Introduction
Nearly four years ago, Redwater Energy Corporation (Redwater)
was petitioned into receivership by its principal secured creditor,
Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB). What started as the insolvency of
a small oil and gas company with about 100 properties licensed by
the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), became a catalyst for national
consideration of environmental policy, the energy industry, and the
financial sector. Locally, the case revealed cracks in the Alberta
energy regulatory regime and exposed the financial consequences of
the failing system on the Alberta public and responsible resource
companies in Alberta.
Initially, former Chief Justice Wittmann in Redwater Energy
Corporation (Re), 2016 ABQB 278 determined that the provisions
of Alberta's regulatory regime under the Oil and Gas
Conservation Act1 (OGCA) and the Pipeline
Act2 (PA) were inoperative to the
extent such provisions required a Trustee to satisfy the liability
inherent in the
