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Keely Cameron

Litigation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Partner

Luke Morrison

Energy Project Development, M&A, and Commercial Transaction Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Chyna Brown

Commercial Litigation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary 

Associate

Years after an insolvency proceeding is closed, can a solvent co-lessee/working interest participant (WIP) still be on the hook for their former partner’s share of unpaid Crown royalties? A recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision to allow an appeal in <a href="https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abca/doc/2025/2025abca181/2025abca181.html">Spartan Delta Corp v Alberta (Energy and Minerals), 2025 ABCA 181</a> [Spartan Delta], raises concerns around whether the answer to such question can be 'yes'. The oil and gas industry is closely tracking the outcome of this appeal (anticipated to be heard in Fall 2025) on the basis that if the appeal were to be granted it would create uncertainty for upstream oil & gas joint interest owners as to the impact of insolvency proceedings on existing liabilities (and would have implications for purchasers and WIPs alike in relation to oil & gas M&A out of insolvency proceedings).

Spartan Delta Corp

Spartan Delta Appeal Raises Uncertainty for Co-Lessees After Insolvency

Kelsey J. Meyer

Commercial Litigation, Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Denise D. Bright

Public and Private Company Financial Transactions and Securities Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Partner 

In late May, the Supreme Court of Canada (the SCC) denied an application for leave to appeal a decision of the Court of Appeal of Alberta, which, in turn, had denied leave to appeal of the decision of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta in Re Mantle Materials Group, Ltd, 2023 ABKB 488 (Mantle KB). The decision in Mantle KB held that the interests of secured creditors are subordinate to environmental obligations pursuant to the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, thus confirming that the priority of environmental obligations determined by the SCC in Orphan Well Association v Grant Thornton Ltd, 2019 SCC 5 applies beyond the oil and gas industry.

Supreme Court of Canada Dismisses Leave on Leave in Mantle Materials Group The Priority

Supreme Court of Canada Dismisses Leave-on-Leave in Mantle Materials Group: The Priority of Environmental Obligations Extends Beyond the Oil & Gas Industry

Michael D. Mysak

Corporate, Fraud and Securities Litigation and Shareholder Dispute Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

A recent <a rel="noopener noreferrer" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abca/doc/2024/2024abca139/2024abca139.html" target="_blank">decision </a>out of the Alberta Court of Appeal found that as soon as a company handed over their investigative reports to regulators in connection with a pipeline incident, privilege over the reports was lost.

Submitting an Incident Response Report to a Regulator Consider Privilege Waived

Submitting an Incident Response Report to a Regulator? Consider Privilege Waived

This week’s highly anticipated decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal in Qualex-Landmark Towers Inc v 12-10 Capital Corp, 2024 ABCA 115 limits the application of Orphan Well Association v Grant Thornton Ltd, 2019 SCC 5 to regulators inside formal insolvency proceedings rather than private litigants and denies a common law "super priority" for environmental obligations of private litigants over secured claims.

Qualex Landmark Redwater Scope and Environmental Priority in Alberta

Qualex-Landmark: Redwater Scope and Environmental Priority in Alberta

Katherine Booth

Litigation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Vancouver

Nina Butz

Litigation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

In RateMDs Inc. v. Bleuler, 2025 BCCA 329, the BC Court of Appeal overturned certification of a proposed privacy class action, finding that the plaintiff's novel claims that use of health professionals' names violated their privacy and amounted to commercial exploitation under provincial privacy statutes were bound to fail.

BC Court of Appeal dismisses proposed privacy class action

BC Court of Appeal Dismisses Proposed Privacy Class Action; Finds Use of Professionals' Names Was Not Commercial Exploitation 

William S. Osler KC

Capital Markets, Securities, M&A and Corporate Governance Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Olu Akinniyi

Articling Student

Recent amendments to Alberta&rsquo;s Securities Act strengthen the Alberta Securities Commission&rsquo;s ability to address financial misinformation and protect investors. Enacted through the Financial Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 (No. 2), the changes expand the definition of forward-looking information and grant the ASC new authority to temporarily halt trading where misleading or inaccurate information is being disseminated. While aimed at curbing harmful online promotion, including by &ldquo;finfluencers,&rdquo; the amendments also have important implications for reporting issuers and their disclosure practices.

Alberta Expands ASC Powers to Address Financial Misinformation

Laura James

Corporate Lawyer at Bennett Jones Vancouver

Rebecca Burnand

Corporate Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Madison Sutherland

Newly released market data out of the US shows the demand for beauty products remained strong in 2025 despite pressure on overall consumer spending. Beauty M&amp;A deal volume in the US decreased slightly this year due to tariff and trade concerns, but analysts are optimistic for a busier 2026 on the dealmaking front.

Whats Shaping MA in the Beauty Industry

Glow and Grow: What's Shaping M&A in the Beauty Industry

Ethan Z. Schiff

Commercial Litigation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

Maisah Syed

In David v. Loblaw Companies Limited, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirms that a certification denial for failure to plead a cause of action is final and barred by res judicata. Absent narrow exceptions, plaintiffs cannot amend pleadings to relitigate certification and must pursue an appeal.

Ontario Court of Appeal Says that Plaintiffs Cannot Amend Instead of Appeal

Daron K. Naffin

Energy, Environmental/Regulatory and Expropriation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Tim Myers

Regulatory, Environmental, Aboriginal and Expropriation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Thomas Machell

Regulatory Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

The Alberta Energy Regulator has released new editions of Directive 071 and Manual 026, significantly expanding emergency preparedness and response requirements. This post outlines the key changes, including mandatory Emergency Management Programs, expanded scope across resource sectors, enhanced hazard analysis standards, and what approval holders should do ahead of the February 2, 2026 effective date.

Keely Cameron on Cleaning up in Active Oil and Gas Sites

From the Same Authors