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Denise D. Bright

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

Partner 

Keely Cameron

Litigation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Partner

Chyna Brown

Commercial Litigation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary 

Associate

In Royal Bank of Canada v Patterson Dental Canada Inc, the Alberta Court of Appeal clarified how PPSA priority rules apply where assets used in a corporate business are personally owned by a director. The Court confirmed that ownership and registration against the correct debtor are decisive in priority disputes, and provided guidance on the treatment of leases and the proper distribution of holdbacks in insolvency sales.

Alberta Court of Appeal Clarifies PPSA Priorities in Insolvency Sales

Luke Morrison

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

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

Restructuring & Insolvency Lawyer | Commercial Litigation

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

Simon P. Crawford

Leading Commercial Real Estate Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

Dana Talucci

Corporate Commercial Practice at Bennett Jones Toronto

Hennadiy Kutsenko

Tax Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

A court decision on the sale of mixed-use property highlights the risks of failing to allocate purchase price between residential and commercial portions for HST purposes. The ruling underscores the importance of precise drafting and obtaining representations to avoid uncertainty and tax disputes.

Mixed-Use Mixed Signals Why Purchase Price Allocations Matter

Mixed-Use, Mixed Signals: Why Purchase Price Allocations Matter

Leanne C. Krawchuk KC

Corporate, Mining & Construction Lawyer | Capital Markets

Partner, Corporate

James T. McClary

Private Equity and M&A Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Private equity investment in mining has grown over the past decade, driven largely by opportunities in mining sub-industries such as materials, software and industrial machinery despite persistent risk and scalability concerns. The article analyzes global and Canadian deal trends, structures and strategies, offering insights on where PE capital is being deployed and the outlook for investors and mining companies.

Private Equity Investment in Mining

Robert W. Staley

Securities & Commercial Litigation Lawyer | Shareholder Disputes

Vice Chair and Partner

Doug Fenton

Litigation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

Sophia DiNicolo

Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

Associate 

The Ontario Superior Court in Dziedziejko v Canopy Growth held that materiality may be inferred from a significant share price drop following corrective disclosure, granting leave to pursue secondary market misrepresentation claims. The decision signals a potential shift from contextual materiality analysis and raises challenges for issuers with volatile share prices. 
<div>&nbsp;</div>

Inferring Materiality from Share Price Movement Dziedziejko v Canopy Growth

Inferring Materiality from Share Price Movement: Dziedziejko v Canopy Growth

Jonathan Hillson

Commercial Litigation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Edmonton

Alex Payne

Commercial Litigation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

Prompt payment and dispute resolution reforms are changing how construction project participants are to be paid, their disputes determined and when liens are to be filed and holdbacks released.

Updates to Prompt Payment Legislation

An At-a-Glance Comparison: Have You Been Keeping Up with All the Changes?

Updates to Prompt Payment Legislation in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta

Natalia E. Iamundo

Commercial Real Estate Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

Canada&rsquo;s proptech sector is entering a new phase marked by disciplined growth, scaled AI implementation and deeper public-private collaboration. The 2026 Proptech in Canada report highlights a funding reset, a shift from AI experimentation to real-world deployment and significant government investment aimed at addressing housing affordability.

Keely Cameron on Cleaning up in Active Oil and Gas Sites

From the Same Authors