WWW.LEXPERT.CA
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2018
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LEXPERT 21
Howe, Robert Goodmans LLP
(416) 597-5158 rhowe@goodmans.ca
Mr. Howe practises infrastructure, administrative and regulatory law, empha-
sizing on municipal and land development matters. He focuses on all aspects
of land development for private and public sector clients throughout Ontario,
especially the financial aspects of land development, including the financing
of significant public infrastructure projects and development charge matters.
Holder, Faithe H. Gowling WLG
(416) 369-7113 faithe.holder@gowlingwlg.com
Ms. Holder is a partner in the firm's Real Estate and Financial Services
Department, based in the firm's Toronto office. She focuses her practice
in infrastructure/P3, commercial real estate and construction law.
Helmstadter, Jane C. Bennett Jones LLP
(416) 777-7470 helmstadterj@bennettjones.com
Ms. Helmstadter acts for real estate, natural resources and renewable energy
clients in domestic and cross-border transactions. She advises on matters
related to real estate: acquisition/disposition, financing and structure of
ownership vehicles. She assists clients in transactions involving office, retail
& industrial property, multi-family residential developments and renewable
energy projects.
Haythorne, John S. Dentons Canada LLP
(604) 691-6456 john.haythorne@dentons.com
Mr. Haythorne is the Vancouver lead and National Co-Chair of Dentons Can-
ada's Infrastructure and PPP group. He practises in the areas of construction,
engineering and infrastructure. He is particularly experienced in public-
private partnerships, advising owners on the structure and administration
of procurement and legal issues relating to design and construction.
Harricks, Paul H. Gowling WLG
(416) 369-7296 paul.harricks@gowlingwlg.com
Mr. Harricks leads the Energy Industry Group at Gowling WLG. His trans-
action-based practice embraces infrastructure, energy and project finance.
He acts for Canadian and international corporations, funds, governments
and financial institutions. He has worked on a wide range of infrastructure
projects in Canada, the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
Hankinson, QC, Stuart B. Bennett Jones LLP
(604) 891-5188 hankinsons@bennettjones.com
Mr. Hankinson's practice is focused on complex construction, commercial
and insurance dispute resolution. He is called upon by owners, developers,
EPC & EPCM contractors, design-builders, design professional, construction
insurers, and construction & project managers to mitigate and manage
disputes. He also acts as a member of Dispute Adjudication Boards (DAB)
and Dispute Resolution Boards (DRB).
LEXPERT-RANKED LAWYERS
Canada is among the world leaders in Public-
Private Partnerships (P3s), and lawyers who act
for Canadian project developers or large construc-
tion companies on these and other Infrastructure
projects say their clients do a significant amount of
work on US and cross-border projects. And they
watched with trepidation as US President Don-
ald Trump made daunting comments about trade
with Canada.
When the US and Mexico reached a trade agree-
ment centred mainly on manufacturing, it must
have made Canadian Infrastructure clients even
more worried. In late August, the US and Mexico
agreed on a 16-year deal — with an option to revisit
in six years and extend for another 16 — that would
increase the percentage each car that must be made
in the US to qualify for duty-free treatment to 75%
from 62.5%. e agreement also stipulates that a
significant portion of each vehicle made in Mexico
be made by workers making at least US$16 an hour.
Even if Canadian and American negotiators
manage to reach a deal soon, the details will take
months to work out.
Canadian Infrastructure lawyers told Lexpert
of the impact of this political context on their cli-
ents: "What parties are facing when they look at
cross-border Infrastructure projects and what will
happen with NAFTA is uncertainty," says Ella
Plotkin, who heads the Infrastructure & Public-
Private Partnerships practice group at Fasken
Martineau DuMoulin LLP. "at uncertainty is
throwing a spanner into the works, it will have an
impact on risk transfer and it will have an impact
on costing. And it's all about cost at the end of the
day: how do people cost for uncertainty?"
e status of a trade agreement with the US
has a significant impact on Canadian companies
working on existing projects, Plotkin says.
"People spend tremendous amounts of time
costing projects appropriately so they can get the
project done within the standards required, make
whatever profits that are factored into the process,
repay lenders etc. So if you've costed on the basis of
Product X with no tariffs on it, and suddenly Prod-
uct X has tariffs on it, your costing has gone out
the window, your assumptions are all wrong. ere
may be very substantial financial implications.
"Mobility of people across the border is another
very big issue. Now you can move across the border
freely. What might changes to a trade agreement
entail? If you're working on a project on both sides
of the border, might you need work permits where
you didn't before? All this uncertainty is a looming
sword above people's heads."
Another major issue is that trade agreements
regulate the government procurement process to
ensure signatories have a level playing field, says
Judy Wilson, a partner at Blake Cassels & Gray-
don LLP in Toronto. Changing those rules "be-