Canadian Lawyer

T he Alberta government traditionally names what it deems as deserving political friends to head its more than a half-dozen out-of-province offices. But earlier this year, with the battle to get Alberta resources to market intensifying, the premier's office decided a different skill set was needed in two major new appointments. So it reached beyond the usual politically connected candidates and persuaded two energy industry insiders to hit the ice for the province. David Manning, former president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, got tapped on the shoulder to go to Washington and lawyer Alan Ross, a partner at the Calgary office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, was sent out to re-open an Ottawa office. At 42, Ross already has barrels of energy sector experience. He has played key roles in development, restructuring, and regulation of pipelines, electricity, coal, methane, and, of course, oil. In Ross' view being a lawyer has helped him in Canada's most acutely political city. "Having a substantive understanding of the regulatory and legal process behind the creation of legislation has been exceptionally useful." When Ross got the call to go to Ottawa earlier this year he had to "down tools and advise clients I was moving on very quickly." He says he had to transfer their files to other partners but because of government secrecy "I couldn't tell the clients what it was for." All the mystery "raised some suspicions" he laughingly recalls in his office, just two blocks from Parliament Hill. But naturally Ross had to reveal to his firm what he was doing and says "they were exceptionally good in offer- Alan Ross is promoting Alberta's energy agenda to mandarins in Ottawa. ing up a leave of absence." He says while the arrangement is unusual, other lawyers have been granted leave to go to the Canadian Securities Commission or the Competition Bureau. While on his leave of absence he has had to distance himself from BLG and now "has no involvement in files, no involvement in firm management." "Some people said you are absolutely crazy to give up a good practice in a vibrant city with a great law firm to take a job in Ottawa that may be somewhat more thankless, and potentially short-term." But Ross believes "it is a hell of an opportunity." He says he "found it unbelievably interesting. It was a remarkable opportunity to be exposed to policy, particularly energy policy, development." He says now is a key time to be in Ottawa with energy such a central priority. But with modern communication does Alberta really need a physical presence in Ottawa? Couldn't Ross do just as good a job from Calgary and save the million dollars the office is costing taxpayers annually? Ross says the office is designed to be solely and exclusively a representative of the Alberta government position. "The [Alberta] MPs do a lot of that," Ross notes, "but they [are also part] of a national caucus," which has to deal with national issues and represent a national government. "We can take on the province's view without having to be part of a national government." Ross also says he has a mandate to engage with provincial governments, industry, and the financial and special interest communities in the Toronto-Quebec City corridor. "That's something MPs here do not do." Ross is not blind to the intense controversy surrounding Alberta's energy ambitions both domestically and internationally. In an effort to foster what he calls "an intelligent, factbased dialogue on energy issues" he has been sponsoring seminars in which he encourages healthy debate. He has also been reaching out to critics in the opposition and the community. He sees that as another advantage of being a provincial public servant rather than a political partisan. On a personal level Ross has been polishing up the French skills he developed in his youth as a Parliamentary page, playing a little tennis, and getting back to Calgary, a city he loves, as often as possible. He won't speculate on how long he may stay in Ottawa, but he says he intends one day to return to the practice of law even though he says rebuilding his client base will mean "I'll have to hustle." — GE www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m October 2013 11 Geoff Ellwand Pumping Alberta government's energy message in Ottawa West

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