Alton Natural Gas Storage Inc v Poulette, 2019 NSSC 94

This application was heard in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

The applicant, Alton Natural Gas Storage Inc, sought to obtain an interlocutory injunction (a temporary injunction), against Dale Poulette, Rachael Greenland-Smith, and unnamed third parties. The purpose of the injunction was to prohibit Mr. Poulette, Ms. Greenland-Smith, and others from occupying a Treaty Camp that had been constructed as part of an ongoing protest against activities that Alton Gas plannned to conduct in the Sipekne'katik River.

To get the injunction, Alton Gas had to prove three things first, that the issue raised was serious; second, that it would suffer “irreparable harm” if the temporary injunction was not granted; and third, that the company would be more harmed by the Court's failure to grant the injunction than the other parties would be by the Court's decision to grant it.

The Court held that Alton Gas had proved there was a serious issue to be tried. The Court also held that Alton Gas had established the "irreparable harm" element of the test, as the Court found that Mr. Poulette had threatened Alton Gas employees, and that this was sufficient to prove irreparable harm. Finally, the Court held that Alton Gas had established that it would suffer greater harm if the Court failed to grant the injunction than the other parties would suffer if the Court decided to grant it. Since the Court found that Alton Gas had established all three prerequisites for the interlocutory injunction, the Court granted it.

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ns/nssc/doc/2019/2019nssc94/2019nssc94.html

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