Alberta Law Review (ALR)
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Join the Club: The Implications of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement\u27s Enforcement Measures for Canadian Copyright Law
Get PDFThe Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is the most recent international agreement by which Canada and other countries have sought to strengthen the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. While it was originally feared that ACTA would impose obligations that are in tension with the principles of Canadian copyright law, the final outcome of the ACTA negotiations moderated or removed many of the most controversial provisions in the agreement and thus has alleviated many of the concerns about the impact of ACTA on Canadian copyright law. Canada has taken the first steps toward satisfying ACTA’s copyright obligations with Bill C-11, the Copyright Modernization Act, which addresses some of the agreement’s digital copyright measures. Some legislative change still remains before Canada will have fully met ACTA’s copyright obligations, in particular to enhance the powers of customs and border authorities to enforce intellectual property rights. This article discusses ACTA’s evolution, negotiations, final text, and the extent of its rightsholder orientation. It then details the differences between ACTA’s provisions and the current Canadian Copyright Act, as amended by the Copyright Modernization Act, identifies which obligations in ACTA require further amendment, and suggests how these obligations may best be implemented to reflect important values and principles underlying Canadian copyright law
The Basics of Species at Risk Legislation in Alberta
Get PDFThis article examines Alberta’s Wildlife Act and the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) to assess the legal protection of endangered species in Alberta. Most of the discussion relates to provisions contained in SARA, as there is comparatively less to discuss under the Wildlife Act. The fact that legal protection for endangered species in Alberta consists primarily of federal statutory rules is unfortunate, as wildlife and its habitat are by and large property of the provincial Crown, and it is a general principle of constitutional law that the federal government cannot in substance legislate over provincial property under the guise of a regulatory scheme. The legal protections in SARA are, thus, for the most part restricted to species found on federal lands and to species that fall under federal legislative powers. This article demonstrates that the Alberta government has chosen to govern species at risk almost entirely by policy and discretionary power. The limited application of federal protections to provincial lands and the absence of meaningful protection in the Wildlife Act leads the authors to conclude that, despite a perception of legal protection for endangered species, such protection does not exist in Alberta
Ghost Dancing with Colonialism: Decolonization and Indigenous Rights at the Supreme Court of Canada, Grace Li Xiu Woo (Vancouver: UBS Press 2011)
No full textI write this review at the request of the Alberta Law Review. I assume they asked me for a couple of reasons. First, I sat as a judge for over thirty years, presiding over most of the cases arising on the Stoney Indian Reserve at Morley, Alberta. Second, I have written a book, based on that experience, entitled Bad Medicine: A Judge’s Struggle for Justice in a First Nations Community
Regulation and the Challenge of Broadband Telecommunications: Back to the Future?
Get PDFThis article discusses the current state of broadband Internet service in Canada and recent regulatory disputes between the Canadian Radiotelevision and Telecommunications Commission and service providers in Canada. The article examines the difficulties experienced in the Canadian marketplace with regard to providing service to rural and remote users and compares the current delivery scheme with the Australian National Broadband Network. The article highlights the particular challenges involved in the regulation of a rapidly evolving industry such as telecommunications
Fiduciary Law and the Constructive Trust: Perfecting the Fiduciary Undertaking
Get PDFTwo recent unanimous decisions from the Supreme Court of Canada in Galambos v Perez and Alberta v Elder Advocates of Alberta Society have narrowed and refreshed the requirements for recognizing fiduciary relationships and obligations. All fiduciary obligations must be founded by an undertaking, either express or implied, on the part of the fiduciary to act in the best interest of the beneficiary. At the heart of the fiduciary obligation, the undertaking of a fiduciary may also serve as a foundation for the goals of fiduciary accountability. The developing “Galambos approach” remains incomplete in its application in this regard. In the spirit of Galambos and Elder Advocates, I propose that the undertaking of the fiduciary can provide principled guidance in the availability of gain-based relief for breach of fiduciary duty. Particularly, I suggest that the imposition of a constructive trust as proprietary gain-based relief may be rationalized under the objective of perfecting or enforcing the fiduciary undertaking. To demonstrate my proposal, I investigate three example undertakings and breaches of fiduciary duty in which the fiduciary acquires property through the breach of duty. By grounding this overall discussion towards a conceptual remedial goal of enforcing the fiduciary’s undertaking, Galambos may spark the development of a principled approach to understanding both the making and the breach of fiduciary obligations
Assessment and Analysis of the Decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal in OMERS Energy v. Alberta (Energy Resources Conservation Board)
Get PDFThis article provides an assessment of how the findings of the Alberta Court of Appeal in OMERS Energy v. Alberta (Energy Resources Conservation Board) compare and conflict with the approach historically taken by Canadian courts addressing the capability of a well and related issues. The authors then provide an analysis of uncertainties created by the findings of the Court and discuss the implications of the decision for the upstream oil and gas industry.
Joint Ventures in the Canadian Energy Industry
Get PDFThis article explores the concept of a joint venture and the use of joint venture agreements in the Canadian energy industry. The discussion is particularly timely as there have been a number of significant joint ventures in the Canadian energy industry, particularly with respect to Asia Pacific investors who have spent billions of dollars to lock up parts of Canada’s oil and gas reserves. With a growing demand for energy among Asia Pacific countries, the article suggests that joint ventures will continue to be significant in the development of Canada’s energy industry. This article provides an overview of the different forms of joint ventures (the corporation, partnership, and contractual joint venture) and the risks and benefits associated with each. This article also addresses some of the key issues with respect to joint ventures generally.
Introduction
Get PDFThis special issue of the Alberta Law Review is devoted to administrative and regulatorylaw
Regulatory and Liability Issues in Horizontal Multi-Stage Fracturing
Get PDFThe last few decades have witnessed greater exploration of oil and gas developments and improvements and evolution in technology that have been driven by the strong demand for oil and gas. Hydralic fracturing techniques have become subject to scrutiny by the media and public in North America and Europe, with attention being paid to the potential or perceived environmental impact associated with such technological developments. This article explains the context and process in which horizontal multi-stage fracturing (HMSF) functions. In addition, the article explores and outlines the legal and regulatory environments in both Canada and the United States, where issues have been raised owing to the wider use of HMSF. The article seeks to provide readers with a better understanding of these emerging and potential legal and regulatory issues
Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages for Public Health: Legal and Policy Issues in Canada
Get PDFThis article examines the potential use of taxes to increase the price of sugar-sweetened beverages in an attempt to curb consumption, improve public health, and generate revenue that can be used to support other public health initiatives. In doing so, it first considers the arguments for and against such a tax, including economic, political, and health considerations. This article then proceeds to look at how the tax could be implemented, addressing the various models of taxation that could be used as well as questions of jurisdiction surrounding what level of government may implement those models