Kruse, David
Blake, Cassels
& Graydon LLP
(416) 863-2467
david.kruse@blakes.com
Mr. Kruse practises M&A,
private equity and corporate
law. He provides strategic
advice on regulated trans-
actions and effectively
completing complex down-
stream energy deals. He also
advises foreign investors on
their Canadian operations.
Labeau, Pierre-Christian
Norton Rose Fulbright
Canada LLP
(418) 640-5008
pierre-christian.labeau@
nortonrosefulbright.com
Mr. Labeau practises Na-
tive, constitutional and
administrative law. He
advises governments, public
agencies, corporations, banks
and other clients on issues
related to energy, mining
and forestry development,
including IBAs and the
duty to consult.
Lalji, Amyn F.
Miller omson LLP
(604) 643-1201
alalji@millerthomson.com
Mr. Lalji has represented
First Nations in negotiations
with industry in relation to
some of Canada's largest
mining projects. He has also
acted for First Nations busi-
nesses in negotiating major
procurement deals for large
mining projects.
Kufeldt, Kent D.
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
(604) 640-4195
kkufeldt@blg.com
Mr. Kufeldt's corporate and
securities practice covers
equity and debt financings,
reorganizations and M&A
transactions in oil & gas, min-
ing, renewable power and
other sectors. Clients include
companies, partnerships and
underwriting syndicates.
Laffin, QC, Michael J.
Blake, Cassels
& Graydon LLP
(403) 260-9692
michael.laffin@blakes.com
Mr. Laffin provides corpor-
ate and energy advice to
Canadian and international
oil & gas companies, and
has extensive experience
negotiating, structuring
and advising on all aspects
of conventional and uncon-
ventional oil & gas, and
LNG matters.
Langlois, Martin R.
Stikeman Elliott LLP
(416) 869-5672
mlanglois@stikeman.com
Mr. Langlois is co-head of the
M&A and Private Equity
Practice Group in Toronto.
His practice focuses on
M&A, securities and cor-
porate governance matters in
various industries including
technology, life sciences,
financial services and energy.
28
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ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION
LEXPERT
®
RANKED LAWYERS
In MacWilliam's home province of
Alberta, "the new NDP government an-
nounced changes to the existing Green-
house Gas (GHG) regulatory scheme, the
first in North America, to increase the cost
of credits and increase the rate at which
large emitters of GHG will be required to
reduce the intensity levels of their emis-
sions," he says.
Yet he suggests "what's more critical is the
Alberta government's creation of a review
panel to advise it on the development of a
comprehensive climate change plan for Al-
berta with hopes to have a preliminary pro-
posal ready to announce prior to the next
United Nations Climate Change meeting
in Paris in December. is proposal, and
the legislation that will need to follow, will
have the potential to significantly impact
on the energy sector in Alberta, but also
likely will have ripple effects outside of the
province in other parts of the country."
While there will be potential negative im-
pacts to energy companies, he says, "primar-
ily in the costs of compliance, if you couple
that with low oil and gas prices there's the
potential for it to be a double-whammy."
But MacWilliam also sees enormous op-
portunity for energy companies to develop
and benefit from new emerging technolo-
gies aimed at reducing GHG emissions that
could not only be utilized domestically, but
exported globally.
Jean Piette, senior partner at Norton
Rose Fulbright Canada LLP in Québec
City and chair of the firm's environmental
law team, has been working in the environ-
mental field for 43 years, first as a regulator
developing government policy and later
"moving to [the] private practice side to see
the other side of the coin as to the reality
of the private sector living with new envi-
ronmental policies and regulatory regimes."
Piette says he's seen a significant shi in
the paradigms of economic development
since he started his practice with govern-
ment. Business has come to recognize that
change is an inescapable reality, and that
includes, today, facing environmental and
climate change concerns.
As Québec continues to develop its new
energy policy, "which has to take into ac-
count the cap and trade system that has
been in place for several years, the govern-
ment is calling upon all actors in society to
directly express their opinions and concerns
with respect to energy," he says. "e fight
against climate change is a cost that will
have to be borne by society if we want to
deal effectively with this issue."
For Canadian companies, he continues,
"one of the new realities is that carbon
will have a price attached to it, it's no lon-
ger going to be free; Europe is living with
this, with a European-wide cap and trade
system; China is establishing cap and trade
systems in various parts of the country, so
what we're seeing is a global movement in
this direction and this will be accentuated,
"Although it's been almost 20 years since Kyoto, for the first time
in Canada there's real developments in terms of climate change
and greenhouse gas regulations that are either directly impacting
the energy sector in Canada or will be in the very near future."
– Alex MacWilliam, Dentons Canada LLP
