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2017/18
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LEXPERT 13
the permits you need to go one way or another."
Toronto-based Noront Resources Ltd., the largest
company that remains in the Ring of Fire, favours an
all-weather, east-west road to be built over the muskeg
to the mine site. Although Ontario has committed $1
billion to fund transportation infrastructure in the re-
gion, little work has been done to prepare for a road. No
route has been selected, and no agreements put in place
on who would fund it or who would own or maintain it.
Meanwhile, Toronto-based KWG Resources Inc. has
proposed building a rail line to the mineral deposits us-
ing engineering and long-term financing from China. If
approved, the $4-billion rail line would mark the first
time that a Chinese rail company has played a major
role in rail construction in Canada. (China is the world's
largest importer of chromium, used in stainless steel.)
e proposed north-south rail line, about 340 kilo-
metres, would connect the Ring of Fire to an existing
CN Rail line near Nakina, Ontario. Chinese engineers
from a subsidiary of the state-owned enterprise China
Railway Construction Corp. visited the region in April
of last year and prepared a feasibility study for Chinese
financial institutions.
Noront has criticized KWG's proposal for a north-
south rail line, arguing that an east-west road is more
affordable and would allow the region to be developed
in stages, while also connecting more First Nations com-
munities to the south.
"From the company's perspective, they want some-
one to build the roads or the railway for them," says
Goldsilver. "At the end of the day, it's probably going
to have to be some sort of public-private partnership,
because the majority of that road is going to be used by
the mining companies."
Québec
Québec's Plan Nord, a 25-year $80-billion plan for de-
velopment of the mining, energy and forestry sectors in
northern Québec, was first announced in 2011. Québec
Premier Philippe Couillard presented a scaled-down
version in 2015.
In the more modest version, the province is to invest
about $1.3 billion in infrastructure and other projects
over five years in hopes of attracting $22 billion in pri-
vate-sector investment north of the 49th parallel. "We're
two and a half years in, and a lot of studies are being con-
ducted," says Charles Kazaz, a partner at Blake, Cassels
& Graydon LLP in Montréal. "I'm not sure whether
they'll be able to hit that number by 2020."
Québec's far north holds undeveloped deposits of
iron ore, copper, nickel, zinc, uranium, cobalt, gold and
diamonds. e Labrador Trough, a geological belt strad-
dling the Québec-Newfoundland-Labrador border,
is one of the world's most promising regions for high-
quality iron ore.
Désilets, Olivier Davies Ward Phillips
& Vineberg LLP (514) 841-6561 odesilets@dwpv.com
Mr. Désilets specializes in securities law with an emphasis on corporate
finance and mergers and acquisitions. He has extensive experience in
public offerings, take-over bids, plans of arrangement, private placements,
and corporate governance matters in various industries, including mining.
He repeatedly acts for a large private-equity fund in connection with its
investments in mining companies.
Dhaliwal, Mandeep Lawson Lundell LLP
(604) 631-6742 mdhaliwal@lawsonlundell.com
Mr. Dhaliwal is a partner with Lawson Lundell LLP's banking and corporate
lending group. He acts for banks and other lenders, and mining companies
on project financings, both nationally and internationally, operating credit
facilities, equipment financing and commodity hedging arrangements.
Doris, James W.E. Davies Ward Phillips
& Vineberg LLP (416) 367-6919 jdoris@dwpv.com
Mr. Doris specializes in general civil litigation with an emphasis on share-
holder and oppression remedy actions, class actions, contested mergers
and acquisitions and securities disputes, mining, gaming and competition
matters. He has acted for a number of Canada's largest corporations,
including General Motors of Canada, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corpora-
tion and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited.
Dubé, Georges McMillan LLP
(416) 865-7876 georges.dube@mcmillan.ca
Mr. Dubé has extensive experience in public-market corporate finance,
take-over bids (hostile and friendly), strategic investments and M&A trans-
actions in the domestic and cross-border contexts in the mining industry.
Regularly assisting boards with strategic decisions, he often acts for spe-
cial committees and financial advisors in the context of change of control
and related-party transactions.
Egan, Wayne T. WeirFoulds LLP
(416) 947-5086 wegan@weirfoulds.com
Mr. Egan, Chair of WeirFoulds's securities practice group, provides legal
advice to private and public companies on various financing and regulatory
matters, including IPOs, private placements, M&As, governance and stock
exchange listings. He has years of experience advising boards of public
resource companies, giving him insight into the unique challenges facing
the firm's mining clients.
Faille, Maxime Gowling WLG
(604) 891-2733 maxime.faille@gowlingwlg.com
Mr. Faille leads the firm's national Indigenous Law Group, and acts for First
Nations, Inuit and Métis communities across Canada, as well as private-
sector interests seeking to do business with Indigenous communities.
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