ABLawg

By: Kathleen Mahoney

PDF Version: Keeping Faith Out of the Public Square: Is Calgary City Hall Offside?

Case Commented On: Mouvement laïque québécois v Saguenay (City), 2015 SCC 16

O God, author of all wisdom, knowledge and understanding. We ask Thy guidance in our consultations to the end that truth and justice may prevail, in all our judgments. Amen. (Prayer recited at Calgary City Council meetings)

What is wrong with this invocation? The Supreme Court of Canada would say nothing, as long as it is not invoked at City Hall to open meetings. In its recent decision in Mouvement laïque québécois v Saguenay (City), 2015 SCC 16 [Saguenay], the Court seems to have closed all the doors to future prospects of religious faith playing a role in the public square. Calgary’s mayor Naheed Nenshi disagrees, saying that there is room in the public square for faith, and that Calgary City Hall will explore ways of getting around the ruling. (Calgary Herald, April 15, 2015). Will this be possible? Constitutionally speaking, it will be very difficult.

Does the Stinert Decision Signal the End of the Preliminary Inquiry?

By Lisa Silver

On April 17, 2015

In Criminal

By: Lisa Silver

PDF Version: Does the Stinert Decision Signal the End of the Preliminary Inquiry?

Case Commented On: Regina v Stinert, 2015 ABPC 4

For years the efficacy of the preliminary inquiry has been questioned, studied and pronounced upon by lawyers, government officials, and the courts. Despite debate and amendments, the inquiry still exists as the legislative “shield” between the accused and the Crown, protecting, as Justice Estey explains in the 1984 majority decision of Skogman v The Queen, [1984] 2 SCR 93 (at page 105), “the accused from a needless, and indeed, improper, exposure to public trial where the enforcement agency is not in possession of evidence to warrant the continuation of the process.” However, the preliminary inquiry is at risk. Both levels of government see no value in the procedure, only costs. The courts, since Skogman, have followed suit finding the preliminary inquiry irrelevant and contrary to the efficient and effective administration of justice. Certainly, the recent Alberta Provincial Court decision in Regina v Stinert, 2015 ABPC 4 reflects this view and, as argued in this post, may signal the end of the preliminary inquiry.

May Provinces (or States) Limit Imports on the Basis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Elsewhere?

By James Coleman

On April 16, 2015

In Climate Change, Constitutional

By: James Coleman & Martin Olszynski

PDF Version: May Provinces (or States) Limit Imports on the Basis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Elsewhere?

Report Commented On: Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission, The Way Forward

Last week, a group of economists known as “Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission” issued a much-discussed report that urged Canada’s individual provinces to drive Canadian climate policy by adopting their own carbon pricing schemes. But the report barely touched on one of the key challenges for provincial or state regulation without the support of the national government: what may places that price carbon do to avoid losing industry to places that don’t?

Uber Lives to Ride Another Day

By Theresa Yurkewich

On April 15, 2015

In Municipal Law

By: Theresa Yurkewich

PDF Version: Uber Lives to Ride Another Day

Case Commented On: Edmonton (City) v Uber Canada Inc., 2015 ABQB 214

As a result of Uber’s activation in Edmonton, the City of Edmonton brought an application for a statutory interlocutory injunction, enjoining Uber Canada Inc. (“Uber Canada”) from conducting business in Edmonton without a valid business license or taxi broker license. The City did not name Uber B.V. or Rasier Operations B.V. (collectively, “Uber Companies”), the larger corporate affiliates associated with Uber Canada, in the action. In short, the City’s application was dismissed as it failed to establish a clear and continuing breach of the relevant Bylaws by Uber Canada, and it neglected to name the right entity to be enjoined (see Edmonton (City) v Uber Canada Inc., 2015 ABQB 214). This was one of the first legal challenges to the crowd favoured App within Canada and it will likely have a wide impact on the development and approach of Uber in other municipalities.

Summary Judgment on Contested Amounts Owing under Natural Gas Processing and Related Agreements

By Nigel Bankes

On April 13, 2015

In Contracts, Oil & Gas

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: Summary Judgment on Contested Amounts Owing under Natural Gas Processing and Related Agreements

Case Commented On: SemCAMS ULC v Blaze Energy Ltd, 2015 ABQB 218

This is an important judgment on the interplay between the rules for the interpretation of contracts and the post Hryniak law on summary judgment: see Hryniak v Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7. The short version of the holding is that a producer cannot avoid summary judgment for outstanding amounts owing under a natural gas processing or related agreement on the basis that the producer has called for an audit of the operator’s accounts or otherwise disputes the amounts owing – at least where the agreements in question clearly oblige producers to settle invoices promptly, notwithstanding the existence of a dispute as to whether the invoices properly reflect the amounts owing.