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 litiga-
tion, arbitration, and media-
tion.He has acted in over 90
corporate arrangements
and restructurings.
Ghikas, Matthew
Fasken Martineau
DuMoulin LLP
(604) 631-3191
mghikas@fasken.com
Mr. Ghikas, MCIArb.,
Q.Arb., specializes in oil and
gas, electricity and utilities.
Licensed in B.C. and Alberta,
he provides strategic advice
and represents clients before
tribunals, in courts and
in arbitrations. He is an
arbitrator for ICDR.
Gilbert, Geoffrey G.
Norton Rose Fulbright
Canada LLP
(613) 780-3764
geoffrey.gilbert@nortonroseful-
bright.com
Mr. Gilbert practises in
the area of project finance,
with an emphasis on public-
private partnerships and
infrastructure transactions.
He regularly advises project
sponsors and lenders, among
others, on large and innova-
tive projects in Canada.
Gallivan, QC, Daniel F.
Cox & Palmer
(902) 491-4126
dgallivan@coxandpalmer.com
Mr. Gallivan's practice in-
cludes all facets of energy law,
providing commercial and
regulatory advice to major oil
and gas projects, exploration
and production companies,
service companies, pipeline
companies, regulatory agen-
cies and governments.
Gibson, QC, Brock W.
Blake, Cassels
& Graydon LLP
(403) 260-9610
brock.gibson@blakes.com
Chair and partner of Blakes.
Practice focuses on merger and
acquisition, capital markets and
energy transactions. Clients
include energy companies,
financial institutions, pension
funds and investment dealers.
Gilliland, William G.
Dentons Canada LLP
(403) 268-6826
bill.gilliland@dentons.com
Mr. Gilliland advises public
and private companies
domestically and inter-
nationally on M&A matters,
primarily in the power, oil
and gas and other resource
sectors. He also counsels
on financing, securities
and governance issues.
ABORIGINAL INTERESTS
|
19
"In cases of competing claims or interests,
it's important for government to step up and
assist both sides. e underlying message I
take from Tsilhqot'in is the need for govern-
ment policy to be developed to facilitate."
In the meantime, he says, the best advice
for project developers who want to under-
stand the political agendas of the various
communities they are dealing with is to
treat Native groups as partners right from
the start. e best way to do that is for exec-
utives to reach out directly rather than hire
someone from the community to act as an
interface, he says.
"I think the idea of industry trying to
delegate these elements of creating trust and
creating relationships with First Nations
through consultants is only a small part of
the equation. e far more important part
is making sure that First Nations elected of-
ficials are meeting face to face with C-suite
members of industry.
"Opportunity to see the community
firsthand is extremely important. Recogniz-
ing that strategic partnerships are intended
for the betterment of First Nations com-
munities, to ensure industry has an under-
standing of what that means, at some point,
it's going to be imperative for project pro-
ponents to see firsthand the communities
and what change can mean to them."
In other words, get in a canoe.
"So knowing who the parties are across
the table from you on Day One doesn't
mean those parties and those agenda items
aren't going to change by Day 50."
Faille of Gowlings says the communities
need to work out a resolution themselves,
and "sometimes they need to draw back to
their traditional dispute-resolution mech-
anisms to do that. It's tricky.
"Developers need to be very respectful of
the issue and, by and large, be there to offer
whatever services they can. Sometimes they
can help the process by providing capacity
funding…to provide the opportunity for
discussions, to help get elders from the dif-
ferent communities together, for example,
to talk this thing through."
Nettleton says he believes government
should step up with policy guidelines, "to
set ground rules on how it expects obliga-
tions of consultation and accommodation
to be satisfied.
"THERE ARE A number of arguments
available to Aboriginal communities including
that there was no meeting of the minds
[for a treaty], that the understanding of
each party was incompatible with the other,
so there was no agreement and the treaties
were misunderstood as merely about peace."
– Radha Curpen, Bennett Jones LLP
