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Brian Hiebert

Partner
About

Brian Hiebert practises corporate, commercial, energy, and environmental law. Brian has significant experience in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate finance, as well as energy, forest industry, and transportation projects and transactions.

Brian sat on the environmental management committee of a major forest products company for a number of years and has provided advice to a wide range of clients on environmental compliance and regulatory issues.

Among Brian’s clients are a number of major forest products companies producing logs, market pulp, dimensional lumber, paper products, and wood pellets, producers, distributors, and marketers of renewable energy and fuels.  

Bar admissionsBritish Columbia, 1988

EXPERIENCE

Forest Products
  • Acted for Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. in a partnership with The Westervelt Company and Two Rivers ‎Lumber Co., LLC ‎‎to develop a new industrial wood pellet production facility in Demopolis, ‎Alabama.‎
  • Acted for Canfor Corporation in its proposed acquisition by Great Pacific Capital Corp.‎
  • Represented Canfor Corporation in the $500M (USD) acquisition of VIDA Wood AB, Sweden’s largest ‎privately owned forest products company.‎
  • Represented Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. in the acquisition of a 70% interest in a wood pellet mill ‎located in Aliceville, Alabama from The Westervelt Company.‎
  • Acted for Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. in the development of various wood pellet mills in B.C. and ‎Alberta.‎
  • Acted for Canadian Forest Products Ltd. in the formation of Canfor Energy North limited Partnership ‎with Pacific Bioenergy Corporation and the subsequent development and construction of two wood ‎pellet mills at Chetwynd and Fort St. John, B.C.‎
  • Represented Canadian Forest Products Ltd. in the acquisition of the sawmill and forest tenures owned ‎by Wynndel Box and Lumber Company Ltd. in south eastern, B.C.‎
  • Represented Canadian Forest Products Ltd. in the acquisition of two sawmills and related forest tenures ‎owned by Tembec, Inc. located in south eastern, B.C.‎
  • Represented Canadian Forest Products Ltd. in the exchange of various forest licences between them ‎and West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.‎
Renewable Energy
  • Represented Western Forest Products Inc. in the $21.8 Million sale of its former pulp mill site to ‎Woodfibre LNG Limited.‎ 
  • Acted for Canfor Pulp Inc. in the formation of its joint venture, “Licella Pulp Joint Venture”, with the ‎Licella Group of Australia for the development of biofuel plants in Prince George, B.C. and elsewhere.‎
  • Represented Yukon Energy Corporation in the negotiation of Power Purchase Agreements with Alexco ‎Resources Corp., Minto Explorations Ltd., and Victoria Gold Corp. for the supply of electricity to ‎various mining projects.‎
  • Represented Canfor Pulp Inc. in the development of three large biomass cogeneration projects and the ‎sale of electricity to BC Hydro.‎
  • Acted for Howe Sound Pulp and Paper in the development of a large scale biomass cogeneration ‎project and the sale of electricity to BC Hydro.‎
  • Represented Pattern Renewable Holdings Canada ULC in its purchase of the Meikle and Tumbler Ridge ‎wind power projects in northern B.C.‎
  • Represented Yukon Energy Corporation in the development of the Carmacks-Stewart Transmission Line ‎Project.‎
  • Represented Yukon Development Corporation in a $100 M bond offering.‎ 
Transportation
  • Represented Carnival Corporation in the $290 M (USD) acquisition of the White Pass & Yukon Route ‎railroad and port assets in Alaska from TWC Enterprises Ltd.‎
  • Acted for Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. in the development of their Westview port facility in Prince ‎Rupert, B.C.‎
Languages
  • English
Education
  • LL.B., University of British Columbia, 1987
  • B.Sc., Cornell University, 1984

Awards

  • Best Lawyers in Canada (Corporate Law), 2013-2025; (Environmental Law), 2011-2025; (Natural Resources Law), 2008-2025
  • Chambers Canada (Agribusiness: Forestry), 2018-2025
  • Listed as Acritas Star™ Lawyer 2019-2020
  • The Legal 500 Canada (Environment), 2018
  • Listed in Lexpert Special Edition, Leading Canadian Lawyers in Global Mining, 2014/2015
  • Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Forestry Law), 2013-2016, 2018-2024; (Corporate Mid-Market), 2020, 2023-2024; (Natural Resources), 2008-2010; (Corporate Commercial), 2018
  • Martindale-Hubbell, Distinguished® Peer Review Rated

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Advisory Board Member, 2013 Western Canada General Counsel Awards
  • Former chairperson, Business Law Section, Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch
  • Former member, Provincial Council, Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch

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