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 ...
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 ...
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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