Recent Legislative and Regulatory Developments of Interest to Energy Lawyers

Abstract

This article looks at several legislative and regulatory developments, primarily from April 2022 to March 2023, that may be of interest to energy lawyers, providing a high-level overview on topics including: (1) policy, legislation, and regulations aimed at continuing federal and provincial decarbonization efforts; (2) regulatory developments impacting power, hydrogen, and oil and gas pipelines; (3) consideration of cumulative impacts in duty to consult cases; (4) expansion of Indigenous-owned energy projects alongside progression in the implementation of UNDRIP across Canada; (5) jurisdictional disputes between the federal and provincial governments (for example, considerations regarding the Impact Assessment Act and Alberta Sovereignty Act); and (6) clarification of the application of the post-Vavilov standard of review.