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Arbitrations Added to the PPA Soup

On December 2, 2016

In Arbitration, Energy, Utility Regulation

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: Arbitrations Added to the PPA Soup

Case Commented On: TransCanada Energy Ltd v Balancing Pool, 2016 ABQB 658 (CanLII)

The power purchase arrangements (PPA) dispute in the Province continues to evolve along a number of different tracks. As noted in a previous post, the negotiation track seems to be producing some positive results with a number of tentative settlements announced. As a second track, ENMAX has its application to determine the effective date of termination of the Battle River PPA (this application is discussed at para 5 of the current decision). This application had been adjourned sine die but ENMAX has recently applied to have the application set down for a hearing. As a third track, the Province, through the Attorney General (AG), continues to maintain its judicial review application. The decision that is the subject of this post reveals a fourth track, that of arbitration actions commenced by some of the PPA buyers (although perhaps some of these arbitrations might be withdrawn under the terms of the tentative settlements referenced above). This decision of Chief Justice Neil Wittmann deals with whether or not the arbitrations were properly commenced (i.e. had a dispute crystallized?) and the interaction between the judicial and arbitral tracks.

Bill S-3: A rushed response to Descheneaux

By Elysa Darling

On December 1, 2016

In Aboriginal, Constitutional, Human Rights

By: Elysa Hogg

PDF Version: Bill S-3: A rushed response to Descheneaux

Matters Commented On: Bill S-3 “An Act to amend the Indian Act (elimination of sex-based inequities in registration); Descheneaux c Canada (Procureur General), 2015 QCCS 3555 (CanLII)

*Note on terminology: “Indian” is used to describe a person defined as such under the Indian Act, and is not intended to carry any derogatory connotations.

In the early days after the 2015 election, Prime Minister Trudeau was honoured by the Tsuut’ina First Nation with a traditional headdress and an indigenous name which translates to “the one that keeps trying.” Trudeau and the Liberals will have to keep trying, as they made an extraordinary commitment to address First Nations issues during the campaign, and set multiple deadlines for action within the next few years. One of the first deadlines to come due is an amendment of the Indian Act, RSC, 1985 c. I-5 necessitated by a recent Quebec Superior Court ruling.

In Descheneaux c Canada (Procureur General), 2015 QCCS 3555 (CanLII) (Descheneaux) the court held that several provisions of the Indian Act surrounding who is considered a ‘Status Indian’ violated the principles of equality protected by Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

After withdrawing an appeal of the decision in February 2016, the federal government has commenced a two-stage response to this ruling. Stage one is Bill S-3 “An Act to amend the Indian Act (elimination of sex-based inequities in registration)”, while stage two is a collaborative process between the government and First Nations leadership to identify and implement further reforms.

This post will briefly summarize the issues and findings in Descheneaux, and assess how these are impacted by Bill S-3. It will also examine some of the testimony given at the Senate’s Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples meetings held last week on these issues. Finally, it will briefly look at how Deschaneaux fits into the Liberal government’s progress on implementing the many campaign promises it made to First Nations’ people.

The Constitutional Limits of the Sex Offender Registry

By Erin Sheley

On November 30, 2016

In Constitutional, Criminal

By: Erin Sheley

PDF Version: The Constitutional Limits of the Sex Offender Registry

Case Commented On: R v Ndhlovu, 2016 ABQB 595 (CanLII)

It has become conventional wisdom in public discourse that sex offenders are uniquely likely to repeat their crimes. This assumption, combined with the heinous nature of sex offences (particularly those involving child victims), has motivated law enforcement and legislators to adopt unique measures to solve and prevent sex offences. In the United States the FBI maintains a searchable sex offender database compiled from the data of the various state jurisdictions. A user may conduct a geographic search to quickly access the name, photograph, and rap sheet of any sex offender living in their neighborhood. (Eligibility for the database varies substantially by state, both in terms of seriousness of the triggering offence (in some states public urination qualifies), duration of time on the database (in many jurisdictions it is for life), and existence of judicial discretion to require registration (in most jurisdictions it is automatic upon conviction for a triggering offence)).

