The proposed Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act has been enacted by Parliament and is now awaiting proclamation. The Government of Canada has stated that it intends to have the Act in force by June, 2015. This post provides a short overview of the legislation and its potential application to contracts between resource developers and Aboriginal governments ...
The duty to consult is a Crown responsibility. But what happens when the Crown’s consultation is inadequate? Can a company that suffers losses as a result claim compensation from the Crown? A recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Moulton Contracting Ltd. v British Columbia, 2015 BCCA 89 indicates that it will be very difficult for companies to seek ...
The Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories has granted an injunction to the Tlicho Government suspending the implementation of the Mackenzie Valley “Superboard” legislation. Creation of the Mackenzie Valley “Superboard” is contemplated in amendments to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act (MVRMA) contained in the Northwest Territories ...
On February 4, 2015, the Alberta Energy Regulator (“AER”) and the Aboriginal Consultation Office (“ACO”) released the Joint Operating Procedures for First Nations Consultation on Energy Resources Activities (the “Operating Procedures”).
The Operating Procedures set out a framework to administer and coordinate the operations of the ACO and AER on ...
On January 27, 2015, the federal government accepted the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB)’s recommendation — submitted in October 2014 and supported by 127 terms and conditions — to approve Agnico Eagle’s Meliadine planned gold mine in the territory’s Kivalliq region. “It is evident that the board met its primary objectives … to protect and promote the ...
It has been quite some time since the Supreme Court of Canada considered the merger provisions contained in the Competition Act. On January 22, 2015, the SCC issued its decision in Tervita v. Canada (Commissioner of Competition), overturning the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal that had required Tervita to divest its interest in Babkirk Landfill Services Inc., a ...
On December 2, 2014, the Yukon Supreme Court struck down the Yukon government’s Peel watershed regional land use plan because of the government’s failure to follow the process for developing that plan under final agreements (modern treaties) with the Na-Cho Nyak Dun, Tr’ondek Hwech’in and Vuntut Gwichin First Nations. The case marks the first time that a court has ...
On October 23, 2014, the Government of Canada introduced the proposed Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act into Parliament. The proposed Act, which is contained with the omnibus budget Bill C-43, is intended to deter and detect corruption by requiring companies to report payments they make to governments in Canada and abroad. The federal government is ...
In yet another indication of the increasing prominence of water use issues in BC, the Supreme Court of British Columbia recently upheld the practice of the BC Oil and Gas Commission to grant recurrent short-term water approvals for oil and gas activities under the Water Act. In Western Canada Wilderness Committee v British Columbia (Oil and Gas Commission), 2014 BCSC 1919
On July 21, 2014, the new Liquefied Natural Gas Facility Regulation, BC Reg 146/2014, was enacted by the BC Oil and Gas Commission (“OGC”). As the name suggests, the regulation is intended to address regulation of LNG facilities, and also updates LNG-related provisions previously in the Pipeline and Liquefied Natural Gas Facility Regulation, BC Reg 281/2010, which ...
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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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