Left: Former Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie, CC, QC delivers his keynote address
Right: Centre for Constitutional Studies Executive Director Patricia Paradis (left) introduces afternoon presenter Professor Steven Penney (centre), with 3L student and research assistant Dylan Gibbs
The University of Alberta Faculty of Law's Centre for Constitutional Studies (CCS) held its annual Constitutional Law Symposium on October 27, 2017 at Edmonton's downtown Sutton Place Hotel.
The symposium, produced in partnership by the Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA), served to highlight UAlberta Law's research strength in the field of constitutional law.
"The quality of presentations from our faculty made us all extremely proud," said CCS Executive Director Patricia Paradis.
"UAlberta Law is truly at the forefront of research in constitutional law, and this conference was a clear demonstration of our strength in this area."
Of the 11 presenters, five were UAlberta Law professors or sessional instructors. Professors Eric Adams and Peter Carver chaired the first and second panels respectively, while Paradis and CCS Education and Communications Coordinator Tasneem Karbani chaired the two afternoon panels. Now retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice Ian Binnie, CC, QC gave a keynote speech over lunch.
Assistant Professor Anna Lund kicked off the symposium with her presentation "(Not So) Cooperative Federalism - The Fate of Provincial Environmental Liabilities in Federal Insolvency Proceedings," in which she discussed the plight of insolvent oil and gas operators and their legal obligations under provincial environmental law.
The issue recently resurfaced when the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled against companies being required to decommission wells upon commencement of insolvency proceedings, overturning an earlier precedent from 1991. Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada is currently being sought.
Co-panelist Assistant Professor Malcolm Lavoie continued on the theme of federal-provincial legal disputes, focusing instead on the subject of beer, specifically the 2016 New Brunswick Provincial Court R v. Comeau decision. The case centres on an interpretation of section 121 of the Constitution - whether it mandates free trade between the provinces or not.
The case centred on Gerard Comeau, a New Brunswick native who was fined for violating the province's Liquor Control Act for purchasing 14 cases of beer and three bottles of liquor across the border in Québec, a penalty which the court deemed to be in violation of the Constitution Act, which guarantees tax and tariff-free interprovincial trade.
The decision is now being appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, and is scheduled to be heard in early December.
The first of two afternoon sessions featured presentations by Assistant Professor Cameron Jefferies and sessional instructor Avnish Nanda. Jefferies' paper focused on the prospects for enshrining environmental rights in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, following the example of a number of developed countries and even a handful of developing nations like Ecuador, the Philippines and others.
Nanda followed with a presentation on the application of the Charter and constitutional law to digital media. In his presentation he discussed the potential for courts to interpret the Internet as being a protected medium of expression in the Charter.
Professor Steven Penney kicked off the day's final panel by delving into the much-debated question of whether law enforcement agencies should have the right to access encrypted phone data when conducting criminal investigations, and whether such access would constitute a Charter violation. Penney was joined by 3L student Dylan Gibbs, who assisted him with research in the area.
Prof. Penney will present on the same topic again at the University of Alberta's Calgary Centre on November 8.