On July 18, 2014 the Province of British Columbia released the long-awaited Kitimat Airshed Study (though completed on April 25, 2014, the study was not previously released pending review).
The study is an independent assessment intended to assist the Province’s regulatory decision-making process by providing information that will be used to ultimately determine ...
Today, the Supreme Court of Canada released another important Aboriginal law decision, Keewatin v. Ontario (Natural Resources), 2014 SCC 48. The decision confirms the power of Ontario, along with other provincial governments, to manage natural resources over lands subject to numbered treaties. Treaty 3 is one of the historical, numbered treaties entered into between ...
Introduction
On June 26, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released its much anticipated decision on Aboriginal title in the Tsilhqot’in case and surprised many by granting the Tsilhqot’in Nation a declaration of Aboriginal title to approximately 200,000 hectares (2,000 km2) of land.
The Tsilhqot’in case is the first case decided by the SCC granting ...
After 115 years under the old regime, the new Water Sustainability Act received Royal Assent on Friday May 20, 2014: an historic occasion to celebrate?
Not quite yet, perhaps. The fact is the vast majority of the new statute will not have the force of law until authorized by the Lieutenant Governor in Council at an unspecified future date (section 219). With new water ...
The Province’s discussion paper Pricing B.C.’s Water has garnered a wide range of opinions since being released in March. As part of the public consultation effort regarding the new Water Sustainability Act (now at 2nd reading in the legislature), the public was given until April 8 to provide its views on water pricing and the Province’s water pricing principles.
On January 24, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed a leave to appeal application in a Métis rights case from Alberta. As a result, the Alberta Court of Appeal’s decision, which upheld a finding that the existence of a rights-bearing Métis community in southern Alberta had not been established on the facts, remains the binding authority in Alberta.
Background
The ...
On March 11, 2014 the BC government introduced a first reading of the Water Sustainability Act, Bill 18, the culmination of a 4-year initiative to modernize the 100-year old Water Act. Followers of this blog or BC water issues will know that the government released a comprehensive “proposal” regarding the new statute in the fall of 2013 (see our previous blog post here). ...
On December 20, 2013, the Court of Appeal of Alberta released its decision in Cold Lake First Nations v. Alberta (Tourism, Parks and Recreation), [2013] ABCA 443, determining that the Alberta government had met its duty to consult the Cold Lake First Nations in the context of upgrading and expanding a provincial recreation area. CLFN filed an application for leave to appeal ...
On November 25, 2013, significant amendments to the fish protection provisions in the federal Fisheries Act came into force. For more information, please see our earlier blog post here.
Authorizations issued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) prior to November 25, 2013 continue to be valid, but holders can apply for a review of their authorization to confirm whether it ...
The Province recently approved amendments to the Water Regulation to eliminate minor but inconvenient steps in the permitting process.
BC Regulation 234/2013 amends the Water Regulation to:
i) eliminate the requirement for duplicate signatures on water license applications; and
ii) eliminate the requirement that applicants for certain non-contentious water ...
About Us
Lawson Lundell's Environmental, Indigenous and Natural Resources Blog focuses on environmental, indigenous and natural resources law, as well as related litigation. Included are summaries of significant cases from Canadian appellate courts, changes in the legal framework governing resource development including energy and climate change policy, and key decisions from the more influential regulatory bodies in Canada.
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