Power Archives - Blakes Business Class

Category: Power

Federal Overhaul of Environmental Laws to Take Effect August 28, 2019: New Impact Assessment Triggers and Other Details Released

August 12, 2019

The federal government’s long-awaited overhaul of key environmental laws (Bill C-69, which implements the new Impact Assessment Act, the Canadian Energy Regulator Act and the Canadian Navigable Waters Act and related regulations) will take effect on August 28, 2019. The Impact Assessment Act will replace the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, (CEAA 2012) overhauling the federal environmental assessment (now impact…

Posted by:

Tony Crossman, Terri-Lee Oleniuk and Paulina Adamson

Posted in: Energy - Regulatory, Environmental, Mining, Oil & Gas, Power, Renewable Energy

Federal Government Passes Controversial Environmental Legislation and Tanker Ban

June 27, 2019

The Government of Canada has enacted two new pieces of environmental legislation, significantly altering the process for federal project approvals in Canada. It has also passed extensive amendments to the rules regarding navigable waters and fish habitat protections that had been previously changed through omnibus legislation in 2012. On June 20, 2019, the Senate passed three bills: Bill C-69, the…

Posted in: Energy - Regulatory, Environmental, Mining, Oil & Gas, Power, Renewable Energy

Ontario, B.C. Release New Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plans

December 10, 2018

The governments of Ontario and British Columbia recently released new environmental plans that will guide the development of environmental legislation and policies in each province for the foreseeable future. Ontario released the Preserving and Protecting our Environment for Future Generations: A Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan (Proposal) and B.C. released its CleanBC plan. These plans will lead to economic opportunities for certain…

Posted by:

Sharon Wong and Nardia Chernawsky

Posted in: Energy - Regulatory, Environmental, Power

Canada Details Federal Carbon Pricing System in Face of Increasing Opposition

October 26, 2018

On October 23, 2018, the Government of Canada announced additional details regarding the federal carbon pricing system and published draft regulations amending the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (Act). A federal fuel charge of C$20 per tonne of carbon emissions will come into effect in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan in April 2019 and in Yukon and Nunavut in…

Posted by:

Dufferin Harper, Nardia Chernawsky, Zvi Halpern-Shavim and Melia Stewart (Student-at-Law)

Posted in: Corporate & Commercial, Energy - Regulatory, Environmental, Oil & Gas, Power, Tax

New Ontario Government to Restore Municipal Rights to Oppose Renewable Energy Projects

September 24, 2018

Three months after taking power, Ontario’s new government introduced legislation to restore the rights of local municipalities to control the development of new renewable energy projects (such as wind and solar generation) within their jurisdiction. When passed, the Green Energy Repeal Act, 2018 (Bill 34) will repeal the Green Energy Act, 2009 (Act) in its entirety and amend several other…

Posted by:

Grace Smith, Sharon Wong and Jonathan Kahn

Posted in: Energy - Regulatory, Environmental, Power, Renewable Energy

Attorney General Electricity Battle Over PPAs in Alberta Comes to a Close

March 13, 2018

The Attorney General of Alberta (AG) and ENMAX have recently settled the legal proceedings brought in 2016 (AG Action) by the provincial government against several former buyers of power purchase arrangements (PPAs). The AG previously settled with various PPA buyers in November and December 2016. By a consent judgment filed March 9, 2018, the AG Action was dismissed against all…

Posted by:

Dalton W. McGrath, Q.C. and Michael O’Brien

Posted in: Corporate & Commercial, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Power

2018 Federal Budget: Selected Tax Measures

February 28, 2018

On February 27, 2018, the Minister of Finance introduced Canada’s 2018 Federal Budget (2018 Budget). The 2018 Budget includes measures affecting the taxation of passive income earned by private corporations, as was expected, although the changes are not as wide-spread as had been previously suggested. In addition, the 2018 Budget includes a mix of targeted anti-avoidance rules, legislative responses to…

Posted in: Banking, Capital Markets, Corporate & Commercial, Financial Services, Financial Services Regulatory, Oil & Gas, Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation, Power, Renewable Energy, Tax

Alberta’s Balancing Pool Confirms Right to Terminate Keephills Power Purchase Agreement

December 12, 2017

Following ENMAX Energy Corporation’s (ENMAX) successful application to obtain a mandatory injunction against the Balancing Pool of Alberta (as reported in our November 2017 Blakes Bulletin: Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench Grants Mandatory Injunction Against Balancing Pool), the Balancing Pool has performed its assessment and verified and accepted ENMAX’s notice terminating the Keephills power purchase agreement (PPA) (Keephills Termination Notice),…

Posted by:

Dalton W. McGrath, Q.C. and Michael O’Brien

Posted in: Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Power

Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench Grants Mandatory Injunction Against Balancing Pool

November 23, 2017

On November 22, 2017, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (Court) issued a mandatory injunction in favour of ENMAX Energy Corporation (ENMAX) compelling the Balancing Pool of Alberta to, forthwith and in good faith, complete and communicate the result of its assessment and verification of ENMAX’s termination notice of the Keephills Power Purchase Arrangement issued on May 5, 2016….

Posted by:

Dalton W. McGrath, Q.C. and Michael O’Brien

Posted in: Corporate & Commercial, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Power

Court Upholds Commercial Certainty in Alberta Power Purchase Arrangements

October 16, 2017

The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench (Court) has released an important decision regarding the Alberta power industry, which brings certainty to the effective dates of termination of power purchase arrangements (PPAs) in Alberta. In the late 1990s, the Government of Alberta deregulated the electricity market and introduced competition into the market for electrical power and created the Balancing Pool to,…

Posted by:

Dalton W. McGrath, Q.C. and Michael O’Brien

Posted in: Corporate & Commercial, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Power