Publication
Global rules on foreign direct investment (FDI)
Cross-border acquisitions and investments increasingly trigger foreign direct investment (FDI) screening requirements.
Canada | Publication | August 24, 2023
This legal bulletin is an update to the legal bulletin published on August 8, 2023, titled Alberta pauses renewable project approvals and initiates inquiry.
On August 22, 2023, and after analyzing almost 600 stakeholder submissions, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) announced how it will process applications for renewable energy generation projects captured by the Generation Approvals Pause Regulation (the Regulation). In short, the AUC will continue to process applications for these projects, up to the point of issuing an approval. The AUC will:
The AUC has also announced that it will add interim information requirements to Rule 007: Applications for Power Plants, Substations, Transmission Lines, Industrial System Designations, Hydro Developments and Gas Utility Pipelines.
These interim information requirements may include, but are not limited to, information on agricultural land, viewscapes and reclamation security. New applications will be required to satisfy these new interim information requirements while existing applications may be required to satisfy them. We see the integration of informational requirements for issues flagged in the Regulation as a sign of the AUC’s intent to limit delays to applications by immediately addressing some of the issues government identified, ahead of the parallel inquiry. Even if only on a preliminary and interim basis, it is a positive sign.
The AUC has also provided further details on the inquiry it was directed to conduct by the Regulation. The inquiry will be conducted using a modular approach, where the AUC will consider discrete issues, or groups of issues, separately. The AUC is in the process of finalizing the schedule for each module and will issue process directions for participants shortly.
If you have any questions or wish to participate in the inquiry, please do not hesitate to contact any of the authors of this bulletin.
Publication
Cross-border acquisitions and investments increasingly trigger foreign direct investment (FDI) screening requirements.
Publication
On February 2, 2024, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union confirmed that the Committee of Permanent Representatives had signed the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Regulation, referred to as the AI Act. Approval by the EU Parliament followed on 13 March 2024, and the AI Act is likely to appear in the EU’s Official Journal around May 2024. The AI Act aims to establish a stringent legal framework governing the development, marketing, and utilisation of artificial intelligence within the region, thereby marking a significant advancement in the regulation of this burgeoning domain.
Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest legal news, information and events . . .
© Norton Rose Fulbright LLP 2023