The applicant sought judicial review of a Minister's Designee decision upholding a plugging order that required him to plug 11 inactive oil and gas wells.
The applicant argued he was not an 'operator' under the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act, that the corporate veil should not have been pierced, and that the regulatory obligations were extinguished by bankruptcy proceedings.
The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding it was reasonable for the Designee to conclude the applicant had management and control of the wells, to pierce the corporate veil to enforce environmental remediation, and to determine the non-monetary regulatory order was not a provable claim in bankruptcy.
