Environmental, Indigenous and Natural Resources Blog

On October 26, 2012, the Joint Review Panel (the “Panel”) established to review the Jackpine Mine Expansion Project (the “Jackpine Project”) found that its statutory jurisdiction does not include the authority to adjudicate the adequacy of the Crown’s consultation with First Nations. As interested parties in the proceeding, the Athabasca Chipewyan First ...

Since 2009, the Alberta government has reserved for itself the right to exempt electricity transmission projects from review by the Alberta Utilities Commission.   Exempted projects have been referred to as Bill 50 Projects, Bill 50 being the name of the law when it was first proposed.  Billions of dollars worth of Bill 50 Projects have been advanced since 2009, and those ...

The Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (“LARP”) came into effect on September 1, 2012 and is the first of seven regional plans to be released under the Alberta Land Stewardship Act.  The LARP establishes the new cumulative effects approach to be used in the Lower Athabasca region and provides valuable insight as to how Alberta’s oil sands resources will be managed in the ...

The Alberta Court of Appeal has denied the Cold Lake First Nations’ (CLFN) application to appeal a decision by Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) that it did not have the jurisdiction to determine the adequacy of Crown consultation in respect of a bitumen recovery project within the CLFN’s treaty territory. The ERCB held that although it has the ...

September 2012 marked the 20^th anniversary of the creation of the BC Treaty Commission and on October 10, 2012, the BC Treaty Commission released its annual report titled “Learning from our Success”. The report includes a reflection of the successes and challenges the BC Treaty Commission has seen over the past 20 years. Since 1992, the BC Treaty Commission has seen two ...

B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake and Energy, Mines and Natural Gas Minister Rich Coleman refused to issue an Environmental Assessment Certificate (“EAC”) to Pacific Booker Minerals Inc. for its proposed Morrison Copper/Gold Mine project near Smithers. The decision by Ministers Lake and Coleman is in accordance with the recommendation of the Executive ...

On September 25, 2012, the BC Court of Appeal released its reasons in Neskonlith Indian Band v Salmon Arm (City), 2012 BCCA 379 dismissing an appeal by the Neskonlith Indian Band (the “Neskonlith”) seeking, inter alia, a declaration that the City of Salmon Arm (the “City”) had a duty to consult with the Neskonlith. The case involved a judicial review brought by the ...

On August 9, 2012, the BC Court of Appeal released its decision in Adams Lake Indian Band v. Lieutenant Governor in Council, 2012 BCCA 333 in which it reversed the BC Supreme Court’s finding that consultation by the Province with the Adams Lake Indian Band in respect of the incorporation of Sun Peaks Mountain Resort as a municipality was inadequate. On appeal, the Province ...

Several important changes to the environmental assessment process were introduced with the enactment of the new Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (“CEAA 2012”) on July 6, 2012. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (1992), has been repealed. As we reported in a previous post, several regulations related to CEAA 2012 have also come into force:

The new Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, came into force on July 6, 2012. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, SC 1992, c 37 has been repealed.

As the official version of the Act has not been posted to the Department of Justice website, the public must, for now, refer to sections 52 to 63 and 66 of the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act (Bill C-38). We ...