Professional LLM Specializing in

Energy and Infrastructure Law

Course Descriptions*

Public Utility Law
GS LAW 6560 - [6 credits]
This course addresses the role of public utility regulators with an emphasis on the role of the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) in regulating electricity and gas utilities.  The course will also focus on the development of North American and international models.  More specifically, the course will address the regulation of rates charged by “natural monopoly” utilities including: the concept of just and reasonable rates; the principles of cost of service rate making; the components of a utility’s revenue requirement; regulating quality of service; regulating publicly owned utilities; and alternatives to traditional cost of service rate making.  Additionally, the course will address the role of regulators in awarding franchise rights to serve particular communities, and the role of regulators in regulating competitive aspects of the electricity and gas sectors from the perspective of consumer protection and the perspective of encouraging competition.  The regulatory process will also be discussed with an emphasis on a real world example of an OEB case.

Regulatory Theory
GS LAW 6561  - [6 credits]
This course addresses two basic questions:  What is regulation; and why do we do it?  Both of these questions will be critically analysed from three perspectives:  legal, economic and political.  From the legal lens, we will examine regulators as a creature of statute, exercising executive (not judicial) authority; the process of regulatory decision making; adjudication and policy making (rules and codes); and Judicial oversight of and deference towards regulatory bodies. From the economic perspective, we will focus on market failure as the need for and extent of regulation; regulation as a form of public finance; and Regulatory agencies and the “capture” theory.  From the political perspective, we will hone in on the challenge of defining regulation and its forms, the creation of the “regulatory state”, and the creation and oversight of quasi-independent agencies and their policy instruments.

Changing Paradigms in Energy Regulation - [6 credits]
This course examines multiple energy regulation models.  The range of approaches provides the opportunity to use Ontario and other markets as test cases to consider the debates that plague energy restructuring across a number of jurisdictions.  The issues that arise include: (1) The social and economic rationale for a vertically integrated publicly owned monopoly; (2) from monopoly to market - the transition to a competitive electricity market; (3) from market to central planning - hybrid systems; (4) the green economy model of energy regulation.

Demand Side Management: Policy and Regulation

GS LAW 6563  - [6 credits]
This course looks at the policy and regulation of resource efficiency efforts, primarily through the lens of the recent electricity efficiency experience in Ontario.   The course will cover the following topics: (1) The policy rationale for a focus on energy efficiency:  what is energy efficiency, why does the demand side matter, a brief history of energy efficiency in Ontario; (2) The case for and against energy efficiency from an economic, technological and political perspective; (3) The role and regulation of utility involvement in energy efficiency:  what role have utilities played in energy efficiency; does this role make sense from the perspective of the government, the customer and the desired outcomes; (4) The role and regulation of other market players to incent energy efficiency: what is the role of other market players in energy efficiency?  What has been the experience in other jurisdictions e.g. the UK Carbon Commitments; northern European industrial agreements; and is there a role of externality pricing; (5) Other examples of resource efficiency regulation:  what has been the experience in the regulation of water consumption?

Urban Infrastructure Planning and Regulation

GS LAW 6564  - [3 credits]
The focus of this course will be to examine the growing interest in integrated infrastructure planning and solutions. This interest is being driven by various factors including concerns about environmental sustainability, infrastructure cost containment, and agricultural land protection. In order to understand and properly assess this trend, a firm understanding of current practices in infrastructure planning and regulation is necessary. The course will cover the following topics: (1) Land use planning and regulation: what is the scope of land use planning in Ontario? (2) Water planning and regulation: how are our drinking water systems planned and by whom? (3) Urban transportation planning and regulation: how is the urban transportation system planned and by whom?  (4) The new paradigm of integration:  what do we mean by integration of infrastructure? What are we trying to achieve through integration; what has already been achieved in terms of integration in Ontario? (5) Is regulatory integration feasible?  What are the respective roles of OEB, OMB, EAs?  (6) Case studies.

Comparative Approaches to Energy Development

[3 credits]

This course provides an overview of energy resource development from a comparative legal perspective. By employing the areas of public law, energy law, aboriginal law, environmental law and issues of global governance and climate change regime, it looks at the different aspects of renewable and non-renewable energy resource development and rights associated with ownership, exploitation and exploration and management of energy resources. It also elaborates on the current and emerging topical issues, the legal responses and challenges posed by energy resource development, energy security and supply in the context of climate change, environmental issues and global governance.

