Lexpert®Ranked Lawyers
Bugden, Lydia
Stewart McKelvey
(902) 420-3372
lbugden@
stewartmckelvey.com
Ms. Bugden's
experience embraces
project fi nancing,
land assembly and
regulatory matters on
energy projects; M&A,
fi nancing, restructuring
and governance for
corporations; and bi-
lateral and syndicated
credit facilities for
banking clients.
Buttigieg, Bryan J.
Miller Thomson LLP
(416) 595-8172
bbuttigieg@
millerthomson.com
Certifi ed as a Specialist
in Environmental Law
by The Law Society
of Upper Canada, Mr.
Buttigieg has expertise
in civil litigation,
regulatory defence, due
diligence, compliance,
environmental
approvals, brownfi elds
development and
contaminated land.
Cameron, Gordon K.
Blake, Cassels &
Graydon LLP
(613) 788-2222
gord.cameron@
blakes.com
Mr. Cameron practises
administrative and
commercial litigation.
In connection with
his administrative
law practice, he
appears before energy
regulatory tribunals
such as the National
Energy Board and the
Ontario Energy Board.
Bursey, David W.
Bennett Jones LLP
(604) 891-5128
burseyd@
bennettjones.com
Mr. Bursey's
regulatory practice
focuses on energy
project development
and regulation,
environmental
assessment, water
resource management,
and Aboriginal law.
He advises natural
resource industry
clients, First Nations
and government
agencies.
Cameron, QC, Glenn
Stikeman Elliott LLP
(403) 266-9011
gcameron@stikeman.
com
Mr. Cameron's
corporate and
energy law practice
has a transactional
focus. He advises
on private-equity
investments, M&A,
asset dispositions
and the acquisition,
development and
fi nancing of major
energy assets.
Campbell, A. Neil
McMillan LLP
(416) 865-7025
neil.campbell@
mcmillan.ca
Dr. Campbell focuses
on competition, trade
and energy law. He
acts in cartel, abuse
of dominance and
merger cases, as well
as foreign investment
reviews and anti-
dumping and other
trade issues. He is past
Chair of the Ontario
electricity market
monitor.
Energy Deals | 9
had suddenly discovered their economy was state controlled.
Rather, it was the growing size and accelerating pace of Chi-
nese cash injections that had put an urgent fright into the
feds, M&A experts say.
One lawyer, who requested anonymity (and is not other-
wise quoted here), says he believes the federal government
was chiefl y concerned about the potential for "hollowing
out" of the Canadian energy sector, in which senior manage-
ment functions of acquired Canadian companies might be
rapidly transferred to Beijing and Shanghai.
Asian SOEs had invested some $50 billion over ten years
in Canadian oil sands, shale gas and liquefi ed natural gas
(LNG) projects, according to a report by Osler, Hoskin &
Harcourt LLP. And, in 2012, SOEs suddenly graduated
from joint venture positions to a few controlling acquisi-
tions: PetroChina bought 60 per cent of Athabasca Oil
Sands for $1.9 billion; Petronas of Malaysia off ered more
than $5 billion for Progress Energy; and China National
Off shore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) bid $15 billion-plus for
Nexen Inc. at year, SOE acquisitions of Canadian energy
assets reached $28 billion and, perhaps equally important,
they had by one count paid an average premium of 49 per
cent above market price, compared with an industry average
31 per cent.
If the pace of investment appeared breathtaking in Can-
ada, it was certainly no strain on the resources of China,
whose foreign exchange reserves continued to rise past US$3
trillion. Against this backdrop, one opinion poll showed that
71 per cent of Canadians opposed Chinese companies tak-
ing majority control of Canadian-owned operations, and
49 per cent opposed Chinese acquisitions of even a foreign-
owned company operating in Canada.
74 per cent to $14.8 billion from $57 billion in 2012 – was
ushered in just before Christmas of 2012. On Dec. 7, Prime
Minister Stephen Harper issued a ban on foreign state-
owned enterprises (SOEs) acquiring anything that looked
or smelled remotely like control of a Canadian oil sands op-
eration. "Canadians have not spent years reducing the own-
ership of sectors of the economy by our own governments,
only to see them bought and controlled by foreign govern-
ments," Harper said.
Listeners, both foreign and domestic, could surely have
been forgiven for crying "whiplash." A er all, Harper had
spent several years and two fl amboyant trade missions ag-
gressively courting Asian investors, and the Chinese in par-
ticular. At the time, it was a bit of a stretch to imagine he
