Bill Hearn

Advising a public institution in consultations with Industry Canada on an innovative way to raise funds from the private sector in order to establish a new research centre through a public-private consortium involving the institution, a Canadian private sector company, and a defence contractor as members all to leverage financial contributions to the centre through the use of the contractor’s credits under the IRB policy applicable to the Canadian Government’s defence procurement projects.

Advising a corporation’s governance committee in resolving a difficult corporate governance matter that included navigating complex issues of law, ethics, public policy, government relations and public relations.

Advised limited partner in a project financing for a planned wind farm in Ontario that successfully closed.

Drafting plain language re-write of complex master energy conservation agreement (and related program rules, guidelines and other documents) with Ontario’s many independent electricity distributors.

Leading teams of corporate, tax, finance, employment and regulatory counsel (involving approvals under the Competition Act, Investment Canada Act and provincial private career college laws), working across borders with US and other foreign lawyers and establishing out-of-province ULCs and/or Luxembourg SARLs, to negotiate, draft and close many private M&A transactions where Canadian private career colleges have been either bought or sold.

Drafting complex and tailored agreements and advising on various commercial, trade-marks, privacy, banking and other regulatory legal issues to launch a first-of-its-kind national debit card awards program co-branding a major Canadian bank and one of Canada’s leading retailers.

Over an initial 12-month period, negotiating with Transport Canada and drafting the letters patent, by-laws, resolutions and other organizational documents and related agreements to commercialize a nationally significant port and establish it as a Canada port authority under the Canada Marine Act. Thereafter, advising that CPA and other CPAs from coast-to-coast on a variety of issues including amalgamation, infrastructure renewal, government funding and P3s, corporate governance, and PILTs.

Conducting corporate governance review, drafting changes to constating and charitable registration documents, and preparing corporate governance manual for directors and officers.

Representing an independent Canadian drywall producer against several multinational companies (with operations in both Canada and the United States) in a major anti-dumping hearing before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal and lobbying the federal Minister of Finance on public interest issues following a federal Order-in-Council to review the CITT’s decision all to ensure the continued imposition of duties on dumped imports of US drywall into Western Canada so as to protect Canadian producers from injury due to unfairly traded goods.

Settling high profile CRTC enforcement action regarding alleged violations of CASL and assisting client enhance its CASL compliance program to fulfill undertaking with CRTC.

Updating code of practice for members and providing advice on training programs for members.

Providing health professions regulation, privacy and extra-provincial corporate registration advice for launch of employee benefit wellness coaching program across Canada.

Advising company in connection with Canada’s Commissioner of Competition’s litigation against Bell, Rogers, Telus and the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association regarding alleged deceptive advertising of certain premium text messaging and rich content services.

Advising as a registered lobbyist on proposed changes to Canada’s direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising laws.

Advising as a registered lobbyist on marine port regulatory matters related to proposed major pipeline project in Canada.

Advising on range of advertising & marketing and sponsorship issues for promoting sports teams and other events, and helping it establish a CASL compliance program.

Advising on range of advertising & marketing issues (including contests and promotions) and intellectual property protection issues relating to studio’s new film releases.

Advising on range of corporate governance, competition law compliance, regulatory, public policy & government relations, and other matters including protection of proprietary interests in pesticides data and other intellectual property matters and working with Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency.

Providing Canadian advertising & marketing, consumer protection, commercial, pricing, privacy, payment card, anti-money laundering and unclaimed property law advice to a leading international family entertainment and media enterprise regarding its industry-leading global suite of online virtual worlds for kids.

Lobbying the federal and Ontario governments to establish a new basis on which Canada port authorities would make payments in lieu of taxation (PILTs) to their neighbouring municipal governments.

Leading a multi-lawyer team in a three-pronged attack on dumped and subsidized US grain corn which included: launching anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceedings (culminating in an application for judicial review to the Federal Court in which there were 34 adverse parties including the United States Trade Representative), convincing Canada to launch a WTO complaint against certain US agricultural subsidies and lobbying federal and provincial governments for more robust risk management programs for Canadian corn farmers.