On Thursday, January 31, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its much anticipated decision in Orphan Well Association et al. v. Grant Thornton Limited. In a 5-2 majority, the Court allowed an appeal from the Alberta Court of Appeal and held that oil companies cannot escape payment of their environmental obligations by entering bankruptcy: “bankruptcy does not amount to a licence to disregard rules”. The decision is a resounding victory for the environment and the “polluter pays” principle. Nader Hasan and Lindsay Board intervened on behalf of Greenpeace Canada, which supported the right of the provinces to enforce environmental obligations even when insolvent oil companies enter bankruptcy.
Nader delivered oral submissions on behalf of Greenpeace. The archived webcast of the hearing can be found here. Greenpeace’s factum can be found here. You can read more about the result in this case in The Lawyers Daily and the CBC News.
