Despite current trade and geopolitical developments and uncertainties, Bennett Jones discusses opportunities for Canada’s mining industry in 2025 and beyond, including optimism driven by policy shifts and heightened demand in...more
In recent months, the Government of Canada took several steps that may alter the regulatory system for natural resource and infrastructure projects, and "clean growth projects" in particular....more
On April 30, 2024, the Government of Canada announced widely-anticipated amendments to the Impact Assessment Act (IAA or Act) as part of a 663 page omnibus budget bill. Canada announced the 2024 budget with the tagline...more
On April 16, 2024, the Canadian Government released the 2024 federal budget, including details on the much-anticipated federal Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program (ILG Program). First announced in the government's 2023 Fall...more
On June 15, 2023, the Government of British Columbia announced BC Hydro was proceeding with a call for new sources (the Call to Power) of 100 percent clean, renewable emission-free electricity from large-scale projects,...more
The Alberta government has identified, and is taking proactive steps to address, the looming threat of a severe drought this year. As negotiations unfold to secure water-sharing agreements, a cascade of legal and economic...more
At the Independent Power Producers Society of Alberta Annual Conference (IPPSA Conference) this March, the Minister of Affordability and Utilities (the Minister) announced interim measures to address recent electricity market...more
Nearly two years after receiving Royal Assent, the Government of Alberta proclaimed the Electricity Statutes (Modernizing Alberta’s Electricity Grid) Amendment Act (the Act) on March 6, 2024. The Act, formerly Bill 22,...more
On February 15, 2024, Bennett Jones' Calgary office welcomed nearly 80 project stakeholders and industry leaders—with hundreds more tuning in online—to talk about Synergy in Energy: Building Effective Indigenous Partnerships....more
Alberta to Implement New Policies for Renewable Development -
Alberta’s pause on issuing approvals for renewable energy projects (Pause) ended on February 29, 2024. Immediately prior, the Alberta government issued a news...more
On February 16, 2024, the Canadian government released an update on the Draft Clean Energy Regulations (Draft CER) and provided some proposed changes in response to the significant feedback affected parties provided on the...more
Day One of the 24th World Petroleum Congress kicked off in Calgary today as 5,000 delegates from more than 100 countries have come together to help define realistic, workable paths to a net zero future....more
Approximately five weeks have passed since the Alberta government directed the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC or Commission) to pause issuing new approvals for renewable electricity projects until at least February 29,...more
The Canadian government released its long-anticipated draft Clean Electricity Regulations (Regulations) on August 10, 2023, setting out its approach to mandating a net-zero emissions power grid by 2035. In this note, we offer...more
In an unprecedented move, the Alberta Minister of Affordability and Utilities issued a surprise announcement on August 3, 2023, that the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC or Commission) was directed to pause approvals in...more
Two recent insolvencies have resulted in the number of orphaned wells and facilities in Saskatchewan ballooning to over 4000. To reduce the burden on the Saskatchewan orphan fund, The Oil and Gas Tenure Registry Regulations...more
On January 18, 2023, the Province of British Columbia (Province) and the Blueberry River First Nation (BRFN) signed the Blueberry River First Nation Implementation Agreement (Implementation Agreement)....more
On Friday, December 9, 2022, the federal government released the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy (the Strategy), a comprehensive multi-disciplinary government policy package designed to facilitate increased production and...more
SaskPower, the Crown corporation responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in Saskatchewan, announced on November 7, 2022, that it will add up to 700 megawatts (MW) of renewable generation...more
Government Advantage and Reasonable Land Use -
A majority of the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recently clarified that any public “advantage” that government obtains through land regulations that deprives a property owner...more
Potash is a critical mineral used as a replenishing agricultural fertilizer. As a result, millions of farmers around the world depend on potash. The Canadian province of Saskatchewan is the world's largest potash producer,...more