30 LEXPERT
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2015/16
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WWW.LEXPERT.CA
QUÉBEC'S PLAN NORD reads a lot like the recipe
for stone soup. Like the hungry travellers of legend,
who offer up a "magic" stone to cajole villagers into
providing the ingredients for a community meal, Pre-
mier Philippe Couillard has tossed iron ore, assorted
other minerals and $2.7 billion worth of infrastruc-
ture funding into the pot. Now he's waiting to see
whether the private sector will thicken the broth with
mining and energy projects worth $50 billion.
If it works, Plan Nord will deliver electricity,
roads, rail lines, ports, airports, schools, hospitals and
thousands of mining jobs to the vast area north of
Québec's 49th parallel, while generating billions in
royalties and taxes for government coffers. e 20-
year plan covers a sparsely developed area of 1.2 mil-
lion square kilometres, twice the size of France, that's
laden with iron, gold, diamonds, copper, nickel, zinc,
uranium and rare earth minerals.
In Couillard's favour, lower energy prices and
a weaker Canadian dollar help to reduce project
costs, and Northern Québec also contains enormous
hydro-electric potential. Importantly, the monopoly
Munro, Shawn M.
Bennett Jones LLP
(403) 298-3481
munros@bennettjones.com
Mr. Munro assists clients in obtaining regulatory approval of energy
developments, including major oil, gas and power projects. He is
national co-chair of Bennett Jones's Environmental Practice Group and
past chair of its Aboriginal Practice Group.
Murphy, Robert S.
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
(416) 863-5537
rmurphy@dwpv.com
Mr. Murphy practises securities law with a focus on capital markets
transactions, private and public M&A and disclosure issues, and has
extensive experience in the mining sector and on cross-border matters.
Naccarato, D. John
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
(613) 780-8608
john.naccarato@nortonrosefulbright.com
As part of his commercial real estate and construction practice, Mr.
Naccarato has represented participants at all levels and in various
types of P3 and alternative finance and procurement projects.
Naushahi, Ali
Bennett Jones LLP
(416) 777-5397
naushahia@bennettjones.com
Mr. Naushahi practises corporate commercial law with an emphasis
on corporate finance, M&A and mining. He acts for clients involved in
M&A, royalty and streaming transactions, and equity & debt offerings.
Norman, PhD, John
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
(613) 783-8848
john.norman@gowlings.com
Dr. Norman assists clients in the protection and management of
patents in Canada. He regularly represents clients in court on patent
matters in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, mining, farming and
technology fields.
Northey, Rodney V.
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
(416) 369-6666
rodney.northey@gowlings.com
Mr. Northey is in his 25th year of practice focused on federal and
provincial environmental assessments and approvals. Author of a 2016
Guide on federal EA (LexisNexis). Has advanced mines and related
infrastructure for proponents and First Nations.
LEXPERT RANKED LAWYERS
Québec's
Incentive
Québec is investing in mining
infrastructure as part of its
"Plan Nord" but the payoff is not
immediate by Brian Burton
QUÉBEC
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK
