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“It’s an additional wrinkle and a hassle that Domtar isn’t an active company in Alberta, but it’s not insurmountable,” said Martin Olszynski, a University of Calgary expert in environmental law who previously practised with the federal Fisheries and Oceans Department.

“If there are tens or hundreds of millions of dollars that taxpayers might have to bear instead of the polluter, the additional legal cost would seem to be a drop in the bucket.”

The 15-hectare site is now owned by the city and is the proposed new home for an arena and stadium complex that would house Calgary’s professional hockey and football teams.

Initial discussions about redeveloping the property have focused on who will cover remediation costs that some estimates have pegged as much as $300 million.

Carolyn Stuparyk, a spokeswoman with Alberta Environment, said Domtar has not been ordered to clean up the site because it no longer has a corporate entity in the province.

“Alberta’s environmental laws do not apply outside of our provincial boundaries and therefore enforcement of regulatory actions against extraterritorial companies becomes complex, if not impossible,” Stuparyk said in an email reply to questions.

But Lynda Collins, a University of Ottawa law professor who is an expert in toxic waste lawsuits, said the province is being “unduly pessimistic” about its prospects in a legal battle with Domtar.

“Companies definitely tend to fight these provisions and it may be there is a reluctance by the province to engage in that fight,” Collins said.