Significant global changes and uncertainty in existing trade regimes has resulted in both federal and provincial governments introducing new legislation to fast-track certain major projects. There have also been significant changes to the Impact Assessment Act since 2024, and reform to streamline processes under that Act are underway. In this lunch and learn session, Tom McCarthy, Ian Ketcheson, Merle Alexander, KC, and Chris Roine discuss recent legislation and reform initiatives aimed at fast-tracking major projects in Canada.
About the Speakers
About Deputy Minister Tom Mcarthy
Tom McCarthy is Deputy Minister of Policy and Coordination in the Office of the Premier. Prior to this appointment, Tom served in several roles, including Deputy Minister, in the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation.
Before joining the provincial government in 2017, Tom worked for ten years with Tsawwassen First Nation in several roles, including as Chief Administrative Officer. During his time with Tsawwassen government, Tom advanced implementation of the Tsawwassen Treaty, and negotiated several major economic development projects on behalf of the =Government, including the Tsawwassen Mills development.
Tom also served as a federal public servant with several Ministries and central agencies. He holds a Master of Public Policy from Simon Fraser University and an undergraduate degree in Public Affairs and Policy Management from Carleton University.
Tom is honoured to live and raise his two young daughters with his wife on the territories of the Lekwungen and W_SÁNEC peoples, where you can often find him running the paths of the local Colquitz River watershed.
About Ian Ketcheson
Ian Ketcheson was appointed Vice-President of Indigenous Relations in November 2022.
Prior to this appointment, Ian served as Director General of Crown Consultations at IAAC, where he oversaw the Agency's consultation activities with Indigenous groups, ensuring that the Crown met its obligations while also advancing partnership and reconciliation with Indigenous partners.
Ian has worked in the world of Crown-Indigenous relations for close to fifteen years. Before joining IAAC he was part of the team at Natural Resources Canada that undertook consultations on the Transmountain Expansion Project. From 2015 to 2018, he was a Director in the Reconciliation Secretariat at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs (CIRNA) and was responsible for advancing Canada's relationships with national and regional First Nations and Metis organizations. He led the successful negotiations of the Canada-Metis Nation Accord in 2017 as well as the Memorandum of Understanding between the Assembly of First Nations and Canada in 2018. Prior to that, he served for more than a decade in several roles in federal departments responsible for Indigenous Affairs.
Ian has a degree in Political Science from the University of Ottawa and is a graduate of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. He lives in Ottawa with his family.
About Merle Alexander, KC
Merle practices Indigenous resource law, empowering Nations through title and rights affirmation, sustainable economic development, and environmental conservation. Merle is a ‘life of project’ lawyer assisting with negotiating all stages of impact benefit agreements, joint ventures, regulatory engagement, traditional knowledge collection, and other corporate and tax-related advice. He continuously engages in legal support for emerging government-to-government negotiations in all resource areas, including mining, oil & gas, forestry, pipelines, run-of-river, and hydro projects. When needed, Merle adapts his solicitor experience and skill set to the emerging and developing needs of Indigenous clients.
Recently, Merle has advocated for First Nations on BC’s controversial Renewable Energy Act and Infrastructure Acts that seek to streamline environmental assessment and other regulatory processes to deliver “provincially significant projects”.
Merle is a member of Kitasoo Xai x’ais First Nation on the mid-coast of BC and will hold a hereditary chief for his Nation upon completing First Nations protocols. Merle is recognized in the Lexpert Directory, Benchmark Litigation, Best Lawyers and Chambers Canada as a leading lawyer in the area of Aboriginal law.
About Chris Roine
Chris is a partner at BLG’s Vancouver office. Chris has extensive experience representing business, government, and First Nations organizations on a wide range of matters, including partnerships, commercial arrangements, negotiations with and for the Crown, project and real estate development (on and off-First Nation lands), and governance matters.
As the western regional lead for our Indigenous Law Group, Chris works to build strategic and durable relationships between government, industry, and Indigenous organizations.
Prior to joining BLG, Chris was the Director General for the western negotiations branch of Crown-Indigenous Relations, a senior counsel at BC Hydro, and in private practice where he represented dozens of Indigenous organizations across BC and the north.
Chris received his LLM from the University of Western Ontario and a Masters of Arts (History – specializing in aboriginal-colonial relations) from Simon Fraser University.
Chris is recognized in the 2025 edition (and since 2022) of Best Lawyers in Canada® (Aboriginal Law / Indigenous Practice), the 2025 edition (and since 2024) of Chambers Canada – Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business (Aboriginal Law - Nationwide), the 2025 and 2024 edition of Chambers Global – The World's Leading Lawyers for Business (Aboriginal Law), the 2025 edition (and since 2022) of The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Aboriginal Law), the 2024 edition of Lexpert Special Edition: Energy and Mining, and the 2023 and 2022 edition of Lexpert Special Edition: Infrastructure.
