Absolutely. And both the AER and Alberta government are trying to say the other one makes the decision to avoid public anger on the issue.

Last, I can provide an estimate on how behind the OWA is.
In August 2025 the OWA expected to clear their backlog of orphans between 2037 and 2040.
With the orphans added from Long Run Exploration, I estimate that timeline will be pushed back to 2041-2044. [9]

I can't see a way Albertans can blame foreigners for the orphan problem. (Except maybe American fracking companies, who did cause the gas oversupply). [8]

There is no evidence Chinese investors caused the orphan well problem – more likely they helped the gas industry with capital that kept it afloat for a few more years. See the great recent reporting from Sharon Riley: bsky.app/profile/then...
and the 2017-2018 reporting of Jeffrey Jones. [7]

There was some troubling behaviour by individual investment managers involved in the Chinese investments (who got in trouble with the CRA), but they ended up being pursued for fraud in China as well. It appears most Chinese investors lost money on their gas investments in Alberta. [6]

Fourth, Nenshi made incorrect statements about Chinese investors getting gas revenue and getting a ‘bail out’. But the Chinese investors in this case (Long Run Exploration) got little or no revenue and lost their investment: they invested after the price downturn. [5]

Third, Smith says “One of our policies is to find new ways of using natural gas ... to increase the price so that our companies can be viable again.” I think Nenshi is correct to note this plan will make Albertans pay to help the failing gas companies through their utility bills. [4]

Second, Smith mentions about a plan to set security aside for each well when it is drilled. That plan has not been implemented yet, and there is no indication it will be implemented anytime soon. [3]

First, Smith insists the public pays 0$ for orphans. No. The OWA currently holds $337 Million in government loans with no or little interest, scheduled to be repaid until 2035. The public has paid for orphan & inactive closure before, and pays rising landowner compensation for orphans each year. [2]

There was a brief discussion of orphan wells (actually wells, pipelines, and facilities, but often shortened to just ‘wells’) in the Alberta legislature on Wednesday. (docs.assembly.ab.ca/LADDAR_files..., see pages 1475-1476)
I’ve got some notes on the discussion. [1]

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on record in the legislature (on Wednesday April 15) saying that her government wants to artificially inflate the price of natural gas to keep struggling companies afloat - but wouldn't that mean ordinary Albertans paying MORE for their natural gas? #ABLeg #ABPoli

'Here we go again' after CRA pays out another bogus $5M income tax refund, agency insider says | CBC News The Canada Revenue Agency has paid out another $5-million refund to a single taxpayer, this time to a B.C. businesswoman, despite what it now alleges was a bogus return that included "illogical" and "...

What on Earth is the CRA up to? Almost makes me wish I did tax law, but there's only so much time in life...

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

New Post: The Minority Report on Electoral Districts: Will the Law Protect Alberta from UCP Gerrymandering?

ablawg.ca/2026/04/13...…p-gerrymandering/

Bankes and Tienhaara provide great coverage of both the specific local question of Northback's Grassy Mountain lawsuit against Canada, and a general summary of the problem with Investor-state Dispute Settlement processes. Albertans should be aware of both.

Lots more orphan wells! In case you thought Alberta was running out.
www.aer.ca/about-aer/me...

📰 #Finance

"CALGARY, April 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has turned over all remaining energy assets for Long Run Exploration Ltd. (Long Run) in Alberta to the Orphan Well Association (OWA) to complete closure work. The company filed for receivership…"

Wonder Valley Watch: Inside the Calgary Petroleum Club to hear more of the origin story Through the 'rose-coloured' looking glass, with trees, deer, and even moose doing their part

Jody MacPherson has been doing a great job of following Kevin O'Leary's dreaming of Wonder Valley - here's her latest. open.substack.com/pub/jodymacp...

So many law review articles and he just tweeted it out

New post on the ATA's injunction application re: the Alberta government's use of s 33 to send teachers back to work and "ram down their throats" a collective agreement. Justice Mah has a lot to say about the role of courts in a constitutional democracy and the Bill 21 case is influential here.

