The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50858
LEGAL REPORT: ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT Ready to bloom A BY HE LEN BURNET T-NICHOL S lready boasting the highest number of clean technology listings in the world, the Toronto Stock Exchange's move to launch a dedicated index for the sector earlier this year seems to have cemented the exchange as the go-to place for domestic and international clean tech companies to access capital. As evidence of this trend, Canadian lawyers working with clean tech firms report that inquiries relating to listing in Toronto or raising capital are on the rise, although financing challenges are still a reality in the wake of the economic downturn. The S&P/TSX Clean Technology Index, launched in March, measures the performance of 21 firms whose core business is in the development and deployment of green technologies, including names such as Brookfield Renewable Power Fund and Ballard Power Systems Inc. Coupled with government initiatives such as the Ontario Green Energy Act and the feed-in tariff program, lawyers explain that the efforts of the TSX have helped shine a global spotlight on the Canadian clean tech industry and peaked the interest of international firms. Aaron Atcheson, a partner with Miller Thomson LLP in London, Ont., and one of the leaders of its clean tech practice group, says the launch of the index has been helpful for the sector, especially for those on the equity investor side to see what might be going on in Canada. "What the Green Energy Act did and what the TSX announcement really helped to bol- ster was an understanding amongst many groups around the world that Canada was open for business in this sector and that there were opportunities here," he says. "The fact that the TMX now has an S&P/TSX clean tech index I think helps to draw more investor attention to this area and to start to create some metrics around what's happening in the sector. It's a very difficult sector because it's so fragmented, it has so many different technology cat- egories that are influenced by different factors," explains Calgary's Martin Kratz, a partner at Bennett Jones LLP. For many lawyers, the exchange's suc- cess has also been evident in the level of inquiries or work they are doing on behalf of foreign-based firms consid- ering listing in Canada. Richard Sutin, senior partner and co-chairman of the clean tech team at Ogilvy Renault LLP, says the trend of internationally based clean tech companies looking to list here is something that has really picked up in the last year. "What's happened with the problems, financial problems in 2008 in particular, is that there's one exchange standing up there that compares www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com SEPTEMBER 2010 43 The new S&P/TSX Clean Technology Index has positioned the exchange as the go-to place for domestic and international clean tech companies to access capital. HUAN TRAN