Constitutional and administrative law are concerned with public power: how it is constituted, allocated, exercised, limited, and challenged. Constitutional law concerns the foundational law of Canada: the allocation of public authority, the rights and freedoms of individuals (and Indigenous Peoples, as addressed more directly on the Aboriginal law service page), the division and separation of powers, constitutional conventions, and the validity of laws passed by legislatures. Administrative law addresses how public power may be exercised by regulators, tribunals, other decision makers, and other actors operating under delegated authority, as well as in relation to subordinate legislation, such as regulations, orders, and rules. I am able to assist clients with constitutional and/or administrative law issues, including where laws, public decision making, or the exercise of public authority affect their rights and interests.

Constitutional Law

My interest in constitutional law grows out of a much longer engagement with questions of authority, power, legitimacy, and how our collective lives are governed. That grounding was shaped through my undergraduate and graduate education in political science, political theory, and legal and constitutional history, and later deepened through many years of work for and with Indigenous Peoples on governance, intergovernmental relations, negotiations, and our constitutional relationships. In Canada, constitutional law is not only about interpreting the specific provisions of the written text of the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Constitution Act, 1982. It is also about constitutional relationships, unwritten conventions, institutions, and the bounds of legitimate authority, including the means by which individuals, groups, other Crown governments, and other bodies may protect rights and freedoms, resist unconstitutional exercises of power, challenge the validity of laws, clarify jurisdiction or constitutional responsibility, and otherwise hold Crown government to account.

My grounding in this area was shaped by my undergraduate and graduate education in political science with a focus in political theory, and through the study of constitutional law in graduate school and again in law school. My background in political theory gave me a framework for understanding how political and legal orders are constituted, the assumptions on which they rest, and the ways in which power, authority, legitimacy, and rights are interpreted and contested. After graduate school, I worked for a territorial Crown government for several years before it had attained devolution — that is, before authority over land and resource management had been transferred from the federal government to the territory. In that role, I advised executive and political leadership on policy and practical options that were shaped by the limits and possibilities within our constitutional framework.

I continued to deepen my constitutional experience in my subsequent consulting work for Indigenous clients in their relations and negotiations with Crown governments, and for municipal representatives considering strategic options for their communities, in the context of limited powers and resources. My later work in Aboriginal law, and as a Limited Term Assistant Professor in the University of Victoria Faculty of Law’s Juris Doctor / Juris Indigenarum Doctor program in Canadian common law and Indigenous legal orders, further deepened my grounding in constitutional law through practising and teaching legal research and writing and advising Indigenous clients on how provisions of the Constitution Act, 1867, the Constitution Act, 1982, and other unwritten aspects of Canada’s constitutional tradition inherited from the United Kingdom have been interpreted, and what that means for the protection and advancement of clients’ rights and interests.

I am able to assist clients with matters relating to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 35 and section 91(24) issues, division of powers and cooperative federalism questions, and other issues involving the limits of public authority and the validity of laws enacted by legislatures. This may include legal advice and assistance relating to equality rights, fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, and other constitutional protections, as well as questions about jurisdiction, constitutional responsibility, and the powers of different levels of Crown government. In some of these kinds of matters, only constitutional issues will be at play. In others, they are intertwined with administrative law, where a client’s rights and interests may be affected by a statute, a regulation, and/or the way a public decision maker exercises delegated authority.

My grounding in political theory, constitutional and legal history, and philosophy also provides me with a strong basis for the practice of administrative law, including in assessing whether the exercise of public authority meets the standards of procedural fairness, correctness, and reasonableness. It also helps me understand the values framework of administrative law in Canada and the institutional struggle between courts and legislatures with respect to the degree of deference to be given to administrative decision makers. That understanding helps me advise clients on the risks and opportunities of protecting and advancing their rights and interests in administrative law contexts.

Administrative Law

Administrative law governs how public power is exercised by Crown decision makers, tribunals, regulators, and others acting under delegated authority. Many of the legal decisions that most affect people’s lives are not made in court, but by statutory decision makers operating within administrative and regulatory systems.

In Canadian administrative law, two questions often matter most. First, how the decision was made: decision makers have legal obligations to act fairly and to follow proper process, including meeting the requirements of procedural fairness that are appropriate in the circumstances. Second, the quality of the decision itself: courts review many administrative decisions on a standard of reasonableness, asking whether the decision is justified and coherent in light of the legal and evidentiary constraints on the decision.

I assist clients navigating regulatory systems, administrative decision making, and tribunal processes, and I support strategic responses to government or institutional decisions where rights, livelihoods, or public interests are at stake. As needed, I also assist with judicial review, including in relation to procedural fairness, the adequacy of reasons, the reasonableness or correctness of decisions, and related public law issues.

My experience in this practice area includes:

• Environmental impact assessment and natural resource decision making processes.
• Immigration and refugee law.
• Property assessment.
• Professional regulation support.
• Human rights.
• Municipal governance.
• Residential tenancy.
• Social security tribunal matters.
• Administrative tribunal processes, submissions, and strategic preparation.
• Judicial review support.

I may offer services in any of the above areas or other administrative and regulatory contexts, as may be agreed with clients.

Administrative law is one of my strengths and passions. Before law school, I worked in a number of regulatory and public decision-making environments and learned how these administrative processes function in practice. In law school, I excelled in administrative law and tutored it a number of times, helping other law students move from struggling understand the principles to achieving strong performance in a challenging and complex area.