Perils of Pipelines, Riddles of Resources: The UNB Law Journal releases its 70th volume
Author: Ed Bowes
Posted on Feb 7, 2020
Category: Research , Faculty , Alumni
The UNB Law Journal has released Volume 70, which explores the forum topic Perils of Pipelines, Riddles of Resources.
The centrepiece of this edition is Elizabeth May’s 2019 Viscount Bennett Memorial lecture titled, 1.5 To Stay Alive: How we Find Hope and Honesty in Dangerous Times. May explores the potentially devastating realities of climate change and discusses the need to unify and act now if we are to continue as a species.
“Come with me. We have got solar panels to put on our roofs, we have got some trees to plant, and we have some Big Oil to shut down.”
UNB Law Professor Jane Thomson talks property law in her piece, Easements, Errors, and Energy Projects: Shelf Holdings Revisited. Thomson examines Shelf Holdings v Husky Oil Operations Ltd, which saw the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench declare a privately granted right of way to an oil pipeline invalid, as it was not capable of meeting a basic common law requirement of easements.
“In 1987, the humble easement momentarily became a thorn in the side of an oil company and its ability to run pipelines through private farmland in Alberta.”
The journal also features a collaboration between UNB Law colleagues Associate Dean Michael Marin and Professor Kerri Froc. The pair discuss the now-famed “free-the-beer” case (R v Comeau) in The Supreme Court’s Strange Brew: History, Federalism, and Anti-Originalism in Comeau.
“Under “living tree” doctrine, interpreters are permitted to change the meaning of the constitutional text over time as society changes to avoid “frozen rights” based on the original intent of the drafters.”
Volume 70 also includes a student submission by recent UNB Law grad Joshua Hasse (JD ’19). In his commentary, Hasse considers how best to include the child’s voice in family law proceedings.
“…Both social science research and a major international agreement support incorporating the voice of the child into family law disputes. In the Canadian context, however, quantitative research in this area shows that children’s evidence is mentioned in less than half of decisions.”
The editorial board for volume 70 includes co-editors-in-chief Adrian Forsythe and Colleen Thrasher, and associate editors, Leigh-Ellen Dunstan, Mitchell McGowan, Matthew Poirier and Alida Salinas. The law journal is overseen by Professors Anne La Forest and Jane Thomson.
Congratulations to the entire UNB Law Journal team on an outstanding publication!
Read the full volume at the Canadian Legal Information Institute.