WWW.LEXPERT.CA
|
2018
|
LEXPERT 21
Gilmour, Bradley S. Bennett Jones LLP
(403) 298-3382 gilmourb@bennettjones.com
Mr. Gilmour's practice focuses on environmental, regulatory, energy and
Aboriginal law. He advises on due diligence, environmental approvals, release
and incident reporting, contaminated sites and environmental investigations
and prosecutions on a range of energy, chemical, petrochemical, hydro, bio-
fuel, wind and other industry types.
Gilliland, William G. Dentons Canada LLP
(403) 268-6826 bill.gilliland@dentons.com
Mr. Gilliland advises public and private companies domestically and interna-
tionally on M&A matters, primarily in the power, oil & gas, and other resource
sectors. He also counsels on financing, securities and governance issues.
Gauvin, Mira Dentons Canada LLP
(514) 878-5812 mira.gauvin@dentons.com
Ms. Gauvin advises clients on compliance with environmental laws, obtaining
and transferring environmental permits, land rehabilitation projects and the
implementation and closure of industrial and mining sites. She analyzes and
consults on the impacts of jurisprudential and legislative developments on
client activities and on due diligence in the context of various types of busi-
ness transactions.
Gallivan, QC, Daniel F. Cox & Palmer
(902) 491-4126 dgallivan@coxandpalmer.com
Mr. Gallivan's corporate practice spans all facets of energy law. He provides
informed counsel and regulatory advice to major oil & gas projects, explora-
tion and production companies, service and pipeline companies, regulatory
agencies and governments. Consistently ranked as a leading practitioner
in his field, Mr. Gallivan has also held the leadership role of CEO of Cox
& Palmer.
Friend, QC, Anthony L. Bennett Jones LLP
(403) 298-3182 frienda@bennettjones.com
Mr. Friend practises in the areas of corporate, securities, and energy industry
litigation, arbitration, mediation and defence of medical malpractice claims,
and corporate arrangements and restructuring. He has acted in over 90
corporate arrangements and restructurings.
Fransen, Aaron Stikeman Elliott LLP
(416) 869-5231 afransen@stikeman.com
Mr. Fransen is a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions, Banking & Finance
and Project Development & Finance Groups. His practice focuses on project
finance of infrastructure and energy projects in the bond and bank markets.
In addition to project finance, he continues to represent corporate clients
in M&A and other strategic transactions.
She sees the CCIR as an efficient way to put
pressure on industry in a relatively cost-effective
way to reduce GHGs through peer pressure by
comparing facilities in the same sector.
Yet there are a number of instances that still
need clarity; for example, co-generation facili-
ties, where Powell says it's not clear how indirect
emissions will be calculated and allocated in
operations where you've got more than one fa-
cility involved.
"Right now there's some pain points in the lack
of specificity," she says. "Alberta still has regula-
tions to come, so industry doesn't yet have 'perfect
information' and what industry likes is certainty."
On the other hand, while the province "has
taken a lot of heat on its GHG footprint, it was
an early adopter," says Powell, with relatively com-
plicated carbon regulation under the CGER. As
such, "there's a significant amount of well-estab-
lished expertise in Alberta which puts the indus-
try in a good place moving forward as they try to
work through this new regulatory framework."
Complex, yes, but also, still evolving. Further
regulations are going to be required to imple-
ment specific aspects of the CCIR, says War-
rier, which gives industry an opportunity to
help shape how the policy is ultimately imple-
mented. "We're seeing some significant discus-
sions between industry and the government, in
light of today's challenging commodity price
environment, in regard to the impact this new
approach may have on the competitiveness of
oil and gas companies in particular. It's been a
very iterative process so far."
Indeed, the regulations are almost like a work
in progress, a real-time exercise, says Paul Cassidy,
partner and co-head of the National Environ-
mental, Regulatory & Aboriginal Group at Mc-
Carthy Tétrault LLP in Vancouver. "Competi-
tiveness can be impacted very quickly; the Alberta
regulatory regime does not intend to make a par-
ticular emitter uncompetitive. It's not intended to
make Alberta a regime of carbon leakage, where
carbon-intensive industries look to transfer assets
and operations out of a jurisdiction that imposes
a higher degree of taxation or cost on them than
another jurisdiction."
For example, there might have to be some rejig-
ging of the emissions levels. A particular emitter,
suggests Cassidy, could reap significant benefit
from the new regime for reasons that are unique
to it, but are not easily emulated by the other play-
ers in that particular industry, for various and en-
tirely legitimate reasons. "So you've created a pot-
entially uneven playing field that is at odds with
the strategy of giving everyone the ability and the
incentive to reduce emissions, of operating from
a level playing field, when in fact there isn't one."
CCIR is, in some ways, more of a journey
LEXPERT-RANKED LAWYERS
