Both British Columbia ("BC") and Alberta have long-held political cultures that nourish a sense of alienation from the traditional Canadian power centres in eastern Canada, which has in turned fostered strongly iconoclastic public policies on a range of issues. Coupled with significant differences in geography and geology, these iconoclastic tendencies have resulted in electricity polices that have in recent years dramatically diverged ...
Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. and British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority v. Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, 2010 SCC 43 On October 28, 2010, the nine justices of Supreme Court of Canada issued a unanimous judgment in this appeal that confirmed the decision of the British Columbia Utilities Commission (the “Commission”) to accept the 2007 Electricity Purchase Agreement between BC Hydro and Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. for filing ...
On October 15, 2010, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (“BOEMRE”) issued a final rule that makes mandatory and expands API RP 75, a voluntary industry standard initially promulgated in the 1990s, that addresses the management of safety and environmental risks associated with Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”) operations and facilities ...
Due to the effects of the recent economic crisis, the need arose to make it easier for insolvent companies to continue their business through a restructuring. Up until now there has been the Bankruptcy Act (Konkursordnung – KO) alongside with the Composition Act (Ausgleichsordnung - AO) in Austria ...
On December 2, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed leave to appeal from the Federal Court of Appeal's decision in Standing Buffalo Dakota First Nation v. Enbridge Pipelines Inc., 2009 FCA 308. Lawson Lundell acted for the Respondent, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), and took an active role in successfully defending the appeal proceedings.Standing Buffalo Dakota First Nation v. Enbridge Pipelines Inc ...
This paper discusses electricity sector developments in Alberta and British Columbia that continue to break new ground particularly in view of the recent prominence of renewable energy, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions issues and export market development initiatives for the export of electricity from clean or renewable sources.To read this paper, click here ...
In line with the national long term program to improve the mining and energy sectors to support the development of the country, as well as to ensure that the supply of energy and mineral resources to the domestic market can be met, the Government of Indonesia has been working hard to expedite the process to issue new regulations in the mining and energy sectors ...
In a move that indicates significant regulatory changes may be coming to deepwater operations, federal authorities are eyeing new rules curtailing venting of natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico ...
In a recent article we looked at some of the employment risks for customers associated with cloud computing. Following on from Cloud computing: Employment law implications, we now consider how best to assess the other risks associated with cloud computing ...
In a recent case by the Swedish Supreme Court (Sw. Högsta domstolen) (T 4904-08), the burden of proof of payments made by the debtor in relation to a negotiable promissory note was placed on the creditor.Since the borrowers had not confirmed that the debt had not been paid, the transferees were not in good faith in relation to the payment of the debt ...
As of 1 August 2010, two new pieces of legislation governing payment services came into force; the payment Services Act (Sw. Lag (2010:751) om betaltjänster) and the Act on Unauthorised Transactions with Payment Instruments (Sw. Lag (2010:738) om obehöriga transaktioner med betalningsinstrument) ...
A new Consumer Credit Act (Sw. Konsumentkreditlagen (2010:1846)) came into effect on 1 January 2011. The Act implements the Consumer Credit Directive (Directive 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on credit agreements for consumers and repealing Council Directive 87/102/EEC). The Directive’s purpose is to enhance consumer protection by addressing some of the indebtedness problems caused by text message loans (Sw ...
Until now, several of the provisions of the Credit Information Act (Sw. Kreditupplysningslagen (1973:1173)) that protects the integrity of individuals were not applicable when credit information was shared on the Internet. The reason for this was that such information was protected by the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (Sw. Yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen (1991:1469)) ...
The 2011 Session of the West Virginia Legislature promises to be one of the most interesting in the state's history. The passing of U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd in 2010 has led to a series of corresponding leadership changes in West Virginia's state and federal delegations. Further, perceived incongruities between state succession laws and West Virginia's Constitution have led interested parties to seek input and clarification from the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ...
In the 2011 legislative session, Pennsylvania's new Republican governor, Tom Corbett, and its largely Republican legislature are likely to pick up where the last session left off with regard to Marcellus Shale issues ...
In the second of a two-part look at issues arising out of the tender process we consider what can happen when that process is poorly run. Part 1 of the series can be found at IT tendering: Leveraging the benefits. A typical tender process involves the customer analysing and documenting its requirements in a Request for Proposals (RFP) to which interested suppliers will prepare a response ...
Overview of the lending market 1. Please give a brief overview of the main trends and important developments in the lending market in your jurisdiction in the last 12 months. On 27 April 2010, Parliament abolished certain restrictions introduced by the Law On Amendments to certain Ukrainian laws to overcome the negative consequences of the financial crisis ...
In an effort to recover more than $2.5 billion, the FDIC announced earlier this month that it had authorized lawsuits against more than 100 directors and officers of failed banks. It wasted no time in showing it was serious. On January 14, 2011, the FDIC filed lawsuits against certain directors and officers of failed Integrity Bank, of Alpharetta, Georgia, and 1st Centennial Bank, of Redlands, California ...
In the wake of recent judicial decisions by the North Carolina Business Court and Eastern District Bankruptcy Court that "muddied the waters" for contractor lien rights, the North Carolina Bar Association Construction Section Lien Law Committee is drafting proposed legislation to reform North Carolina’s lien and bond laws contained in General Statutes Chapter 44A ...
The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (the “SAFE” Act), enacted on July 30, 2008, mandates a federal registration system for employees of banks, credit unions and their subsidiaries who engage in the business of residential mortgage loan origination ...
1. How can the government’s attitude and approach to internet issues best be described? The attitude of the Belgian government can be described as positive and their approach is proactive. In 2003, the Belgian authorities announced the introduction of ‘egovernment’ ...
The Federal government’s legislation to control spam and other ills of the electronic age with the oh-so-catchy title of An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and
The case of the arrangement respecting White Birch Paper (the “White Birch Group”) was one of the most significant matters brought before the Commercial Division of the Superior Court of Quebec in 2010. Not only did this matter receive a lot of attention on account of its crossborder aspect and the number of parties involved, it also constituted a precedent for sales of assets under the new provisions of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Ac t (the “CCAA ”) ...