Environmental Considerations

GS 6419 - [3 credits]

Environmental issues pose perhaps the most substantial single risk to real property transactions and development. This course will start with a review of the legal framework governing the investigation, remediation and development of contaminated sites including property and structures. Relevant government legislation and policies affecting redevelopment of contaminated sites will be discussed (the so-called "Brownfields" legislation). Environmental aspects of transactions, financing and remediation agreements depend on knowledge of both statutory and common law. The course will cover drafting of agreements from the perspectives of vendor, purchaser, landlord, tenant and lender. The drafting of agreements will be illustrated with reference to both statutory and case law, and real world examples. The course will also canvass briefly the environmental insurance currently available for spills and other conditions as well as provide the real estate lawyer with a comparative overview of CERCLA and other US environmental statutes.

Land Use Regulation and Property Development

GS 6412 - [3 credits]
The acquisition and financing of vacant land is the first and often easiest part of property development. Much of the value-added in any real estate project is the conversion of such vacant land to alternative and more profitable legal uses. This course will provide an overview of the law of land use regulation in Ontario, with an emphasis on the processes, negotiations and contracts involved in converting raw land to a residential subdivision, mixed use development or commercial project. Topics reviewed will include issues relating to the subdivision of land such as: considerations in choosing between subdivision, severance or condominium; the elements of the severance process; drafting and getting approvals for a plan of subdivision; financing issues; phased and interconnected subdivisions; etc. The course will also cover the transformation of legal uses including: the concept of legal non-conforming use, site plan agreements, municipal development agreements, dedications in lieu, development charges, minor variances, re-zoning applications, the historical and modern role of the Ontario Municipal Board and the new local equivalents thereto, etc. This unique course will combine municipal law with an understanding of the business aspects of bringing raw land or infill to market.

Municipalities in a Legal and Policy Context

GS 6111 - [6 credits]

This course provides a framework for understanding the nature of municipalities and their changing relationship with senior levels of government and with other entities. It examines six main areas of Municipal law: (1) Municipal Corporations, (2) Municipal Governance, (3) Municipal Structure, (4) The Nature of Municipal Powers and Responsibilities, (5) The Constitutional Status of Municipalities, and (6) Municipalities and Other Agencies.

The Widening Scope of Municipal Jurisdiction

GS 6113 - [6 credits]

This course investigates and reviews the role of municipal governments in decision-making and implementation of programs involving the exercise of legislative and other powers. It will cover a number of areas highlighting the scope of municipal jurisdiction in the 21st century, including: examining the source of municipal powers and the manner through which such powers are conferred upon them and their various local agencies, boards and commissions; reviewing principles of statutory interpretation that have evolved through judicial interpretation of municipal powers; assessing the ways by which the exercise of municipal powers and authority have been attacked through a range of court proceedings; exploring principles regarding the effectiveness of the exercise of municipal powers; and focusing on current trends in judicial interpretation of municipal legislation.

Ethics and Municipalities

GS 6112 - [3 credits]

This course discusses and analyzes ethical issues affecting the work of Canadian municipalities. The study of ethics addresses the most profound and fundamental human values regarding what is or is not proper conduct. Municipalities are not immune. Public inquiries into the relationships between municipalities and commercial suppliers have focused on some of the most important ethical issues facing municipalities. The course examines issues including the role of lobbyists, the conduct of municipal staff in protecting the interests of their municipalities and informing elected councillors, and the potential for serious financial loss to the municipality and its residents when a system of ethical values breaks down or is not enforced. It will also look at the role of municipal functionaries, codes of conduct for municipal staff , conflict of interest legislation, etc.

Planning and Development Law

GS 6114 - [6 credits]

Land development contributes dramatically to the provincial economy and the welfare of its inhabitants. The exploration of this system is fundamental to understanding a complex, expensive and time consuming legislative scheme of processes and required permissions. This course examines the implementation, strengths, weaknesses and dispute resolution processes of delegated powers. The powers are examined in the context of the legislative scheme of related statutes that influence their effectiveness. The distinction between legislative and discretionary decision-making is examined; as well, controls are reviewed through appeal and referral rights to a provincially constituted planning tribunal, such as the Ontario Municipal Board. The course is broken down into three main areas: Principles of Law Applicable to the Conduct of Land Use Planning and Development; Current Issues in Land Development, and Shaping Planning and Development Law for the 21st Century.

Environmental Protection

GS 6116 - [3 credits]

Environmental regulation and control has become of major concern to municipalities and environmentalists as the debate between development and protection is played out in a number of legal arenas. This course examines the interplay between municipalities and the environment, and the increasing importance of legal regulation in this area. The course is divided into three parts. The first two examine current environmental issues relating to the role of municipalities as regulators of the environment and as owners and operators of infrastructure and facilities. The third part of the course considers the issues of concurrency and paramountcy as they affect municipalities and examines the ways of initially defining municipal jurisdiction and the various principles of conflict resolution.

