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“There’s a significant cost and that cost is borne disproportionately by juniors,” Eugene Beaulieu, director of the school’s international economics program, said in an interview.

The study was co-authored by Matthew Saunders, a senior analyst with early-stage oilsands firm Laricina Energy.

Small oil sands companies rely on outside investment to grow their operations much more than their larger counterparts. Much of that financing comes from joint ventures in which a partner buys a ownership stake in a project and reaps a proportionate share of its returns.

In theory, those types of deals are still allowed under Ottawa’s new rules, provided the foreign state-owned entity doesn’t have control. Put in practice, that investment seems to be slowing down.

“Joint ventures and other kinds of investments that weren’t targeted by the policy have been affected,” said Beaulieu. “It wasn’t intended by the policy, but it seems to be having that effect.”

Beaulieu said he understands the need for the Investment Canada Act to address concerns about foreign ownership of Canadian resources. But a lack of clarity over how those restrictions are applied is scaring away investment.

“That uncertainty creates consequences for the investment climate,” he said.

“We have to have transparent and clear rules on how it operates and I think targeting ownership instead of targeting behaviour is not the right approach.”

Citing figures from the Canadian Energy Research Institute, the study’s authors say about $100 billion in investment will be needed in the oil sands over the next five years.