On February 15, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) considered oral arguments in Orphan Well Association v. Grant Thornton Limited (Grant Thornton). Initially, the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta determined that the Alberta Energy Regulator's (AER) regulatory framework for reclamation and abandonment of oil and gas wells was ultra vires to the extent that it conflicted with the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, a decision affirmed by the Alberta Court of Appeal in 2017.The effect of Grant Thornton is to allow trustees in bankruptcy, who are administering the estate of insolvent oil and gas companies, to disclaim an insolvent's worthless well assets (e.g., non-producing wells where the abandonment and reclamation process is not yet complete), while selling its valuable well assets (e.g., producing wells). The judgment allows secured creditors the best chance possible to be compensated from the bankrupt's assets, while leaving Alberta's oil and gas industry (and potentially the Albertan taxpayer) to pay the cost for the bankrupt's reclamation and abandonment obligations. It has opened the floodgates for bankruptcies, as creditors push financially distressed companies through the bankruptcy process before the SCC issues its judgment, and potentially changes the law.This article provides an analysis of the case to date, but does not hazard a guess as to the ultimate holding. Rather, it will focus upon four of the case's key constitutional issues: the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity (IJI); the doctrine of federal paramountcy (federal paramountcy); the principle of cooperative federalism (co-operative federalism); and, the ‘‘disinterested regulator” defence. Each of these issues impact Canadian energy federalism. Canadian energy federalism is the compact between provinces and the federal government, which designates the rights and responsibilities associated with Canadian energy resource production, management, and transport. Part 2 provides some background for understanding the case. Part 3 sketches the AER's current regulatory framework for abandoning, remediating, and reclaiming wells (regulatory framework). Part 4 analyzes the constitutional issues outlined above. Finally, Part 5 offers some concluding thoughts about outstanding issues in Grant Thornton not addressed in this article, and then reflects upon the impacts that this pending judgment will have upon Alberta's efforts to reform its current regulatory framework
