(1) It is funny that Smith responds to any and all events by saying they show the need for a pipeline. (2) High oil prices today can't justify long-term investments anymore, as in the long-term, buyers will switch to alternative energy sources that will be more reliably priced.

New Post: The Application of Provincial Statutes of Limitation to Indigenous Claims ablawg.ca/2026/02/26...…ndigenous-claims/

Without the convenient and familiar scapegoat of Justin Trudeau to blame for the sector’s troubles, Enbridge seems to be concocting a hypothetical jurisdictional crisis to excuse the private sector from paying for a pipeline, writes Taylor C Noakes.

Trump's Attack on Iran About to Light the Middle East on Fire Typical Trump. Wants regime change, but no endgame. Doesn't understand that the Revolutionary Guards are more radical than the current leaders. Prof James Hardcastle explains. #Iran youtu.be/AYm1WNU_1Ok

Carney's statement of support for the U.S.'s assault on Iran is sickening. Diplomatic options to address Iran's nuclear program existed and the U.S. deliberately sabotaged them. The U.S. has no real plan to build a democracy in Iran, only to crush it to dust and leave the people to suffer. (1/2)

Ah. It seems that Carney's speech at Davos was actually just an elaborate joke. Well played, sir. I was convinced there for a moment that you had scruples

I'm looking at old (2015) AER records again and found this gem. This was not a good sign for things to come. (the redactions on this are mine, I do not want to put the names of individual employees directly onto social media even where they are accessible through FOI/ATI).

A nice in-depth history of Alberta mining policy from 2022 (but I had not seen it until today). stateofthemountains.ca/state-of-the...

New Post: AlphaBow Again Challenges AER Enforcement Related to Oil and Gas Closure Liabilities During Insolvency  ablawg.ca/2026/02/23...…uring-insolvency/

It is absurd that any english law remains in force in Alberta without having been restated in modernized legislation. It is a rule of law problem for any law to be this cryptic. No legislation in force should be more than 50 years old, even if the updates are only to adjust out of date terminology.

Last week, I learned an adjudicator had sided with me in 5 inquiries re: the province refusing to release results of its Alberta Next surveys GOA published the multiple choice results in Dec but has been ordered to give me 213 pages of open-answer replies that haven't yet been shared #ableg #abpoli

Corb Lund's petition for no coal activities on the eastern slopes of the Rockies finally goes live (i.e. actually issued by Elections Alberta) - 120 day window, closes June 10. #abpoli #cdnpoli #ableg www.elections.ab.ca/resources/me...

There is a funny element to Saskatchewan extending their use of coal power is that Alberta natural gas companies have spent years talking about how their gas would replace coal power in China. I never found that very realistic (it relied on their audience not knowing much about China) (1/2)

New substack from me: Clashes between Cda's info commissioner and the Liberal gov't deanbeeby.substack.com/p/horns-lock... #cdnfpoi #cdnpoli

And this! The ACLRC is part of our law school. Part of the community. Supports access to justice in numerous ways. And now another target of the UCP’s ideological warfare.

Not a lot of surprises in the 2024 AER Liability Management Performance Report. The situation is still bad and the AER is still hoping to sweep it under the rug.

After the huge jump around May 2025, the Orphan Well Inventory has continued creeping higher. The previous high-water mark for orphan wells needing decommissioning was 3,128 wells in 2018. The OWA now has 4,473, after the AER spent 5 years saying they were fixing the system.

I never thought the United States actually respected Canadian sovereignty, but I did not think the U.S. would drop the facade unless Canada tried to cut the flow of Canadian resources (oil in particular). The confusing part is the lack of serious provocation.

If you tire of news about things getting worse in North America, try some news about things getting worse in Europe. (sorry)

New Post: What Are the Implications of the International Court’s Climate Change Advisory Opinion for Provinces? ablawg.ca/2026/01/26...…on-for-provinces/

Floyd Joseph has fond memories of Cassiar, including playing hockey as a kid. But he also believes the asbestos mine is responsible for his cancer diagnosis. @amandafollett.bsky.social reports. #bcpoli

New Post: Religious Freedom and the Oath to the Sovereign, Revisited ablawg.ca/2026/01/16...…ereign-revisited/

Damien Joly, the chief executive officer of the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, is warning a lack of funding for wildlife disease monitoring is undermining Canada’s ability to detect and respond to emerging threats to biodiversity, agriculture and human health. thenarwhal.ca/wildlife-dis...

We spoke with seven outdoor guides in B.C. and Alberta about how they are navigating taking people to the places they love as the climate changes. "It’s hard not to get depressed," one guide told us. thenarwhal.ca/outdoor-guid...

I see the Canadian federal government decided not to provide species at risk protections for the American eel in December 2025, which COSEWIC found was threatened in 2012. That decision process is supposed to take 9 months. The government took 13 years - more than three full federal election cycles.