Major Research Paper (MRP): Energy and Infrastructure Law - [6 credits]

A Major Research Paper (MRP) of approximately 70 pages may be completed on an approved topic in Energy and Infrastructure Law, provided appropriate supervision is available. The MRP should go beyond merely describing legal developments to include independent critical analysis of its subject matter. It should be work of publishable quality. You will be required, at a minimum, to submit to your supervisor an outline and bibliography for approval before writing your paper. The final paper is marked on a pass/fail basis.

Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian Constitution - [6 credits]*
This course examines the bases for Aboriginal rights in Canadian law, with particular emphasis on the source and content of Aboriginal title to land. The nature of treaties and land claims agreements, their impact on Aboriginal rights, and the constitutional
protection of Aboriginal and treaty rights are considered. The course also examines division of powers and constitutional status of Indians, Inuit and Metis.

Policy-Making in Administrative Tribunals - [3 credits]
An important issue for many administrative agencies is whether, and when, they should engage in general rule or policy-making outside the adjudication of individual disputes. Decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada related to a tribunal’s ability to issue binding guidelines provide a rich case study of a number of the issues raised by rule-making by independent agencies. The course also considers the respects in which the law has facilitated, required or hampered agencies in the greater use of open rule making.

Administrative Law: Overview and Current Developments - [6 credits]

This course reviews the main principles and rules of the standard of review analysis, procedural fairness, and selected additional topics. The focus is on substantive and procedural grounds for judicial review and on current developments in the jurisprudence in these areas. Additional topics selected for study may include, for example, the impact of the state's international obligations on administrative action at the domestic level. The course lays a groundwork for the remainder of the program. It aims to provide an overview for students who have not previously had extensive exposure to administrative law, but also to afford for students, who are experienced in the subject, an opportunity to reflect on and develop their knowledge base.

Some Theoretical Perspectives on Public Law and Administration - [3 credits]

This course provides a theoretical framework by considering the application of some contemporary theories of, and perspectives on, public administration and administrative law. Theoretical perspectives considered will include: liberalism and the rule of law; the functionalist critique; legal pluralism; critical theory; feminism; public choice theory; organizational theory. A focus of the course is the need to articulate theoretical bases for identifying appropriate roles for legislatures, agencies and courts in promoting, through law, democratic values and the protection of human rights in the administrative state.

Current Issues in Judicial Review of Administrative Action - [3 credits]
This course examines some of the most important issues that have recently arisen in the course of the courts’ supervision of administrative action, such as procedural fairness and institutional decision-making; the giving of reasons; independence and impartiality; deliberative secrecy; specialization and expertise; and standards of court review of administrative decisions. It will also address, where applicable, the impact on administrative action of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Regulatory Regimes - [6 credits]
Students will investigate the manner in which administrative law issues play out in specific economic regulatory contexts. The focus will be on the nature of the oversight and enforcement mechanisms in selected regulatory regimes and the
extent to which they are effective or not. The course will include classic perspectives from James Landis' The Administrative Process and Marver Bernstein's
Regulating Business by Independent Commission, and contemporary views about the impact of deregulation, privatization, globalization, and the emergence of the Internet. The four substantive areas that will be considered are competition, environmental, professional, and securities regulation.

The Theory and Practice of ADR - [6 credits]
Students will be intensively exposed to a broad range of topics in the field. Topics include: adjudication and problem-solving; how the legal system understands
conflict; a range of alternate theoretical models for analyzing and responding to conflict; conflict escalation and de-escalation; the impact of race, gender and
cultural norms on conflict analysis; and evaluation of a range of negotiation theories, strategies and negotiator styles; philosophies, theories and styles of mediation;
mediator neutrality; ethical issues in negotiation and mediation; power in negotiation and mediation; the role of the lawyer as negotiator and mediation advocate; hybrid processes for dispute resolution; designing dispute resolution processes; and the future of ADR.

Crimes and Regulatory Offences: Distinctions with or without Difference [6 credits]
It has been estimated that there are 97,000 regulatory offences created by federal statutes alone. As penalties for these matters increase, they begin to resemble
criminal offences to an increasing degree. Conversely, in areas such as the control of firearms and the operation of motor vehicles, for example, the trend in criminal law is to establish regulatory schemes. The lines blur in other contexts as well, as the failed prosecution of the managers in the Westray mine disaster demonstrates.

Note: Curriculum and course descriptions are subject to change.