Lexpert®Ranked Lawyers
Pipelines v. Rail | 19
Garcia, Joseph A.
Blake, Cassels &
Graydon LLP
(604) 631-3307
joseph.garcia@
blakes.com
Mr. Garcia focuses on
M&A and corporate
fi nance, including
public and private
equity and debt, take-
overs, issuers bids and
regulatory compliance.
He advises public and
private companies,
investment dealers, VC
and PE funds,
and boards.
Ghikas, Matthew
Fasken Martineau
DuMoulin LLP
(604) 631-3191
mghikas@fasken.com
Mr. Ghikas is a
highly ranked energy
lawyer with expertise
in the oil and gas,
electricity and utility
industries. He provides
strategic advice and
represents energy
clients in administrative
proceedings, litigation,
arbitration and
mediation.
Gill, Sony
McCarthy Tétrault LLP
(403) 206-5529
sgill@mccarthy.ca
Mr. Gill has acted as
counsel to public and
private oil and gas
producers, energy
services companies
and investment banks
in a range of M&A
transactions and debt
and equity fi nancings.
He also advises on
corporate governance
and compliance
matters.
Germanakos,
Chris N.
McMillan LLP
(416) 865-7865
chris.germanakos@
mcmillan.ca
Mr. Germanakos
advises the energy,
fi nancial institution,
infrastructure and
consumer products
sectors, among
others, on M&A, joint
venture, private equity,
governance, regulatory
and general corporate
and commercial
matters.
Gibson, QC,
Brock W.
Blake, Cassels &
Graydon LLP
(403) 260-9610
brock.gibson@blakes.
com
Chair and partner.
Mr. Gibson's practice
focuses on mergers
and acquisitions,
corporate fi nance,
private-equity
and restructuring
transactions. His
experience includes
acting as lead counsel
on numerous mergers
and acquisitions and
public offerings.
Gilliland,
William G.
Dentons Canada LLP
(403) 268-6826
bill.gilliland@dentons.
com
Mr. Gilliland
advises public and
private companies
domestically and
internationally on M&A
matters, primarily in the
power, oil and gas and
other resource sectors.
He also counsels on
fi nancing, securities
and governance
issues.
the treatment of oil being transported overland by rail.
Pipelines are the lightning rod for environmental activists,
but sending hundreds of tanker cars fi lled with crude hur-
tling through Canadian cities, towns and wilderness raises its
own set of concerns, says John Osler, a partner at McCarthy
Tétrault LLP in Calgary.
"Rail is a really bad way to do this," says Osler. " e issue
for the energy companies in the transportation of crude oil
by rail, I think, is that it is really unsafe. e railway wasn't
made for transporting this sort of thing.
"When a pipeline explodes or has a leak, there are tragic
environmental consequences at times. But when a railway
car explodes people die. We already saw that at Lac-Mégan-
tic. So it's not as easy as saying if we don't have pipeline access,
we'll move it by rail."
Yet that is exactly what's happening.
Five years ago, trains in Canada carried barely 1,000 bar-
rels a day. at fi gure is expected to top 1,000,000 barrels a
day by the end of this year.
Canadian railways are going straight to the oil compa-
nies and selling the advantages of shipping by rail, says John
Landry, a partner at Davis LLP in Vancouver.
"Say I want to pipe my oil from Alberta to the Gulf Coast,
and I'm constrained in getting it there, then somebody
comes to me and says they can do it by rail. at literally is
what's happening," he says.
" e rail companies are going to the oil companies and
saying : 'You're having trouble moving your oil to the Gulf
Coast? OK, we can do it for you. We'll create your pipeline.
We'll put it in tank cars and we'll run her down the rail sys-
tem and it'll be just as if you had a pipeline to wherever you
tackle the eff ects of a possible accident.
ey also tighten government control over day-to-day
operations, with the NEB required to increase the number
of annual pipeline inspections by 50 per cent and double the
number of yearly audits of oil and gas companies to identify
safety defi ciencies.
at's where the new regime stands in sharp contrast to
