Canada Chapter Event "Aboriginal Consultation Comes to the Offshore" Thursday, September 28, 2017 (3pm - 5pm Canada/Atlantic) The Rocket Room 272 Water Street St. John's, NL A1C 1B7 Canada

Shawn Denstedt, Q.C., Partner, Regulatory, Environmental, Aboriginal & Land, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Maureen Killoran, Q.C., Partner, Litigation, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Join the Canada Chapter for a presentation on Aboriginal consultation coming to the offshore. Aboriginal consultation has been an integral (and much litigated) part of onshore resource development. Over time, a large body of case law has been built, which provides a reasonably well understood set of obligations that governments, Aboriginal groups, and resource developers must live up to. Historically, those obligations did not extend to the far offshore as regulatory decisions were not considered to potentially impact Aboriginal uses of resources for traditional purposes or rights. Federal regulators, however, are now casting a much broader net and imposing consultation obligations on offshore developers even where potential impacts seem unlikely at best.

This presentation will review the basics of the Crown's obligation to consult with Aboriginal groups and how that is being interpreted in the offshore. We will also discuss the interplay between Federal regulatory requirements and the C-NLOPB, the potential for conflict and the need for coordination. We will discuss a practical approach to Aboriginal consultation (and what you can do) in the offshore to maximize the likelihood of project success and minimize project delay risk. Finally, we will discuss the need to have a litigation strategy well thought out and ready to execute in order to ensure expeditious resolution when a dispute arises.

Shawn Denstedt is a partner in the Calgary office. His practice is comprised of energy, mining, environmental, regulatory and aboriginal law matters. Shawn advises companies in a variety of industries, primarily the Natural Resource industry. He has been engaged in a number of international assignments, and has advised Canada’s largest energy industry associations (CAPP, CEPA and EPIC) in respect of regulatory reform for energy project development. Shawn has also advised clients on their obligations to aboriginal groups and negotiated resource development and impact benefit agreements with Aboriginal groups on behalf of resource developers.

Maureen Killoran is the former Managing Partner of Osler’s Calgary office (2011-2017) and a trusted advisor to many major commercial clients. Maureen’s litigation practice is devoted to complex commercial disputes with particular emphasis on the resource industry. She is a seasoned trial and appeal lawyer with extensive experience in commercial arbitrations (domestic and international) and other forms of dispute resolution. A significant portion of Maureen’s practice involves litigation related to major resource and transportation projects and undertakings. She routinely appears on matters of judicial review, regulatory appeal, and environmental, administrative, constitutional, Charter and aboriginal claims in Federal and Provincial Courts across the country.

A reception will follow the presentation.

Registration is complimentary for members and non-members. Please RSVP to Conor Stack at cstack@coxandpalmer.com or 709-570-5518.

Special thanks to event-sponsor: