, Bill 13 [Alberta], first reading, April 19, 2018.

Documents Commented On: AESO, Comprehensive Market Design 2, and the Rationale for the Comprehensive Market Design 2, April 24, 2018

As previously noted on ABlawg, Alberta is in the processing of adding a capacity market to complement the existing energy and ancillary services markets in the electricity sector. This post comments on two recent developments in the field. The first is the release by the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) of the second iteration of its Comprehensive Market Design (CMD) for the proposed capacity market (CM). The second is the introduction of An Act to Secure Alberta’s Electricity Future (Bill 13). While this Bill has additional objectives as previously noted, the principal purpose of the Bill is to provide the necessary statutory support for the implementation of the CM.

Law Schools’ Dirty Little Secret

By Alice Woolley

On April 27, 2018

In Legal Education

By: Alice Woolley

PDF Version: Law Schools’ Dirty Little Secret

Left-leaning social justice warriors have captured Canadian law schools. So goes recent commentary in the National Post (see, e.g. recent columns by Barbara Kay, Bruce Pardy and Christie Blatchford). Law profs “espouse and impose a particular set of values or opinions and a way of thinking” (Blatchford, emphasis added).

Alberta Energy Regulator Breaks New Ground on Offsetting of Caribou Habitat

By Dave Poulton

On April 26, 2018

In Energy, Protection of Species

By: Dave Poulton

PDF Version: Alberta Energy Regulator Breaks New Ground on Offsetting of Caribou Habitat

Decision Commented On: TransCanada Pipelines Limited, Applications for the White Spruce Pipeline Project, Fort MacKay Area, February 22, 2018, 2018 ABAER 001

On February 22 the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) released a decision that could advance Alberta’s seemingly endless discussions on caribou conservation and on conservation offsets. By requiring TransCanada Pipelines Limited (TCPL) to offset the disturbance of habitat in caribou range caused by the construction of 2 new oil pipelines, the AER may have signalled its willingness to show leadership on these files.