News & Publications Results

The debate over the future of Canada’s public healthcare system has been underway in British Columbia for some time. At the core of the debate is the role of the private sector in delivering medically necessary diagnostic and surgical services. Can increased private sector involvement enhance the ability of the public system to deliver improved health outcomes or would it, as some fear, do irreparable damage to the public system?

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

This paper provides information on four topics that should be useful to developers of resort properties, as well as potential buyers and investors in resort property strata units, homes or commercial enterprises. The four topics are: the unique characteristics and issues of utility services; who are the utility regulators and what do they do?; From whom, and under what terms, are utility services available?; and a summary of issues for developers and investor-owners.

Two Supreme Court of Canada November 2004 landmark decisions provide a preliminary outline of the parameters of the Crown’s duty to consult and, where appropriate, accommodate Aboriginal peoples in circumstances where Aboriginal interests have been asserted, but not proven. The decisions also provide a framework for Aboriginal consultation activity related to potential infringements of Aboriginal rights caused by land and resource development activities.

Enacted in 1990, the Metis Settlements Act proposed a statutory framework which addressed the desire of Metis for legal recognition of their settlement land base and their corresponding desire for self government and control over that land base. The effect of the legislation has been to provide Metis people with a voice in how oil and gas operations are conducted on settlement lands.

The Uniform Law Conference of Canada recently drafted a report that addressed the desirability of allowing national or multi-jurisdictional class actions.

The importance of renewable energy resources cannot be overstated. In a climate of rising oil and natural gas prices, enhanced environmental awareness and increasing evidence that fossil fuel supplies are finite, politically vulnerable and environmentally taxing, renewable energy is a promising energy alternative. While not totally without impact on the environment, renewable energy is cleaner than fossil fuels and, by definition, cannot be depleted.

Aboriginal rights, title and treaty issues are one of the most significant legal issues currently facing the oil and gas industry in Western Canada. This paper provides an overview of the current legal context respecting aboriginal rights, title and treaty issues in Western Canada and its impact on the oil and gas industry. It also includes some comments on one commonly used means to reduce uncertainty in relation to consultation issues, namely, impact and benefit agreements.

A review of the Courts’ approach to the concepts of consultation, accommodation, and justification in the post-treaty context. This consideration will begin with the numbered treaties and then compare the approach to consultation that appears to be reflected in modern land claims agreements and treaties, including the various agreements-in-principle currently under negotiation under the auspices of the British Columbia Treaty Commission. Essentially, the issue under consideration is how, and to what extent, the concepts of consultation, accommodation and justification may continue to apply with respect to land and resource decisions on Crown land in the post-treaty context.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.

Changes to Post-Retirement Healthcare Benefits: A Case Comment on B.C. Nurses' Union v. Municipal Pension Board of Trustees.

National Instrument 43-101 is a rule issued by the Canadian Securities Administrators to develop uniform Canadian standards to govern how issuers disclose scientific and technical information about mineral projects to the public. Its aim was to restore public confidence in mining-related stocks by enhancing the accuracy and integrity of public disclosure in the mining sector.

A brief overview of topical issues relating to British Columbia property assessment and taxation, including the parking site tax, prepared for the Canadian Property Tax Association Western Chapter 2006 Education Seminar Legal Panel.

Over the past few years, courts in Canada have faced the apparent conflict between competing statutory mandates with respect to class proceedings and arbitrations. The British Columbia Court of Appeal resolved the statutory conflict by requiring a court to weigh the circumstances of each case to determine whether a class proceeding or arbitration is the preferable procedure.

Supreme Court of Canada Protects Property Rights of Public Utilities.

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There appears to be a perception that income trusts do not do as good a job with governance as regular corporations. On October 19, 2005 the Globe and Mail printed a summary piece on income funds, which commenced with the following comment: “Canada’s largest income trusts may have the heft to play in the benchmark index majors, but when it comes to corporate governance practices, they are still in the minor leagues.”

The Mikisew Cree Decision: Balancing Government’s Power to Manage Lands and Resources with Consultation Obligations under Historic Treaties.

Hembruff v. Omers: Ontario Court of Appeal Rejects Notion of a Duty to Disclose Potential Pension Plan Changes.

Quarterly newsletter from the Energy Law Group.