ACT environment
Watch here

Participate in an AUC proceeding

The AUC is committed to ensuring that Indigenous groups, whose constitutionally protected rights may be directly and adversely affected by proposed developments, have the opportunity to have their concerns heard, considered, understood and accommodated (if required).

If you feel your community ​​may be affected by a utility application, you can register to participate through the eFiling System and fill-out the Statement of Intent to Participate (SIP) form to have your say about the project.

After creating an eFiling account or logging into an existing account, enter the proceeding ID number assigned to the application and communicated in the notice. Use the “register to participate” button within the eFiling System and follow the outlined steps.

As part of the registration process, you must fill out a statement of intent to participate (SIP). A SIP is intended to be a brief description of the rights being asserted and how those rights may be directly affected by a proposed project. It allows the AUC to decide whether to hold a hearing to address your concerns. If the AUC decides to hold a hearing based on the issues identified in a SIP, your community will have an opportunity to file formal evidence in support of those concerns.

A SIP must include the following:

  • Your community’s name.
  • Contact information including address and phone number.
  • Legal land location.
  • Description of your land in relation to the proposed development.
  • Description of your interest in the land.
  • Your business, rights, interests or activities that may be affected by the proposed project.
  • Description of the issues you would like the AUC to consider when making its decision.

A SIP must be filed through the eFiling System and becomes part of the official record of a proceeding. For assistance with the eFiling System or preparing a statement of intent to participate, please contact the AUC at 310-4282 (310-4AUC) or info@auc.ab.ca.

Tips for filling out a statement of intent to participate:

1. Be as specific as possible about how the application may directly and adversely af​fect your right(s) or interest(s)

  • ​​You do not need to provide a lengthy summary of case law but you must identify a legal right and describe how your exercise of it may be directly and adversely affected.
  • Provide a brief description of the traditional use or activity, such as hunting, fishing, or trapping and describe how the project has the potential to impact your Section 35 rights.
  • You must show some degree of location or connection between the work proposed and the right(s) asserted.
  • You are not required to reveal the exact locations of sites of spiritual or cultural importance; it is sufficient to describe the existence of such a site and its approximate distance from the project boundary.
  • Provide clear supporting documentation (i.e., a traditional land use map that is legible and has the area of the proposed project clearly overlaid).

2. Be aware of deadlines

The notice of application indicates that any party who has concerns with a proposed project should make a submission to the AUC by a specified date (usually between two weeks and one month depending on the project). After a statement of intent to participate is received, the AUC will consider your standing in the applications based on a two-part test (Section 9(2) of the Alberta Utilities Commission Act).

The first part of the test is legal: you must demonstrate that your right(s) or interest(s) is recognized in law.

The second part of the test is factual: you must provide information that shows the AUC’s decision on the application may directly and adversely affect your right(s) or interest(s). In other words, tell us who is using the land in question, how they are using the land and how a decision on the application or proposed project may affect that use.

eFiling System      Register

For assistance with the eFiling System or preparing a statement of intent to participate, please contact the AUC’s Assistance and Information Services group:

image