What's New
Assessing Where Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Stand in Alberta Policy and Government Organization
by Michael M. Wenig, 2011.
40 pp. Occasional Paper #37. $15.00 (softcover)
Alberta has committed to “set a table” for renewable energy and to “encourage” energy efficiency and conservation. This commitment begs the questions of how fast or much these two sectors are expected to progress and what specific roles the province will play in promoting that progress. This paper addresses these questions by considering the evolution of provincial policy-making with respect to these two sectors and what governmental institutions have been created to specifically address the sectors.
Course on "Contract Law for Personnel in the Energy Industry"
On March 28, 2012, the Canadian Institute of Resources Law will present a one-day public Contract Law course at the MacEwan Student Centre at the University of Calgary. The course is aimed at non-lawyers in the energy industry who deal with contracts.
The course examines a full range of contract law concepts and issues including formation and termination of a contract, the concepts of consideration and privity, judicial approaches to the interpretation of contracts, and damages. In addition, the course scrutinizes a number of clauses commonly found in energy industry contracts (for example, force majeure, independent contractor, choice of laws, liability and indemnity and confidential information clauses). The course does not focus upon specific types of contracts used in the industry. It is geared for industry personnel at all levels whose jobs require them to understand the basics of contract law. Materials prepared for the course draw primarily upon Canadian cases involving the energy industry.
The course instructor is Nicholas Rafferty, a contract law professor at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Law. The course involves lectures by the instructor as well as individual and group problem-solving sessions.
The registration fee is $375 and includes all materials and coffee. Please note lunch is not included. If you are interested in registering for this course, please scan and email the registration form to sparsons@ucalgary.ca or contact Sue Parsons at (403) 220-3200 as soon as possible as space is limited.
Contract Law course Registration Form
MacEwan Student Centre and Food Court map
U of C Event Parking
The "Public Interest" in Section 3 of Alberta's Energy Resources Conservation Act: Where Do We Stand and Where Do We Go From Here?
by Cecilia A. Low, 2011.
41 pp. Occasional Paper #36. $15.00 (softcover)
Section 3 of the Energy Resources Conservation Act (ERCA) requires the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) to consider whether a proposed energy resource project is "in the public interest" having regard to three factors, the social and economic effects of the project and its impact on the environment. Although the concept is fundamental to the discharge of the Board's mandate, the phrase "in the public interest" is not defined in the ERCA.
Since little has been written about section 3 of the ERCA and since Alberta Energy propose to change to how the public interest is engaged in the course of regulation of the upstream oil and gas industry, this paper sets out to assess the current state of the interpretation and application of that provision by the ERCB against the background of relevant social science literature on the topic of the public interest and applicable court decisions. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations for the way forward.
Water Stewardship in the Lower Athabasca River: Is the Alberta Government Paying Attention to Aboriginal Rights to Water?
by Monique Passelac-Ross and Karin Buss, 2011.
61 pp. Occasional Paper #35. $20.00 (softcover)
This paper examines the status of aboriginal rights to water in the Lower Athabasca River Basin. It starts from the premise that Aboriginal peoples living in the Athabasca oil sands region have constitutionally protected water rights, and inquires whether or not these rights are acknowledged and protected by the Alberta government.