Denise Baker

Chair*

Practice Areas

Arbitration & Mediation

Expropriation

Heritage Properties

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Municipal

Planning & Land Development

* Partner through a professional corporation

Denise Baker is Chair of WeirFoulds LLP.

In addition to her role chairing the firm, Denise provides advice on complex municipal and land use planning law issues, including Heritage Act and Development Charges Act matters to municipalities and land developers. Denise has appeared on numerous occasions before the Ontario Land Tribunal, and its predecessors, the Ontario Court of Justice and the Divisional Court. While litigation is sometimes a necessity, Denise also believes that mediation and negotiation can often more effectively resolve disputes between parties who are adverse in interest.

Denise is the co-chair of the first generation Cambridge Forum on Land Use Planning, is a past chair of the municipal law section of the Ontario Bar Association and speaks at numerous events held by the Law Society of Ontario, the Ontario Bar Association and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute. Denise currently teaches the next generation of planners on the Role of the Expert Witness before the Ontario Land Tribunal and she previously taught planning law to both undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Waterloo.

Denise is a member of Lambda Alpha International (Simcoe Chapter) and is repeatedly recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada and in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory in the field of municipal law, and ranked by Chambers Canada.

Experience

Denise has acted on:

Numerous land use planning matters on behalf of the Town of Oakville, including the resolution of numerous appeals and ultimately approval of the Town’s Livable Oakville Official Plan.
Numerous Heritage Act matters including negotiating and preparation of heritage easement agreements.
Appeals to municipal official plan “conformity exercises” in the Regions of Halton, Waterloo and Durham as well as several local municipalities in York and Halton
Reviews of Educations Development Charge By-laws and By-law amendments
Challenges to and approvals of interim control by-law matters in the City of Windsor and the Town of Oakville
Infill residential zoning and subdivision matters in Oakville, Toronto and other GTA municipalities
Employment and Commercial Development applications in Halton, Durham and Peel municipalities

Repeatedly recognized in the Chambers Canada Guide as a leading lawyer in Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use
Repeatedly recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading lawyer in Municipal Law
Recognized in the Lexpert Special Edition: Infrastructure, 2023
Repeatedly recognized in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading practitioner in Property Development

Past Chair, Ontario Bar Association, Municipal Law Executive
Sessional Professor, Land Use Planning Law, University of Waterloo
Instructor, Expert Witness seminars, Ontario Professional Planners Institute

Placeholder to hide

Notable Mandates

Denise has acted on:

Numerous land use planning matters on behalf of the Town of Oakville, including the resolution of numerous appeals and ultimately approval of the Town’s Livable Oakville Official Plan.
Numerous Heritage Act matters including negotiating and preparation of heritage easement agreements.
Appeals to municipal official plan “conformity exercises” in the Regions of Halton, Waterloo and Durham as well as several local municipalities in York and Halton
Reviews of Educations Development Charge By-laws and By-law amendments
Challenges to and approvals of interim control by-law matters in the City of Windsor and the Town of Oakville
Infill residential zoning and subdivision matters in Oakville, Toronto and other GTA municipalities
Employment and Commercial Development applications in Halton, Durham and Peel municipalities

Awards

Repeatedly recognized in the Chambers Canada Guide as a leading lawyer in Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use
Repeatedly recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading lawyer in Municipal Law
Recognized in the Lexpert Special Edition: Infrastructure, 2023
Repeatedly recognized in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading practitioner in Property Development

Professional Activities

Past Chair, Ontario Bar Association, Municipal Law Executive
Sessional Professor, Land Use Planning Law, University of Waterloo
Instructor, Expert Witness seminars, Ontario Professional Planners Institute

Community Involvement

Oakville Hospital Foundation Board Member

Denise Baker is Chair of WeirFoulds LLP.

Experience

Denise has acted on:

Numerous land use planning matters on behalf of the Town of Oakville, including the resolution of numerous appeals and ultimately approval of the Town’s Livable Oakville Official Plan.
Numerous Heritage Act matters including negotiating and preparation of heritage easement agreements.
Appeals to municipal official plan “conformity exercises” in the Regions of Halton, Waterloo and Durham as well as several local municipalities in York and Halton
Reviews of Educations Development Charge By-laws and By-law amendments
Challenges to and approvals of interim control by-law matters in the City of Windsor and the Town of Oakville
Infill residential zoning and subdivision matters in Oakville, Toronto and other GTA municipalities
Employment and Commercial Development applications in Halton, Durham and Peel municipalities

Repeatedly recognized in the Chambers Canada Guide as a leading lawyer in Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use
Repeatedly recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading lawyer in Municipal Law
Recognized in the Lexpert Special Edition: Infrastructure, 2023
Repeatedly recognized in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading practitioner in Property Development

Past Chair, Ontario Bar Association, Municipal Law Executive
Sessional Professor, Land Use Planning Law, University of Waterloo
Instructor, Expert Witness seminars, Ontario Professional Planners Institute

Placeholder to hide

Notable Mandates

Denise has acted on:

