I, Les MacLaren, declare as follows:

A. Introduction

1. I was born on ___________________. I currently reside at ________________. I am currently the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Electricity and Alternative Energy Division of the British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines. I was appointed to this position in 2008.

2. I first joined BC’s public service in 1991 as an economist in the Electricity Policy Branch of the Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources. From 1998 to 2008, I worked at the Crown Corporations/Agencies Secretariat in the BC Ministry of Finance and in the Office of the Premier where I was responsible for the governance and performance of provincial Crown agencies. During that period, I remained active in the areas of electricity policy, the regulation of public utilities,1 and was part of the team that developed the Province’s 2002 Energy Plan.

3. Prior to joining the BC public service, I worked in oil and gas exploration and development in western Canada and Australia as a geologist/geophysicist.

4. My experience in the BC public service supporting (and now responsible for) the development of policies related to electricity and utility regulation gives me hands-on experience in matters relevant to this arbitration. That experience includes: being co-chair of the Pulp and Paper Self-Generation Working Group (Working Group) which dealt with matters related to the sale of self-generated electricity; my direct dealings with Mercer International, Inc. (Mercer) at meetings of the Working Group; and participating in meetings between Mercer and Ministers of the BC Government regarding the Celgar pulp and paper mill.