Farmers and First Nations unite against northeast Alberta carbon dioxide pipeline Group warns of 600km 'hazard zone' along Pathways Project route, lack of environmental impact assessment

"Thousands of Albertans like me live directly in this project’s ‘hazard zone’. In an explosion, people in our communities are facing anything from breathing issues to brain damage to instant death." daveberta.substack.com/p/farmers-an... #ABLeg #ABPoli #CDNPoli

In light of this announcement the comment period on the DRAFT Canada/AB IA co-operation agmt shd be extended for a further 21 day period post introduction of the Bill to assess its implications.
#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli
@cpaws-snap.bsky.social @cpawssab.bsky.social

www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?...

On March 12th, 2026, Alberta's Committee on Resource Stewardship discusses oil and gas issues. Few questions received useful answers, but Brian Jean did say 34 out of the 40 recommendations from David Yager's report on AER reform were implemented. (He did not specify which 6 were not implemented).

File photo shows Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Congolese Republic, waving to photographers as he leaves Idlewild airport in New York on August 2, 1960

🇧🇪 🇨🇩 A Brussels court on Tuesday ordered a 93-year-old former Belgian diplomat to stand trial over the 1961 killing of Congolese independence icon Patrice Lumumba ➡️ u.afp.com/SLsX

Australian Mining Billionaire Sues Canada for $2 Billion | The Tyee Gina Rinehart’s Northback demands feds pay for finding the Grassy Mountain project too toxic to proceed.

Andrew Nikiforuk and @thetyee.ca have blown open the next step in the efforts of Northback Holdings and Gina Rinehart to claim compensation from Canada/Alberta for backing a bad project - the Grassy Mountain Project
#abpoli #cdnpoli
thetyee.ca/News/2026/03...

The Non-Justiciable War on ‘Woke’ at the Law Society of Alberta By: Drew Yewchuk  Decision Commented On: Song v The Law Society of Alberta, 2025 ABKB 525 (CanLII) PDF Version: The Non-Justiciable War on ‘Woke’ at the Law Society of Alberta Back in February 2023…

The UCP has handed the political victory to the JCCF and required the law society to cancel the Indigenous cultural competency program for lawyers. I knew the UCP would do this since October 2025, but I am surprised how fast the law society threw in the towel.

ablawg.ca/2025/10/16/t...

Alberta’s 'Peterson law' leads lawyers' regulator to stop mandating Indigenous education course | CBC News The regulator for Alberta’s lawyers says it will no longer mandate Indigenous cultural competency training in advance of what Alberta Premier Danielle Smith calls the “Peterson law” coming into effect...

What a disgraceful abdication of the responsibility - and opportunity - to advance reconciliation on the part of both the Law Society and the Alberta government.

Investor-state dispute settlement processes are one of the most egregious ways the international market advantages investors over democracies.
Canada should remove the investor-state dispute clauses from all their international trade agreements.

"Unprecedented": Ecojustice slams AER’s conditions for hearing ethics complaint against board member The regulator demanded a closed-door meeting before following its procedures for a conflict of interest allegation concerning industry consultant and Danielle Smith advisor David Yager.

NEW: The AER is demanding a rural landowner agree to a private meeting with no electronic devices before considering his conflict of interest complaint against board member David Yager.

open.substack.com/pub/theorcha...

New Post: The Proposed Co-operation Agreement on Environmental and Impact Assessment between Canada and Alberta

ablawg.ca/2026/03/18...…nada-and-alberta/

CNLH & LSA CRN 43 Innovations in Judging Co-Present: Challenges to the Rule of Law in Three Acts with Professor Adam Dodek Professor Adam Dodek is a Full Professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law (Common Law Section). He has taught Public Law, Constitutional Law, Legal…

Recording of Professor Dodek's lecture on the rule of law now available: (or at cnlh.ubc.ca/conversation...)