Numerous land use planning matters on behalf of the Town of Oakville, including the resolution of numerous appeals and ultimately approval of the Town’s Livable Oakville Official Plan.
Numerous Heritage Act matters including negotiating and preparation of heritage easement agreements.
Appeals to municipal official plan “conformity exercises” in the Regions of Halton, Waterloo and Durham as well as several local municipalities in York and Halton
Reviews of Educations Development Charge By-laws and By-law amendments
Challenges to and approvals of interim control by-law matters in the City of Windsor and the Town of Oakville
Infill residential zoning and subdivision matters in Oakville, Toronto and other GTA municipalities
Employment and Commercial Development applications in Halton, Durham and Peel municipalities

Awards

Repeatedly recognized in the Chambers Canada Guide as a leading lawyer in Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use
Repeatedly recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading lawyer in Municipal Law
Recognized in the Lexpert Special Edition: Infrastructure, 2023
Repeatedly recognized in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading practitioner in Property Development

Professional Activities

Past Chair, Ontario Bar Association, Municipal Law Executive
Sessional Professor, Land Use Planning Law, University of Waterloo
Instructor, Expert Witness seminars, Ontario Professional Planners Institute

Community Involvement

Oakville Hospital Foundation Board Member

Called to the Bar

Ontario (2003)

Education

LL.B., Queen's University, Faculty of Law, 2002
M. Pl., Queen's University, 2000
B.A., Mount Allison University, 1997

Affiliations

Ontario Bar Association
Canadian Bar Association
Lambda Alpha International (Simcoe Chapter)

Speaking Engagements

Speaker, OPPI & WeirFoulds LLP Annual Seminar 2025, Toronto, ON, December 12, 2025
Speaker, OPPI & WeirFoulds LLP Annual Seminar 2024, Toronto, ON, December 6, 2024
Faculty, “Thorny Leadership Challenge”, The Managing Partner Forum 2024 Fall Symposium, Chicago, IL, October 9, 2024
Speaker, “2024 Provincial Planning Statement: What you Need to Know”, OPPI Adaptation Transformation Conference, Hamilton, ON, September 25, 2024
Speaker, “Construction Law and Contracts”, West End Home Builder’s Association, Toronto, ON, June 20, 2024
Speaker & Steering Committee Co-Chair, “Looking at What Has and Is Happening With Legislative Changes and Planning Reforms”, Forum on Land Use Planning, Cambridge Forums, Cambridge, ON, May 23-24, 2024
Speaker, “OPPI & WeirFoulds LLP Legislative and Case Law Update 2023”, Toronto, ON, December 18, 2023
Speaker, “The Six-Minute Advocacy Lawyer 2023”, Law Society of Ontario, Webinar, May 30, 2023
Speaker, “Plenary: Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022”, Ontario Legal Conference – Municipal, Planning & Environmental Law, Toronto, February 10, 2023
Moderator, “Bill 23 Explained”, Building Industry and Land Development Association, Online, February 23, 2023
Speaker, “Making Sense of Changing Growth Funding Tools”, ” ULI Toronto, Online, March 11, 2022
Speaker, “Amendments to the Planning Act and Development Charges Act, and updates on the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT)”, Bill 189: The Coronavirus Support and Protection Act, 2020 and LPAT Update, OPPI, Webinar, April 24, 2020
Speaker, “Bill 108, the More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019”, OPPI19: Beyond25, OPPI, Conference, October 1, 2019
Speaker, “Bill 108 – More Homes, More Choice, 2019”, OPPI & WeirFoulds LLP, Client Seminar, June 26, 2019
Speaker, “Planning to be a better Planner under Bill 139: the impact of LPAT and changes to the Planning Act”, 2018 OPPI Symposium, Sudbury, ON, October 11, 2018
Speaker, “The Planning Justification Report and Municipal Staff Report: What Will They Look Like Under Bill 139”, WeirFoulds LLP Municipal and Planning Law Practice 2018 Seminar, April 12, 2018
Speaker, “5 Minute Advocacy for Municipal & Planning Lawyers”, Canadian Bar Association, Toronto, ON, March 6, 2018
Speaker, “What Would Thomas Adams Do*? An Interactive Discussion about OPPI’s Professional Code of Practice and OPPI’s Complaint Process”, Ontario Professional Planning Institute Conference, Collingwood, ON, October 3, 2017
Speaker, “Review of Proposed Changes to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe”, WeirFoulds LLP Municipal and Planning Law Practice 2016 Private Sector Seminar, May 18, 2016
Speaker, “Site Plan Approval Process”, WeirFoulds LLP Municipal and Planning Law Practice 2016 Private Sector Seminar, May 18, 2016
Speaker, “Proposed Revisions to the Development Charges Act, 1997“, The Six-Minute Municipal Lawyer 2015, Law Society of Upper Canada, May 28, 2015
Speaker, “Education Development Charge”, BILD, Mississauga, September, 2014
Panel Member & Chair, “Navigating the Municipal and Planning Law Landscape”, Ontario Bar Association Institute, Toronto, February 7, 2014
Speaker, “Municipalities and Solicitor-Client Privilege”, Ontario Bar Association Institute, 2011
Speaker, “Municipal Agreements on Title-Practice Gems-Title and Off-Title Searching”, Law Society of Upper Canada, 2011