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The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) recently published, in final form, a harmonized national framework for securities crowdfunding (National Instrument (NI) 45-110), which, subject to ministerial approval, will come into force on September 21, 2021. This is a positive development and shows that provincial securities regulators can work together to make Canadian capital markets more efficient without a national regulator.

It is uncertain, however, how industry will respond – and this is no fault of the regulator. The harmonized framework balances dual policy pillars of investor protection and fair and efficient capital markets, and this should be applauded. But crowdfunding isn’t a panacea. It’s a tool that may fill a small gap in the capital raising ecosystem for start-ups. One might be skeptical about the net impact it will ultimately have on capital formation in Canada, and there are several good reasons why firms and investors may want to avoid it altogether.

Conflating Dissent with Disloyalty, Allan Inquiry sets a Dangerous Precedent

By Martin Olszynski

On July 30, 2021

In Energy, Environmental

By: Martin Z. Olszynski

PDF Version: Conflating Dissent with Disloyalty, Allan Inquiry sets a Dangerous Precedent

Matter Commented On: The Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns

It’s late fall 2022. A popular mayor of a southern Alberta town wakes up to a peculiar email: the Second Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns has reviewed several news reports from 2020 and 2021, as well as his social media account, and has determined that he engaged in an “anti-Alberta energy campaign.”

Just a bit down the highway, a popular Alberta country singer finds a similar email. They’ve each been given two weeks to respond. Confused, each writes back to the Inquiry to insist that they’re absolutely not anti-Alberta: they’re proud Albertans who care deeply about its lands and waters, especially the eastern slopes of the Rockies and the vital headwaters found there.

The AER’s Mandatory Closure Spend Targets are Deficient

By Drew Yewchuk

On July 27, 2021

In Energy, Oil & Gas

By: Drew Yewchuk

PDF Version: The AER’s Mandatory Closure Targets are Deficient

Legislation Commented On: AER Bulletin 2021-23 ‘Mandatory Closure Spend Targets’

This is a follow up post to my June 24, 2021 post on the changes the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is making to the Liability Management Framework and specifically Draft Directive XXX: Licensee Life-Cycle Management (Draft Directive) meant to replace the current Directive 006 once finalized. Readers are encouraged to check that post for background context.

R v Boudreau: Senior Crown Recused Due to Hostility, “Animus” Toward Accused

By Amy Matychuk

On July 21, 2021

In Ethics and the Legal Profession, Provincial Court

By: Amy Matychuk

PDF Version: R v Boudreau: Senior Crown Recused Due to Hostility, “Animus” Toward Accused?

Case Commented On: R v Boudreau, 2021 ABPC 175 (CanLII)

In R v Boudreau, 2021 ABPC 175 (CanLII), Judge F. K. MacDonald for the Provincial Court of Alberta ordered that Mr. Mark Huyser-Wierenga, a Crown prosecutor, recuse himself from conducting a prosecution against the accused, Mr. William Boudreau. Judge MacDonald found that Mr. Huyser-Wierenga’s conduct showed “a lack of objectivity and an inappropriate hostility” to Mr. Boudreau’s defense counsel, Ms. Ellen Sutherland (at para 110). Mr. Huyser-Wierenga also put himself in a position of conflict and conducted himself recklessly or with unacceptable negligence. In this unusual decision, Judge MacDonald issues a stern rebuke to a very senior male Crown prosecutor who not only treated junior female defence counsel discourteously and unprofessionally, but also gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias against the accused by making himself a witness and using hyperbole and overstatement when before the court.

Blueberry River First Nation and the Piecemeal Infringement of Treaty 8

By Robert Hamilton

On July 20, 2021

In Aboriginal, Treaty Rights

By: Robert Hamilton & Nick Ettinger

PDF Version: Blueberry River First Nation and the Piecemeal Infringement of Treaty 8

Case Commented On: Yahey v British Columbia, 2021 BCSC 1287 (CanLII)

In a highly anticipated decision, the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled on June 29, 2021 that the Province of British Columbia (BC) unjustifiably infringed the Treaty 8 rights of Blueberry River First Nation (Blueberry) by “permitting the cumulative impacts of industrial development to meaningfully diminish Blueberry’s exercise of its treaty rights” (Yahey v British Columbia, 2021 BCSC 1287 (CanLII) at para 1884 [Yahey]). The Court ordered the Province to consult and negotiate with Blueberry to establish regulatory mechanisms to manage and address the cumulative impacts of industrial development on Blueberry’s treaty rights. If a satisfactory solution is not reached within 6 months, the Province will be prohibited from permitting further industrial activity in Blueberry’s traditional territory (Yahey, para 1894), which overlies the vast natural gas and liquids resource of the Montney Formation in northeast BC. The Montney reserves form the anchor for LNG Canada’s $40 billion liquefied natural gas processing and export facility under construction at Kitimat, BC, which will be serviced by the Coastal GasLink Pipeline, as well as the planned Woodfibre LNG export terminal on the Howe Sound fjord near Squamish, BC.

We’ve Got New Harmonized Crowdfunding Rules. But How Will Industry Respond?

Conflating Dissent with Disloyalty, Allan Inquiry sets a Dangerous Precedent

The AER’s Mandatory Closure Spend Targets are Deficient

R v Boudreau: Senior Crown Recused Due to Hostility, “Animus” Toward Accused

Blueberry River First Nation and the Piecemeal Infringement of Treaty 8