Articles

On February 12, 2015 Ontario released a climate change discussion paper and invited citizens, businesses and communities to share ideas about how to successfully fight climate change while fostering economic growth and keeping our businesses competitive.

This is a case summary and analysis of East Durham Wind, Inc. v. The Municipality of West Grey. The case raises interesting questions related to how and when a municipal by-law or policy may frustrate the purpose of a provincial legislative instrument and relates to the ongoing renewable energy revolution in Ontario that was ushered in by the Green Energy Act, S.O. 2009, c. 12.

In September 2014, Ottawa announced the ratification of the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (the Canada- China FIPA). The Canada-China FIPA, which came into force on October 1, 2014, is the newest addition to Canada’s growing list of foreign investment protection agreements.

The current state and possible future direction of nuclear development in Ontario is an important topic for lawyers with a focus on the energy sector, as well as those in government and industry. The OBA section program “Radioactive Issues in Nuclear Energy in Ontario” provided a comprehensive overview of emerging issues and trends in nuclear development, including a background on nuclear waste management in the province and a discussion of thorium, an alternative nuclear fuel.

Disclosure of royalties and other payments to foreign governments is a front-line issue for Canadian mining and oil and gas companies. A section program, ‘Transparency of Payments to Foreign Governments in Extractive Industries: A Review of the Changing Landscape’ gave participants a tour d’horizon of this legal risk area.

Canadian mining associations and civil society organizations released recommendations for the development of a payment transparency standard for all publicly-traded mining companies in Canada on January 16, 2014.The group's recommendations provide the federal and provincial governments and securities commissions with a blueprint for a payment reporting framework. This framework will serve the needs of the data’s end-users, such as citizens, governments, investors and reporting companies.

Scientists are warning that “there is no credible path to climate stabilization that does not include a substantial role for nuclear power.” But Ontario's current approach to nuclear power does not display such attitude.

On May 9th, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Behn v. Moulton Contracting Ltd, 2013 SCC 26. The decision provides clarification on the Crown’s duty to consult but also leaves some important questions unanswered regarding Aboriginal and treaty rights.

Mining companies in Canada are already contending with difficult capital markets. The federal government has not made the task of exploration and development any easier.