Alberta Law Review

07/07/2022

Issue 59:4 of the Alberta Law Review has been published!

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Alberta Law Review

05/30/2022

In their latest article, "Seven Years of Accessible Justice: A Critical Assessment Of Hryniak V. Mauldin’s Culture Shift," R. McKay White assesses the impact of the 2014 SCC decision, Hryniak v Mauldin, which introduced a culture shift to civil litigation. The shift required participants in the civil justice system to stop viewing trials as the default adjudication system and expand the use of summary judgments. The author concludes that Alberta courts have misapplied the culture shift contrary to the SCC's intentions, and provides recommendations to address the issue of accessibility.

Read the article here: https://albertalawreview.com/index.php/ALR/article/view/2688

05/30/2022

In her latest article, "Reflections on COVID-19 And Criminal Law: How Does Judicial Doctrine Function in A Crisis?," Sarah Burningham reviews the impact of COVID-19 on judicial decision-making in criminal law and analyzes how the pandemic has been integrated into legal doctrine. The author concludes that doctrines are flexible enough to accommodate COVID-19 concerns.

Read the article here: https://albertalawreview.com/index.php/ALR/article/view/2687

05/30/2022

In her latest article, Erin Nelson examines Alberta’s Mental Health Review Panels, with a focus on concerns about accountability and transparency in review decisions. The article discusses reforms that can enhance the accountability of the process. Check it out here: https://albertalawreview.com/index.php/ALR/article/view/2686

04/01/2022

In their article, "Recent Legislative and Regulatory Developments of Interest to Energy Lawyers," Rosa Twyman, Laura-Marie Berg, and Marle Riley provide an overview of regulatory and legislative developments in Canada from mid-April 2020 to the end of March 2021. In particular, the authors note the challenges related to climate change and decarbonization, the opportunities that decarbonization provides for evolving technology, and regulatory gaps. They also discuss developments in regulatory efficiency, the application of the Vavilov decision to energy regulatory decisions, and the obligations of energy regulators towards Indigenous peoples.

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Recent Legislative and Regulatory Developments of Interest to Energy Lawyers Authors Rosa Twyman Laura-Marie Berg Marle Riley Abstract This article provides a high-level overview of regulatory and legislative developments in Canada from mid-April 2020 to the end of March 2021. We reviewed statutes,....

04/01/2022

In their article, "Recent Judicial Decisions of Interest to Energy Lawyers," Sophie Lorefice, Changhai Zhu, Sean Fairhurst, and Matthew Potts summarize recent key decisions covering developments in the Canadian law of contract, energy, environment, insolvency, Aboriginal, employment and labour, minority shareholder’s rights, as well as developments in civil litigation procedure.

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Recent Judicial Decisions of Interest to Energy Lawyers Authors Sophie Lorefice Changhai Zhu Sean Fairhurst Matthew Potts Abstract Last year’s submission canvassed judicial decisions that were released prior to, and post-implementation of, COVID-19 restrictions. The advent of COVID-19 caused unpre...

04/01/2022

In their article "Indigenous Ownership of Natural Resource Projects: A Framework for Partnership and Economic Development," Vivek Warrier, Luke Morrison, Ashley White, and Stephen Buffalo discuss the equity participation of Indigenous communities in energy projects and provide insight into common priorities that such projects should consider. Additionally, the authors analyze some unique challenges present in co-ownership agreements.

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Indigenous Ownership of Natural Resource Projects: A Framework for Partnership and Economic Development Authors Vivek Warrier Luke Morrison Ashley White Stephen Buffalo Abstract Common ownership with Indigenous communities provides a way for energy industry project proponents to align their interest...

03/29/2022

In their recent article, "Energy Storage: The Regulatory Landscape in Alberta," David Eeles, Matthew Keen, Alexander Baer and Ryan Taylor discuss the current state of the regulatory landscape applicable to energy storage in Alberta. The authors provide insight into related policy issues such as tariffs, competitive market issues, hybrid sites, and self-supply and export issues. Furthermore, the authors analyze decisions of the Alberta Utilities Commission and comment on anticipated changes to the existing regulatory landscape.

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Energy Storage: The Regulatory Landscape in Alberta Authors David Eeles Matthew Keen Alexander Baer Ryan Taylor Abstract Energy storage technologies are increasingly being deployed in Alberta. In the recent past, costs were the largest hurdle to widespread energy storage deployment. But this is chan...

03/29/2022

In their recent article, "Prompt Payment Movement Sweeps Across Canada: Is the Energy Industry Ready to Comply?" Paula Olexiuk, Melanie Gaston, Jagriti Singh and Lesley Lee survey the legislative changes in Canada pertaining to prompt payment and mandatory adjudication in the construction industry (with a special focus on implications for the energy sector). The authors conclude by providing risk allocation strategies for drafting contracts under the new legislation.

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Prompt Payment Movement Sweeps Across Canada: Is the Energy Industry Ready to Comply? Authors Paula Olexiuk Melanie Gaston Jagriti Singh Lesley Lee Abstract Jurisdictions throughout Canada are debating, drafting, and enacting legislation for prompt payment and mandatory adjudication in the construct...

03/23/2022

The results of the William Morrow Essay Contest are in! We received a number of excellent submissions and would like to acknowledge the hard work of all of the students who entered the contest. A big congratulations to the winners!

General Essay Category:
1st place: Victoria Chiu
2nd place: Shelby Johnson

Notes & Case Comments Category:
Lee Klippenstein

02/09/2022

In their recent article, "The ABCs of EFCs: Eligible Financial Contracts and Energy Company Insolvency Proceedings," Ky Kvisle & James Reid assess the treatment of energy trading contracts under Canadian insolvency laws. In particular, they analyze disputes surrounding whether certain types of energy trading contracts are properly characterized as eligible financial contracts ("EFCs") under Canadian insolvency laws. The authors suggest that courts look at the essence of any particular contract and whether it serves an underlying financial purpose to determine if it can be characterized as an EFC. They also aim to clarify the scope and limitations of the protections and legal remedies that may be available or unavailable to solvent counterparties to an EFC.

Check out the article here:

The ABCs of EFCs: Eligible Financial Contracts and Energy Company Insolvency Proceedings Authors Ky Kvisle James Reid Abstract Canadian insolvency laws provide special treatment for complex financial instruments such as swaps, forwards, and other derivatives referred to as “eligible financial cont...

01/18/2022

In their recent article, "Pathways to Net-Zero: Opportunities for Canada in a Changing Energy Sector," authors Brendan Downey, Mike Henry, Robyn Finley, Sean Korney, and John Zhou argue that decarbonization of the Canadian economy is dependent in part on the effectiveness of regulatory schemes in facilitating and incentivizing commercial endeavours to exploit low-carbon energy sources. The article evaluates potential regulatory frameworks for lower-carbon energy sources such as hydrogen, geothermal energy, and biofuels.

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Pathways to Net-Zero: Opportunities for Canada in a Changing Energy Sector Authors Brendan Downey Mike Henry Robyn Finley Sean Korney John Zhou Abstract The climate is changing, and Canada is changing with it. Canada has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Initiatives have been taken...