Canada’s approach has been somewhat more moderate.

Finally, a Plan (albeit drip-by-drip) to Phase Out Coal and Keep the Lights On

By Nigel Bankes

On November 29, 2016

In Climate Change, Energy, Natural Resources

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: Finally, a Plan (albeit drip-by-drip) to Phase Out Coal and Keep the Lights On

Documents and press releases commented on:
(1) Press Release, Electricity Price Protection, November 22, 2016;
(2) AESO, Alberta’s Wholesale Electricity Market Transmission Recommendation, dated October 3, 2016, released November 23, 2106, accepted by the Province;
(3) Press Release: Alberta Announces Coal Transition Action, November 24, 2016 and related letter from Terry Boston to the Premier of Alberta (dated September 30, 2016, released November 24, 2016).

The week of November 21, 2016 will go down as a significant week in the evolution of Alberta’s electricity market. Having introduced Bill 27, the Renewable Electricity Act on November 3, 2016 (see post here) the provincial government followed that up this last week with a number of significant initiatives.

First there was the announcement on Tuesday November 22 that the province was going to cap electricity prices in the retail market. Second, on Wednesday November 23, the province announced that it planned to accept the recommendations of the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) to introduce a capacity market in Alberta to supplement the existing energy only market and then, third, on Thursday November 24 there was the announcement that the province had reached a settlement with the owners of the six coal generating facilities with useful lives beyond 2030 who will be required to cease burning coal at those facilities by then. And later that same day, the province announced tentative settlements with most of the parties affected by the province’s efforts to question the ability of the buyers under power purchase arrangements (PPAs) to turn responsibility for those arrangements over to the Balancing Pool. “Black” Friday was almost quiet, except for the morning’s announcement that, as of January 1, 2017, the province would “prohibit unsolicited door-to-door selling of energy products to protect people from misleading high-pressure sales tactics.”

This is a very positive package of measures. It offers comfort to consumers that they will be protected at least in the short term from excessive price volatility on the upside. It offers a realistic strategy for obtaining the investment that the province needs to build combined cycle gas generation to replace the coal fleet and thus addresses potentially very serious energy security concerns. It offers comfort to coal generators that they are being treated fairly in relation to stranded assets and gives them both the wherewithal and reason to invest in the construction of new generation. And finally it splits the difference between the province and the PPA buyers in their dispute on the terms of the PPAs. This was an important package to put together. Without it the transition from coal would be more risky (in energy security terms) and likely more expensive (increased cost of capital). While a significant change in market structure such as this is not without its own risks (a perception of continuing change will deter investors) most agreed that an energy only market was not going to deliver on the energy security front.

You Can’t Rely on a Motor Vehicle’s Mechanical Fitness Assessment

By Jonnette Watson Hamilton

On November 28, 2016

In Criminal, Provincial Court

By: Jonnette Watson Hamilton

PDF Version: You Can’t Rely on a Motor Vehicle’s Mechanical Fitness Assessment

Case Commented On: R v 954355 Alberta Inc (The Fast Lane), 2016 ABPC 229 (CanLII)

The Fast Lane, a used car dealership in Calgary, was charged with three offences under the Fair Trading Act, RSA 2000, c F-2. It was found guilty of misleading and deceiving the customer by representing that the 2006 Mazda she bought was in roadworthy condition, but not guilty of the other two offences. The Fast Lane had argued in its defence that it had relied upon the Mechanical Fitness Assessment required by the province’s Vehicle Inspection Regulation, Alta Reg 111/2006. Judge Heather Lamoureux concluded The Fast Lane’s representation of roadworthiness was not intentionally misleading. However, she held that the used car dealer could not rely on the Mechanical Fitness Assessment for its opinion on roadworthiness because that Assessment did not speak to roadworthiness. A car buyer should not rely on that Assessment either. The Mechanical Fitness Assessment is yet another disappointment in the operation of the troubled Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council (AMVIC), which regulates motor vehicles, including their sale and repair, as well as the licensing of dealer and repair facilities in Alberta.