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R. v. Syncrude Canada: The Case of The 500 (or was that 1600) Dead Ducks

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On September 16, 2009

In Constitutional, Environmental

PDF Version:  R. v. Syncrude Canada: The Case of The 500 (or was that 1600) Dead Ducks

In a Provincial Court appearance on September 14, 2009, Syncrude Canada pled not guilty to charges laid by Alberta Environment and Environment Canada in relation to the toxic substances in its Aurora Mines tailing pond that resulted in the death of 1600 migratory birds in 2008 (the number of birds was initially thought to be 500, but was revised upwards to 1600 after further investigation). ABlawg has followed this regulatory saga from its inception in January 2009 (see previous posts by myself (R. v. Syncrude Canada: The Case of The 500 Dead Ducks and Environmental Private Prosecution Update: John Custer v. Syncrude Canada) and Jocelyn Stacey (Lame duck constitutional arguments: a new twist on Syncrude’s Tailings Pond Debacle).

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Supreme Court of Canada undermines Trial Judges’ discretion under Charter s. 24(1)

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On September 10, 2009

In Constitutional, Criminal

Cases Considered: Bjelland v. The Queen, 2009 SCC 38

PDF Version: Supreme Court of Canada undermines Trial Judges’ discretion under Charter s. 24(1)

In Bjelland v. The Queen, 2009 SCC 38, the Supreme Court of Canada considered the question of whether faulty disclosure by the Crown could lead to the exclusion of the evidence concerned under s. 24(1) of the Charter. The majority, in a 4-3 decision, developed a test for the exclusion of evidence under s. 24(1) and applied it in a very restrictive way. This raises concerns about their respect for the discretion of trial judges as granted by s. 24(1) of the Charter.

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Williston Wildcatters: bluster no substitute for reasons and yet another judicially created leave and licence

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On September 9, 2009

In Oil & Gas

Case considered: Montreal Trust Co v. Williston Wildcatters Corp., 2009 SKCA 85

PDF version: Williston Wildcatters: bluster no substitute for reasons and yet another judicially created leave and licence

Over the last decade we have seen litigation in both Saskatchewan and Alberta on the question of how to calculate damages where an operator continues to produce hydrocarbons on a dead lease. The Alberta case is Lady Freyberg v. Fletcher Challenge Oil and Gas, 2007 ABQB 353 (on the damages issue – following 2005 ABCA 46 on the lease validity issue). This matter has been settled on a confidential basis and unfortunately we cannot expect to see an appeal judgement on the damages question. I say “unfortunately” because the trial judgement seems to have proceeded on the basis that the continued production was tortious; but there is at least some ground for thinking that the operator’s activities were continued with the permission of a co-owner. If that is correct, then the co-owner/lessor’s claims should have been dealt with on the basis of a co-owner’s claim for an accounting of more than a just share received, rather than on the basis of tort (trespass or conversion). The Freyberg decision is the subject of lengthy comment by Chris Simard et al, “Lady Freyberg: Examples of How Contemporary Courts in Alberta Approach the Modern Business Realities of the Freehold Petroleum and Natural Gas Lease” (2009), 46 Alberta Law Review 299.

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Not Your Usual Self-Represented Litigant?

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On September 7, 2009

In Civil Procedure

Case considered: Conway v. Zinkhofer, 2009 ABQB 417

PDF version: Not Your Usual Self-Represented Litigant?

The perception within the justice system is that self-represented litigants have below average literacy and comprehension levels: see the Alberta Self-Represented Litigants Mapping Project, Final Report, January 12, 2007 at 10. However, according to recent research, members of any social group may become self-represented litigants and between 60 and 65% had at least some post secondary education. One group of self-represented litigants is the group who could access representation but prefer to self-represent (Final Report at 15). Although a small percentage of the self-represented litigants (5% or less), the group includes those often referred to as “vexatious litigants” and judges report that this group of self-represented litigants are particularly time consuming and difficult to deal with (Final Report at 16). This appears to be an apt summary of the male respondent in this case, Fred Zinkhofer.

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Post-Kapp Decision May Indicate the Way Discrimination will be Determined in Human Rights Cases

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On September 2, 2009

In Constitutional, Human Rights

Case Considered: Van Der Smit v. Alberta (Human Rights and Citizenship Commission), 2009 ABQB 121

PDF Version: Post-Kapp Decision May Indicate the Way Discrimination will be Determined in Human Rights Cases

In the past few years, the application to human rights legislation of precedents established under Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms s. 15(1), which set out how a court is to determine whether a claimant has experienced discrimination, was an issue in many Canadian jurisdictions, including Alberta. The issue became more important, when in R. v. Kapp, 2008 SCC 41, the Supreme Court of Canada appeared to re-state (and perhaps even re-formulate) the test from Law v. Canada, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 497, which had been the precedent courts relied on for several years. There are several posts written by ABlawg contributors about the Kapp decision and those which have followed. See, for example: Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan, The End of Law: A New Framework for Analyzing Section 15(1) Charter Challenges.

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