Meet our lawyers and professionals in this area
Jeff Cowan
Counsel
Jill Dougherty
Partner
Bryan Finlay KC
Partner Emeritus
Albert Formosa
Partner
W. A. Derry Millar
Counsel
Gregory Richards
Counsel
Areas of Expertise
- Aboriginal rights
- Acquisition and royalty agreements
- Consultation
- Environmental agreements
- Environmental compliance audits
- Government relations
- Impact Benefit Agreements
- Joint ventures
- Litigation
- Negotiation
- Policy advice
- Treaty and title claims
Representative Experience
Our lawyers have acted on significant cases involving land claims and other Indigenous peoples issues. These cases include the following:
- Derry Millar acted as Lead Commission Counsel on The Ipperwash Inquiry, which was established by the Government of Ontario on November 12, 2003, under the Public Inquiries Act. Its mandate was to inquire and report on events surrounding the death of Dudley George, who was shot in 1995 during a protest by First Nations representatives at Ipperwash Provincial Park and later died. The Inquiry was also asked to make recommendations that would avoid violence in similar circumstances in the future. The Commission delivered its final report containing its findings, conclusions and recommendations to the Attorney General of Ontario and the Report was made public on May 31, 2007.
- We acted in the Supreme Court of Canada in a landmark case concerning the constitutionality of a commercial salmon fishery in coastal British Columbia waters that was restricted by the federal government to members of three Indigenous peoples, to the exclusion of other members of the public. The decision restates the requirements for an equality rights claim under section 15(1) of the Charter and is the first case to formulate a legal test for the validity of affirmative action programs under section 15(2). R. v. Kapp, 2008 SCC 41.
- We acted for one of the successful parties in important land claims cases involving remedies in the Indigenous peoples law context: Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point v. Canada (Attorney General), [1998] 1 S.C.R. 756 and Chippewas of Sarnia v. Canada (2000), 51 O.R. (3d) 641 (C.A.), leave denied (2001), 158 O.A.C. 199 (S.C.C.).
Indigenous Peoples - Insight & Events
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