2017 witnessed some dramatic events in the energy regulatory world. The Trans Mountain Expansion Project has proceeded to the construction phase despite all legal challenges, particularly by the City of Burnaby

In 2017, Canadian courts released an unusually large number of decisions affecting the energy industry directly.

The federal Energy Efficiency Regulations, 2016 ("2016 Regulations") came into force on June 28, 2017, replacing the previous Energy Regulations ("Regulations").

On May 15, 2017, the Expert Panel on the Modernization of the National Energy Board (NEB) released its report Forward, Together – Enabling Canada's Clean, Safe and Secure Energy Future (Report).

It was previously unclear under the Alberta Rules of Court, Alta Reg 124/2010 (the Rules) whether leave of the Court was required to question on an affidavit of records (an AOR).

The Alberta Government ushered in sweeping legislative changes that spanned from broadly-based carbon levies to a specific cap on oil sands emissions. In 2016, no industry was affected more than power generation.

2016 was a busy year from some of the energy regulators. The National Energy Board was moving two pipeline projects forward with approvals of the Trans Mountain expansion and Enbridge's Line 3, both with Federal Government approvals following in December 2016.

We follow new and interesting legal issues as they emerge in the energy area.

The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench has released its highly anticipated decision in Redwater Energy Corporation (Re), 2016 ABQB 278 ("Redwater").

The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench considered the interplay between the Alberta Limitations Act and a contractual survival period in a purchase and sale agreement.

The wide range of direct and extensive energy experience held by our contributors lends itself to a diverse and insightful examination of current legal trends and topics.

Last year's list of the top ten judicial decisions of import to the Canadian Oil and Gas Industry illustrated that 2014 was a high-water mark for important judicial decisions affecting the oil and gas industry.

2015 saw the Supreme Court of Canada, the National Energy Board, the Alberta Court of Appeal, the Alberta Utilities Commission, the Alberta Surface Rights Board, the British Columbia Supreme Court and the British Columbia Environmental Appeal Board, each release significant decisions in areas of fundamental importance to the regulation of gas and electric utilities, and the operations of oil and gas companies.

In this post, we highlight ten of the most important judicial decisions of 2015, and related trends, of import to oil and gas industry participants, for 2016 and beyond.

In 2015 politics drove policy. With new federal and Alberta governments, last year ushered in unprecedented changes for the Canadian oil and gas industry.