ABLawg

By: Shaun Fluker

PDF Version: Fundamental Legal Questions and Standard of Review in Alberta

Case Commented On: Stewart v Elk Valley Coal Corporation, 2015 ABCA 225

The Court of Appeal has issued another strong statement on standard of review and clearly asserts its intention to place boundaries on the application of a presumption of deference in the judicial review (or statutory appeal) of tribunal decisions. Readers may recall my earlier post where I commented on the direction taken by the Court on standard of review in Edmonton (East) Capilano Shopping Centres Ltd v Edmonton (City), 2015 ABCA 85 particularly in relation to the Court’s reluctance to defer to the interpretation by a tribunal of its home statute. It has seemed in recent years that the Supreme Court of Canada has come out strongly in favour of deference to legal determinations by statutory tribunals concerning their home legislation, and so the Capilano decision struck me as an outlier. The Court’s reasoning in Stewart v Elk Valley Coal Corporation builds on its earlier Capilano judgment and thus further indicates the Court has plans to rework the presumption of deference in judicial review for Alberta.

Expensive, Complex Appeals from Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service Orders

By Jonnette Watson Hamilton

On July 16, 2015

In Access to Justice, Landlord/Tenant, Property

By: Jonnette Watson Hamilton

PDF Version: Expensive, Complex Appeals from Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service Orders

Case Commented On: Nee v Ayre & Oxford Inc, 2015 ABQB 402 (CanLII)

The decision by Justice Donald Lee in Nee v Ayre & Oxford Inc is one of several decisions that he has made dismissing tenants’ appeals of Residential Tenancies Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) orders because the tenant failed to file a transcript of the oral hearing that took place before an RTDRS officer. This decision builds on Justice Lee’s prior judgment in Herman v Boardwalk Rental Communities, 2011 ABQB 394 (CanLII), as it reproduces twelve paragraphs of his Herman decision to provide the reasons for dismissing Ms. Nee’s appeal. It is also very similar to Justice Lee’s decisions in Zibrowski v Nicolis, 2012 ABQB 236 (CanLII). Although Nee v Ayre & Oxford Inc does not make any new legal points, it is worth a post because it once again highlights how complex and expensive appeals from RTDRS orders are, especially for many self-represented litigants who are, after all, the people for whom the RTDRS process was designed.

What exactly does that complex and expensive appeal process entail?

Alberta Decision on Knock-for-Knock Allocation of Liability in a Standard Form Drilling Contract

By Nigel Bankes

On July 15, 2015

In Contracts, Oil & Gas

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: Alberta Decision on Knock-for-Knock Allocation of Liability in a Standard Form Drilling Contract

Case Commented On: Precision Drilling Canada Limited Partnership v Yangarra Resources Ltd, 2015 ABQB 433

This case involves the interpretation of a standard form drilling contract. Under that contract, said (at para 5) to be negotiated between the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the drilling contractor (here Precision) and the oil and gas operator (here Yangarra) agreed to accept an allocation of risks and liabilities based essentially on ownership interests rather than fault. Thus, Article 10.1 of the contract, subject to some listed exceptions, provided that:

Precision shall at all times assume all of the risk of and be solely liable for any damage to, loss of, or destruction of Precision’s Surface Equipment, regardless of the negligence or other fault of Yangarra or howsoever arising and Precision specifically releases Yangarra in regard to any claims that Precision may otherwise have in regard thereto.

By the same token, Yangarra (Article 10.3 and 10.4) agreed to accept risks and provide an indemnity in relation to any downhole issues:

The SGER Amendments and the New Treatment of Cogeneration

By Nigel Bankes

On July 14, 2015

In Climate Change, Energy, Environmental

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: The SGER Amendments and the New Treatment of Cogeneration

Regulation Commented On: Specified Gas Emitters Amendment Regulation, Alta Reg 104/2015

In a previous post I reported on the Minister’s speech announcing a two-step procedure for developing a new climate change policy for Alberta. The first step involved changes to two of the key variables in the current Specified Gas Emitter Regulation (SGER), Alta Reg 139/2007 while the second step is the more comprehensive review to be conducted by Dr Andrew Leach to assess the full range of options for the management of greenhouse gas emissions in the province. At the time I wrote that post I had not examined the details of the amendments to the SGER to see what other changes (if any) were being proposed. This post picks up where the last left off.

“Inspired by the Past, We Shape the Future”

By Maureen Duffy

On July 10, 2015

In Human Rights, Terrorism and Security

By: Maureen Duffy

PDF Version: “Inspired by the Past, We Shape the Future”

Matter Commented On: Conference on “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Security in the Changing World,” and attacks by extremists on educational institutions, “Inspired by the Past, We Shape the Future”

Recent terrorist and/or militant incidents have focused on universities and schools, assumed, by some, to be a desirable target for extremists because of their symbolic value. Another motivation for such attacks may be that education itself is viewed as an antidote to the spread of extremism, and suppressing education may be seen as a means of gaining control over the population — a theory expressed by Malala Yousafzai, from Pakistan, who, at the age of 15, was shot in the face on a school bus for advocating for education for girls. She has famously called on the United Nations to send “books and pens, rather than tanks,” to parts of the world struggling with extremist violence. Military intervention and legal enactments may have some impact on extremism, but they can also often escalate the problem, rather than diminishing it, and they can give rise to new human-rights abuses. Education appears to be a much more promising tool in many cases, and that is likely why it is under attack.