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Multi-Jurisdictional Assessment and Bill C-69 – The Further Fading Federal Presence in Environmental Assessment

On March 26, 2018

By: Arlene Kwasniak

PDF Version: Multi-Jurisdictional Assessment and Bill C-69 – The Further Fading Federal Presence in Environmental Assessment

Bill Commented On: Bill C-69, An Act to enact the Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, to amend the Navigation Protection Act and make consequential amendments to other Acts

This is a continuation of the series of ABlawg posts on Bill C-69. The Impact Assessment Act (IAA) part of Bill C-69 is intended to replace the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, SC 2012, c 19, s 52 (CEAA 2012). This post concerns how the proposed IAA addresses the situation where more than one jurisdiction has decision-making authority over a project and each jurisdiction requires an impact assessment (IA). A key question for federal legislators is should there be two (or more) assessments or one assessment? And if one, what is the nature of that process, and what roles must the respective jurisdictions play in the assessment?

Alberta Suspends Habitat Protection Plans for Endangered Woodland Caribou

By Shaun Fluker

On March 23, 2018

In Protection of Species

By: Shaun Fluker

PDF Version: Alberta Suspends Habitat Protection Plans for Endangered Woodland Caribou

Case Commented On: Minister of Environment and Parks March 19, 2018 Letter re: Alberta Draft Woodland Caribou Range Plan

On March 19 the Minister of Environment and Parks issued a letter stating Alberta is suspending plans to designate additional protected areas for endangered caribou habitat to allow for a further review of the socio-economic costs associated with implementing Alberta’s draft Woodland Caribou Range Plan. The Minister indicates this decision is in response to concerns raised in community consultations (see here) about the economic impacts of the proposed caribou protection and recovery measures in the Plan. There is also a not-so-subtle message from the Minister that if the federal government wants to see action on the caribou file, there needs to be a significant infusion of federal cash. However, the overall message here is the abdication of responsibility for protection and recovery of caribou. My intention in writing this short comment is to highlight where the Minister places an incorrect gloss on the law to conceal this failure to act.

Evidentiary Issues with Claim of Racial Profiling in R v Kenowesequape

By Chad Haggerty

On March 22, 2018

In Aboriginal, Criminal

By: Chad Haggerty

PDF Version: Evidentiary Issues with Claim of Racial Profiling in R v Kenowesequape

Case Commented On: R v Kenowesequape, 2018 ABQB 135 (CanLII)

In 1999, the Ontario Court of Appeal adopted the following definition of “racial profiling”

Racial profiling is criminal profiling based on race. Racial or colour profiling refers to that phenomenon whereby certain criminal activity is attributed to an identified group in society on the basis of race or colour resulting in the targeting of individual members of that group. In this context, race is illegitimately used as a proxy for the criminality or general criminal propensity of an entire racial group (R v Richards, 26 CR (5th) 286, 1999 CanLII 1602 (ON CA) at para 24).

In R v Kenowesequape, Madam Justice Khullar of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench was tasked, in part, with determining whether an allegation of racial profiling was justified. This post will focus on the court’s rejection of the argument that racial profiling was in play during this police action.

Bill C-69, the Impact Assessment Act, and Indigenous Process Considerations

By David Laidlaw

On March 15, 2018

In Aboriginal, Environmental

By: David Laidlaw

PDF Version: Bill C-69, the Impact Assessment Act, and Indigenous Process Considerations

Legislation Commented On: 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)

On February 8, 2018, the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change [Minister] submitted Bill C-69 for first reading. Bill C-69, should it pass, proposes to enact the Impact Assessment Act [IAA], continue the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency under the name Impact Assessment Agency of Canada [Agency], establish the Canadian Energy Regulator [CER] to replace the National Energy Board, and amend the Navigation Protection Act, RSC 1985, c N-22 with consequential amendments.

Power Purchase Arrangement Litigation Comes to an End

By Nigel Bankes

On March 14, 2018

In Energy

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: Power Purchase Arrangement Litigation Comes to an End

Matter Commented On: Government of Alberta Press Release, March 9, 2018

The Government of Alberta issued a Press Release on March 9, 2018 indicating the Government and ENMAX “have agreed to withdraw ENMAX from the Power Purchase Arrangement (PPA) legal action initiated in 2016 by the Attorney General”. The agreement apparently “provides for the transfer from ENMAX to the Balancing Pool of 166,667 carbon offset credits and for a payment of equivalent value to ENMAX from the Balancing Pool for previously disputed and unpaid dispatch services and PPA transition matters”. The release goes on to note that “With this agreement, the legal action between the Government of Alberta, ENMAX and the remaining parties will be ended”.

ABlawg has published numerous posts on the PPA litigation (see here, here, here, here, here, and here) and there is a nice summary of the history of the litigation on the blog of the Alberta Power Market, a very informative blog prepared by members of the Electricity Markets Group of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

This post may be cited as: Nigel Bankes “Power Purchase Arrangement Litigation Comes to an End” (14 March, 2018), online: ABlawg, http://ablawg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Blog_NB_PPA_Litigation_Ends.pdf

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