Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50883
most of his career going back and forth between Asia and Europe. One reason he took the posting in Canada was to give his kids some North American flavour. Canada also has some unique legal challenges. Environmental regulations, for example, are more sophisticated here than most other jurisdictions. Business lawyers advising the oilsands are involved with environmental issues on a regular basis – whether that's a lawsuit from a non-government orga- nization or an ongoing regulatory issue involving water, air, or subsurface soil quality. Canada has also taken a stand on CO2 emissions, and the Alberta your OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY source government has allocated $2 billion in funding for projects that capture and store CO2. "There's a lot of talk now about re-injecting CO2 into the ground as a way to manage it," says Brinley. "That sounds easy, but there's a legal issue. You can own land, but who owns the porous base that you're injecting the gas into? These are new cutting-edge issues we're seeing now." Shell Canada has had a number of major land and company acquisitions in the oilsands during the past five years, raising the issue of native land claims. Brinley has worked in sev- eral countries with aboriginal issues, including Australia. In Canada, aboriginal rights are enshrined in the constitution — and that's unusual. "It's pretty hard to have any kind of project in Western Canada that doesn't have First Nations rights as an element of that," says Brinley. The U.S. has delineated reserve Tidy up and get organized with D&D Storage Boxes Attached hinged lid. Holds letter or legal size folders. Easy to assemble pop open box. 10 per package. 12"W x 15"D x 10"H. 23175-00 .......White 65lb 23174-00 .......Natural 65lb 24100-00 .......Natural 200lb Since 1998 C areas. In Canada, following the 2004 Supreme Court of Canada decision in Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests), First Nations people have the right to be consulted and, when necessary, accommodated for any activities that would impair their traditional ways of living. Given that Western Canadian First Nations people tended to be migratory, tra- ditional territory could be anywhere. "Academically it's a fascinating area, but it's a little tricky to deal with from a business point of view." These unique challenges make the job interesting but, for Brinley, work- ing in Canada is particularly reward- ing because there's a much lower level of litigation here compared to the U.S. At Shell Canada, Brinley gets to For more information please contact your Account Executive or contact us at 1-888-393-3874 dyedurhambasics.ca 44 • OCTOBER 2009 ntitled-6 1 INHOUSE 8/24/09 10:55:53 AM focus more on development. "I don't find litigation to be a particularly effective way of solving problems. If you're general counsel in the U.S., a lot of your time is spent looking at those 6,000 lawsuits you've got going. The Canadian environment enables me and my organization to focus more on the positive aspects of business." IH W e ' r e a y C a n a p d i m a n o a n