This is an embarrassing article by the CBC. The important thing to know is that Pahlavi's father was installed in a 1953 undemocratic coup organized by the Americans and British, and ruled as a dictator and an American puppet. (1/2) www.cbc.ca/news/world/i...

This is an instance of the problem my LLM thesis discussed: the legislature passes a law and then the executive branch deliberately chooses not comply. This is a structural problem with the Canadian separation of powers. www.cbc.ca/news/gopubli...

No legal basis for the list of banned books to be withheld under ATIA - a proposed list may be advice, but the list implemented cannot be withheld - (and note 'internal document' is not a type of information exempted from ATIA.) www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Here is a Lump of Coal, my final ABlawg post of the year with @drewyewchuk.bsky.social dealing with 2 coal law & policy developments in AB. One deals with Alberta’s Phoenix, Northback’s Grassy Mountain project, poised to rise from the ashes while seeking to avoid federal review. 1/2 #ableg #abpoli

The AER has weakened the protections for mining reclamation surety bonds. They do not provide any reasons for the change or explain who asked for this change. I still think accepting surety bonds instead of cash or letter of credit is a mistake, and this makes it worse. www.aer.ca/about-aer/me...

It took me a week to get to it but I'm enjoying reading Justice Feasby's judgment from last week on the secession referendum initiative. Lots of zingers sprinkled throughout the judgment but I particularly liked this one: #ableg #abpoli 2025 ABQB 712

BC developed a new flood strategy after the devastating impacts of the 2021 atmospheric river But it's still not funded and the province decided against committing new $$ to it in September Now the Fraser Valley's flooding again #bcpoli

Smith Bulldozes Canadian Constitution Over Trans Kid Bills No evidence. None. @ABDanielleSmith has not produced one shred of evidence to prove that trans children are being harmed. In fact, the data says the opposite. Interview with @duanebratt.bsky.social. #ableg youtu.be/YLHmb9Ksd5Y

Events are more absurd and nightmarish every day.

⛰️ Protect our water and protest the Grassy Mountain coal mine 🚫 If you're in Lethbridge, join the peaceful protest happening this MONDAY, Dec. 8 at 11 a.m. at Coast Lethbridge Hotel & Conference Centre. See the poster for more details:

Thank you Justice Feasby.

Meet Teresa from Vermillion, #Alberta. Teresa’s story is but one of thousands from Alberta landowners living with the fallout of leaking oil and gas wells and a #regulator that won’t protect them. Learn more >> ecojustice.ca/news/landown... TAKE ACTION >> www.cleanupyourmess.ca/write-your-mla

Glyphosate herbicide safety study retracted 25 years after publication An influential research article that claimed a popular weed-killer was safe has been retracted 25 years after it was published, prompting environmental groups in Canada to ask th... #cbc #cbc-top-stories #Canada

Exclusive: Alberta oil regulator stopped enforcing gas flaring limits after government pressure, documents show reut.rs/4rCQsMz

The AER introduced a new liability management program for rock hosted minerals (limestone, zinc, copper) etc. (static.aer.ca/prd/document...) The basic principle "Approval holders must provide 100% security for the estimated liabilities associated with their ... project." (1/3)

Good interview. @robbreakenridge.bsky.social does a nice job of introducing citizen initiatives & Corb an equally good job of explaining why we need clear legislation to prohibit coal mining activities in the eastern slopes. #ableg #abpoli @cpawssab.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlGm...

For months @ainsliecruickshank.bsky.social has been pouring over documents trying to find out how many animals are killed on train tracks in B.C. Companies are supposed to report rail kills but records she obtained found reporting is inconsistent and incomplete projects.thenarwhal.ca/collision-co...

Finally, Federal-Provincial peace for our times. I find it shameful that the federal government is making this kind of deal while ignoring Alberta's use of the notwithstanding clause. The backbone of a decent country is a system of values, not a pipeline.

The Justice, Ecology, Law and Place (JELP) community invites applications to its 4th Grad Student Workshop! The workshop allows students whose work broadly relate to JELP to network and get feedback in a friendly atmosphere. Deadline Dec 17, 2025, see link for more. www.linkedin.com/posts/pierre...

Recent OIPC decision shows extend of access to information delay. Initial request in Oct 2020, record release in April 2021. 5 years from initial request to an OIPC decision ordering release. Re Alberta Forestry and Parks, 2025 CanLII 114897,<https://canlii.ca/t/kgd5q>

New Post: The Mess We’re In: Insights from the 1st International Colloquium on Closure Liabilities in the Energy Sector ablawg.ca/2025/11/21...…he-energy-sector/

"A piecemeal approach that fails to address a root cause of climate change — BC’s expanding LNG industry — will fail to protect our health and health-care system.” Kudos on ecolens.ca, but BC must do more. My comments @vancouversun.bsky.social. vancouversun.com/news/bc-cdc-... @cape-acme.bsky.social