News & Publications Archive

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

The electric systems of Alberta and British Columbia are interconnected through three transmission lines, and all three are treated for operational purposes as a single line. For the purpose of this discussion, these interconnections will be referred to collectively as the Alberta-BC Interconnection, or the Intertie.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

The federal government has introduced the first phase of a multi-phased plan intended to harmonize the current greenhouse gas emission reporting systems of Federal, provincial and territorial governments.

Courts around the world have struggled in recent years to to balance two competing values: (1) providing a remedy to plaintiffs who have been injured by defamatory material posted on the Internet; and (2) ensuring that defendants do not face jeopardy in jurisdictions which lack any real or substantial connection to their activities and business.

There is a difference between true solicitor-client privilege (also called legal advice privilege) and litigation privilege (also called solicitor’s brief privilege). While certain fact patterns may give rise to both types of privilege (particularly when litigation is underway or within reasonable contemplation), there are key differences between the two, both in terms of the test for when they will apply, and the policies underpinning their existence.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

Pension disputes are fertile ground for class actions. Where one member of a plan may not think it economic to bring a claim relating to the terms of that plan, a class action allows one plaintiff and one class action lawyer to aggregate all of these members’ claims into one proceeding. Given the monetary value of pension plans in Canada today, it can be expected that more and more pension disputes will be decided in the context of a class action.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

The themes in this paper are: (1) the "legislative" nature of the MIPS / EPG manuals, how that is significant in appeals to the Board, and the importance of stakeholder input before they are implemented; (2) the timing of legislated changes to MIPS / EPG manuals, and problems that can arise when changes to these manuals are officially given to manual subscribers after appeal dates have passed; and (3) interesting questions that arise from s.15 and s.16 information requests and how they fit into the scheme of a consultative process.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

The Builders Lien Act (Bill 38) (the “Act”) was brought into force on February 1, 1998 and replaced the former builders lien legislation in force in the Province. The Act significantly changed previous existing construction practice and must be understood by anyone working in the construction industry in British Columbia. This article is a summary of certain features of the Act and is intended to serve as a basic overview of its operation.

Program of speakers at the Insight Conference on Commercial Real Estate Law held in Vancouver on June 17-18, 2003.

A comment from the legal perspective on the treatment of intangible and excess costs in property assessment in British Columbia. This paper is not intended to be an exhaustive review of all such costs in assessment, but is instead a general overview of what the author considers to be the most topical issues facing assessors and B.C. taxpayers (particularly those with industrial and utilities properties) today.

NWT Energy Policy Consultation 2003 (March).

Trustees of pension and other plans should look to the governance of their own plans to determine to what extent their own procedures, and the accountability within their organizations, need to be improved to minimize the risk to the funds they manage, and to preserve their ultimate ability to provide the anticipated benefits. Secondly, institutional investors need to be concerned about the reliability of the corporations and other entities in which they invest. Lack of sound governance jeopardizes the integrity and viability of capital markets.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

New B.C. Energy Policy.

Speaking notes for a presentation to the Business Council of BC: Labour Relations and Human Resources Conference on November 26, 2002.

In a recent decision of the B.C. Court of Appeal, the extent of lien rights given to architects and engineers under the Builders Lien Act (the “Act”) was considered. The Court held that despite the 1998 additions to the Act whereby architects and engineers were expressly identified as potential lien claimants under the Act, such lien rights are contingent upon the commencement of construction of an improvement and do not accrue for a project that does not materialize.

1st anniversary edition of the Energy Law Group newsletter.

In some areas of the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, land claims agreements have been settled with the resident aboriginal groups. There are important consequences for oil and gas operators. This paper provides a 2002 update on land claims in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, as well as on devolution of responsibilities from the federal government to the two territorial governments.

This memorandum outlines some of the Canadian tax issues which may be relevant in connection with Canadian operations. It also describes, in general terms, certain planning opportunities that may be available.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

There are protections and issues which a vendor should consider when drafting a maintenance or support agreement and also when negotiating and agreeing to changes requested by a purchaser. This paper will review some of the issues that you should consider when commencing drafting or review of a maintenance and support agreement and the questions that you should ask.

B.C. Government releases report of the Scientific Review Panel on B.C. Offshore Hydrocarbon Development.

A variety of equity-based compensation plans exist for employers wishing to provide an equity-based incentive to their Canadian employees. This paper will outline the basic terms of such plans and discuss their Canadian tax implications.

The use of life insurance has been for many years a popular way to overcome the burden associated with the deemed disposition occurring immediately prior to death. This is particularly so in the context of an individual owning shares of a corporation of which he/she is the principal manager. This paper will discuss some of the options that are available for planning for the death of the shareholder under the current rules.

This paper focuses on the changes in condominium law that result in an increased work load on strata property agents, those that have the potential of increasing the liability of strata property agents in an increasing litigious world, and the steps that strata property agents or their lawyers should take to address those issues.

The conduct of a seismic exploration program, even with new low impact techniques, necessarily involves activities that can have a lasting impact on the environment. This paper provides a brief overview of the framework of environmental laws and regulation that may apply to seismic programs and associated activities, and a fuller discussion of some current and future issues that may affect seismic operations.

Newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

The heightened awareness of the significance of transportation arrangements has re-emphasized the importance of the regulatory framework governing natural gas transmission. Against this backdrop, this paper will outline the significant regulatory decisions and related events in 2001 and early 2002 affecting the regulation of natural gas pipelines in Canada.

General comments on landlords' remedies, and a review of the special considerations which arise when a tenant is insolvent or bankrupt. Because of the effect of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada) and the Commercial Tenancy Act (BC), a landlord is unable to exercise many of the remedies otherwise available to it.

Newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

When it comes to buying and selling “leaky condos” most people discuss the liabilities. What buyers and sellers should also consider are the possible assets. Potential assets of a leaky condo include refunds on repair assessments, PST rebates and litigation settlements. Evaluating the potential of actually receiving these monies is critical before marketing your condominium.

The bitterness and desire for public recognition of the significant harm caused by the Chinese head tax led to a recent class action, seeking on behalf of those throughout Canada who were forced to pay the tax, as well as their surviving family members, a public apology, damages in excess of a billion dollars, and other remedies.

RTO Development.

B.C. Energy Policy - Interim Report.

A brief overview of current natural gas contracting issues (and solutions) as they pertain to Alberta buyers who are significant industrial, commercial or institutional end users, with a particular emphasis on management of the end user's gas costs. The paper thereby also provides the basis for a comparison to the similar issues confronting electricity end users.

This paper explores selected contracting issues under energy supply agreements in the context of the Alberta marketplace. For purposes of this paper, the term ‘energy supply agreement’ will be used when referring to either an energy supply agreement between a consumer and a retailer or a direct sales agreement between a buyer and a direct seller.

The corporate opportunity doctrine is a prophylactic and, some might say, restrictive rule which prohibits fiduciaries from taking for themselves or diverting to an associate or affiliate a maturing business opportunity which their beneficiary is actively pursuing, or which their beneficiary can be said to have some connection to or expectancy of, and which the beneficiary might have had an interest in pursuing had the fiduciary disclosed its existence to him or her.

This paper will focus particularly on the western Canadian venture capital market and provide an outline of a typical venture capital investment in a Canadian company including the provisions that a venture capital will ask for in a term sheet and subsequent definitive documentation.

A brief discussion of different approaches to “ethical investment” and the current status of such investment in Canada, together with a legal analysis and the obstacles to overcome if considering adoption of an ethical investment policy.