An Alberta court has declined to decide the question of whether the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) has the jurisdiction to order confidentiality.
The Court of Appeal of Alberta last week denied leave to appeal to Calgary-based MEG Energy Corp. (TSX:MEG), which sought to appeal the ASC’s jurisdiction to grant confidentiality orders.
According to the decision, the commission “granted a production order and a confidentiality order, which required the company to turn over business records and other information, and to keep quiet about it.”
It says that ASC staff promptly agreed that the confidentiality order was granted in error, as the company had not been provided the opportunity to be heard. That order has now expired, and both sides agree that the matter is moot, but the company still wanted the court to decide whether the commission has the jurisdiction to grant this sort of order.
The decision indicates that the ASC opposed the request, “noting that the record is incomplete and that the commission has not previously determined the jurisdictional question, such that we do not have the benefit of the tribunal’s thinking on that issue.”
In addition, the court noted that “litigation is pending regarding the commission’s conduct in this matter.” And, it notes that commission staff has undertaken to provide advance notice to the appellant, along with an opportunity to be heard, if it seeks another confidentiality order in this case.
As a result, the court concluded that it would not hear the case yet. “We think it would be imprudent for us to decide this moot issue. We prefer to deal with it, if it arises, in the future on the basis of a full record,” it said in denying leave to appeal.