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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

Katelyn Weller

Counsel at Bennett Jones Toronto

Counsel

Carl Cunningham

Management-side Employment Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

The 2025 Federal Budget proposes significant employment law changes, including restrictions on non-compete agreements and new measures to address worker misclassification and wage theft. Federally regulated employers should prepare for upcoming consultations in early 2026.

Federal Budget Proposals Affecting Employers

Andrew Bozzato

Corporate, M&A, Securities Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

Simon Grant

Banking & Finance Lawyer, Fintech Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

Matthew Flynn

Technology Transaction Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

Canada's federal budget was released on November 4, 2025 and included some much-anticipated news for fintech. In this latest edition of our Fintech in Canada quarterly update, we look at the key announcements in Budget 2025 for the sector, including the unleashing of stablecoins, fintech-focused changes to financial legislation and momentum for open banking and how fintechs can navigate the evolving landscape.&nbsp;

Fintech in Canada Q3 2025

Ahmed Elmallah

Intellectual Property Lawyer at Bennett Jones Edmonton

Counsel, Patent Agent, Trademark Agent

Lorelei Graham

Food and Agribusiness Lawyer, IP Lawyer, Litigation Lawyer at Bennett Jones Toronto

Edward (Ted) Yoo

Intellectual Property Lawyer and Canada/US Patent and Trademark Agent at Bennett Jones Edmonton

Partner, Patent Agent, Trademark Agent

Recent disputes involving xAI, OpenAI and a former engineer highlight how quickly job transitions can escalate into trade-secret and IP risks. This article explains why every business needs a clear confidential information and intellectual property (CI&amp;IP) governance policy&mdash;and how such policies help prevent disputes, protect proprietary assets and ensure compliance with third-party obligations.

Why Every Business and StartUp Needs an Employee Governance Policy

X.AI Corp. v. OpenAI—Why Every Business (and Start-Up) Needs an Employee Governance Policy for Managing Confidential Business Information and IP Risk

Martin Ignasiak KC

Regulatory Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Ashley M. White

Corporate, Commercial Transactions, Power & Energy Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Jessica Kennedy

Budget 2025 sets out Canada&rsquo;s Climate Competitiveness Strategy, reaffirming goals to attract clean investment, strengthen carbon pricing systems and position the country as an emerging energy superpower. The Strategy details updates to emissions regulations, clean technology tax credits, critical mineral programs and major project approvals, offering new signals for investors and industry.

Canadas Budget 2025 Canadas Climate Competitiveness Strategy

Canada's Budget 2025: Canada's Climate Competitiveness Strategy

J. Sébastien A. Gittens

Intellectual Property and Technology Commercialization Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

Partner, Trademark Agent

Stephen D. Burns

Technology Lawyer, Intellectual Property Lawyer at Bennett Jones Calgary

AI is rapidly integrating into enterprise workflows, yet vendor agreements often lag behind in safeguarding organizational risk. This article highlights the hidden hazards in standard AI terms and conditions, including data usage, IP ownership, liability limits and regulatory compliance gaps and outlines strategies to strengthen contractual oversight.

Keely Cameron on the Impact of the Redwater Decision on the Oil Gas Industry

From the Same Authors