Monica Cheng, Calgary

About Monica

Monica practises in all areas of income tax law with a focus on corporate tax planning. She routinely advises on corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions and financings involving private and public corporations and private equity funds. Her practice includes both domestic and international tax matters in the oil and gas, clean and renewable energy, technology, infrastructure, and retail sectors. Monica also advises clients in connection with tax controversy matters.

Monica teaches corporate tax at Thompson Rivers University Faculty of Law. She has also guest lectured at the University of Calgary, University of Ottawa, and McGill University.

Monica previously clerked for the judges of the Tax Court of Canada.

Select Experience

Recent matters in which Monica has been involved include advising:

Pembina Pipeline Corporation on its acquisition of Enbridge Inc.’s joint-venture interests in Alliance Pipeline, Aux Sable and NRGreen for C$3.1-billion and its concurrent C$1.1-billion bought deal offering of subscription receipts
Suncor Energy on its C$1.468-billion acquisition of TotalEnergies EP Canada Ltd. from TotalEnergies Ltd., which holds a 31.23% working interest in the Fort Hills oil sands mining project
Suncor Energy Inc. on its C$688-million acquisition of an additional 14.65% working interest in the Fort Hills Project from Teck Resources Limited
Imperial Oil Resources Limited and ExxonMobil Canada Ltd. on the disposition of their interest in XTO Energy Canada to Whitecap Resources for C$1.9-billion
Pembina Pipeline Corporation on its $11.4-billion joint venture with KKR & Co. to merge their western Canadian natural gas processing assets
Great-West Lifeco Inc. in connection with its public offerings of C$1.5-billion principal amount of 3.60% limited recourse capital notes
Pembina Pipeline Corporation in connection with its public offering of C$600-million aggregate principal amount of hybrid notes, the first non-chartered bank hybrid debt issuance in Canada involving the use of a special purpose trust structure
Jupiter Resources Ltd. in its approximately C$630-million sale to Tourmaline Oil Corp.
ENMAX Corporation on its US$1.3-billion acquisition of Emera Inc.'s interest in Emera Maine
Nutrien Ltd. and its subsidiaries on numerous merger and acquisition transactions related to its retail agriculture and fertilizer production and distribution businesses
Suncor Energy Inc. on its investment in Enerkem Inc., a Canadian biofuel technology company
Cona Resources Ltd. and Waterous Energy Fund on their agreement to acquire Pengrowth Energy Corporation for approximately C$740-million
WestJet in connection with its C$5.0-billion acquisition by Onex Corporation
Canadian counsel to Heartland Generation Ltd., an affiliate of Energy Capital Partners, on its C$835-million acquisition of Canadian Utilities Ltd.'s natural gas and coal electricity generation interests in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario
Kinder Morgan Canada on its C$4.5-billion sale of the Trans Mountain Pipeline system and expansion project to the Government of Canada
Sale by Ontario Teachers Ltd.'s Pension Plan of equity interest in GCT Global Container Terminals Inc. to IFM Investors (an Australian investment management company) and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation
International Petroleum Corporation in connection with its acquisition of BlackPearl Resources Inc. for approximately C$675-million
Pembina Pipeline Corporation on its US$9.7-billion acquisition of Veresen Inc.

Professional Activities

Publications

Author : TCC Denies Treaty Benefits in Connection with Securities Lending Arrangements
Canadian Tax Focus, Vol. 14, No. 1, Canadian Tax Foundation, February 2024.
Co-author : Canada Proposes Updates to Green-Energy Tax Incentives
Blakes Bulletin on Tax, September 15, 2023.
Co-author : 2023 Federal Budget: Green-Energy Tax Incentives
Blakes Bulletin on Tax / Energy, April 5, 2023.
Co-author : Alta Energy Luxembourg: Canada Held to its Treaty Bargain
Canadian Tax Focus, Canadian Tax Foundation, February 2022.
Co-author : Taxation of Corporate Reorganizations
Loose-leaf service, Thomson Reuters
Co-author : Restoring the Alberta Advantage: Significant Amendments to the Alberta Business Corporations Act Now in Effect
Blakes Bulletin on Tax/Energy, March 29, 2021.
Co-author : Restoring the Alberta Advantage: Increased Simplicity for Businesses
Blakes Bulletin on Energy, August 4, 2020.
YIN Rapporteur : International Tax Roundtable
International Fiscal Association (Canada) Conference, May 2018.
Co-author : Canada: Application and Interpretation of the Principal Purpose Test
International Tax Review, February 2018.
Author : CRA Asserts Window Dressing, Denies TCP Treaty Exemption
Canadian Tax Focus, Vol. 7, No. 4, Canadian Tax Foundation, November 2017.
Author : Arm's-Length Rate is Not the Limit for Interest Deductibility
Canadian Tax Focus, Vol. 6, No. 3, Canadian Tax Foundation, August 2016.

Professional Appearances

Speaker : Navigating Clean Energy Tax Incentives
Canadian Tax Foundation, Prairie Provinces Tax Conference, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, June 2024.
Speaker : Mandatory Disclosure Rules: Update and Select Issues
Tax Executives Institute, Inc., 55th Annual Canadian Tax Conference, Ottawa, Ontario, May 2023.
Speaker : Overview of Select Canadian Environmental Tax Initiatives
Tax Executives Institute, Inc., Calgary, Alberta, December 2022.
Speaker : Taxable Canadian Property & Section 116: Select Issues
CPTS, Fall Lecture Series, Calgary, Alberta, October 2021.
Guest Lecturer : Online Discussion on HMTQ v Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.
McGill University and University of Ottawa, August 2020.
Speaker : Highlights from the 2019 CTF Annual Conference
Tax Executives Institute, Inc., Calgary, Alberta, December 2019.
Guest Lecturer : Shareholder Benefits
University of Calgary, Faculty of Law, Calgary, Alberta, October 2019.
Guest Lecturer : Update on BEPS
University of Calgary, Faculty of Law, Calgary, Alberta, March 2018.
Speaker : Federal Budget 2018
Tax Non-Specialists Group Presentation, Canadian Bar Association, Calgary, Alberta, March 2018.
Speaker : Cash Pooling Arrangements
Canadian Petroleum Tax Society Fall Lecture Series, Calgary, Alberta, November 2017.
Speaker : Common Tax Issues for Corporate Lawyers
Tax Non-Specialists Group Presentation, Canadian Bar Association, Calgary, Alberta, October 2015.