Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
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cross-sectoral and cross-jurisdictional alignment, he adds. Calgary-based Progress Energy Resources Corp. announced Aug. 2 it closed a transaction for a partnership with the Malaysian national oil and gas company, Petronas, to develop a portion of Progress' Montney shale assets in the foothills of northeast British Columbia. Canada's energy sector can't afford any more Mackenzie Valley scenarios, says Progress' vice president of investor rela- tions and marketing, Greg Kist, refer- ring to the northwestern pipeline, which took years to be approved. He suggests co-operation is needed on streamlining regulatory and licensing issues as well as the mandated duty to consult with First Nations on resource development issues. And, Kist says, international con- fidence in Canada's regulatory system is important in wooing those markets. "The government is clear that it is working on opening the pathway to Asia. The important thing is they need it to happen in a timely manner. Time is of the essence in capturing the Asian market with our energy." Kist also cautions that if the regula- tory and compliance situation in Canada doesn't shift rapidly, it risks losing out to a country such as Australia within a decade. "We now have an opportunity to open up Asian markets. They are welcoming our energy and they are investing in our energy," he says. For the regulatory and policy land- scape to shift, in-house counsel need to make their voice heard in conjunction with stakeholders, says Asia Pacific spe- cialist Victor Tsao of the Vancouver-based law firm Farris Vaughan Wills & Murphy LLP. "If you've got enough noise from the bottom up, you'll get change from the top down. It needs to be made by the in-house counsel. The best approach would be to take a multi-faceted approach — employees, local governments, envi- ronmental protection agencies. Somehow, you're going to find a win-win." One potential stumbling block for reinvigorating energy markets, how- ever, is power infrastructure and deliv- ery systems for electricity, oil, and gas. In its May report, "North American Electricity: Escalating Prices Possible INHOUSE OCTOBER 2011 • titled-8 1 29 11-08-31 2:25 P Unless Infrastructure Investment Barriers are Eased," the Fraser Institute indicates North America's electricity infrastructure needs close to US$1 trillion in investment over the next decade to meet the growing needs of Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Barriers to dealing with the situa- tion include energy policy risk, uncertain- ty regarding environmental regulations, and questions about whether, when, and how transmission facilities can be built. Osgoode's New Professional LLM in Energy and Infrastructure Law Starts Director George Vegh, Counsel, McCarthy Tétrault LLP Chair, Ontario Energy Association Faculty includes Mark Bain, Partner, Torys LLP Michael Lyle, General Counsel and Vice President Legal Aboriginal and Regulatory Affairs, Ontario Power Authority Julia McNally, Senior Manager, Market Transformation Planning and Codes & Standards, Conservation Ontario Power Authority Dennis Mahony, Partner, Torys LLP Core Courses Public Utility Law Regulatory Theory Special Issues in Ontario Energy Regulation 1998 to 2011 Demand Side Management: Policy and Regulation Urban Infrastructure Planning and Regulation Visit www.osgoodepd.ca for complete program details. January 2012 Regulatory review, with an eye towards one-project/one-review for environmen- tal assessments and associated regulatory processes, will represent a major step for- ward towards a more efficient energy industry, says Doug Black, president of the Energy Policy Institute of Canada, who is supportive of the ministers' vision. "The steps being taken by the ministers will see Canada move closer to becoming a global energy superpower," concluded Black. IH