The Section had six meetings during the 2008-2009 year (one of which was a Joint Meeting with the Real Estate Section). An on-going initiative is that the Vancouver and Vancouver Island Aboriginal Law Section Chairs coordinate access to each Section’s meetings to increase the programming available for members in both locales. Notices of events in both Vancouver and Victoria were sent to members of both Sections and teleconferencing was arranged for interested members who were unable to attend in person. We had members of both Sections attend by teleconference at four of our six meetings this year.
The speakers and topics this year were well received by members. Attendance at our meeting continues to be very good, with two meetings this year with over 30 members present. We also welcomed articled students and guests at most meetings.
The time and location of meetings varied, consistent with members’ preferences expressed in the December 2006 survey. In the last year, we met over lunch, dinner and drinks, in firm boardrooms, a hotel and the Inns of Court. The Section finished the year with a successful social at The Alibi Room in Gastown.
Our programming offered members panel discussions of significant recent cases in aboriginal law, practice issues, and topics of interest to both solicitors and litigators. Highlights of our meetings in the last year include:
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Negotiating Impact Benefit Agreements Between First Nations and Industry November 9, 2007 with presenters Caroline Findlay (Blake Cassels & Graydon) and Rosanne Kyle (Miller Thompson)
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The Kaska Dené / West Moberley Case (2007 BCSC 1324) on December 4, 2007 with presenters Christopher Devlin (Devlin Gailus), Paul Yearwood (Attorney General BC) and Mary French (Department of Justice)
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Tsilhqot’in Nation and Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government v. British Columbia and Canada on January 22, 2008 with presenters Michael Doherty (Department of Justice) and David Robbins (Woodward & Company)
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Annual Review: Major Developments in Aboriginal Law in 2007 on February 7, 2008 with presenter Robert Janes (Cook Roberts)
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Real Estate Development and First Nations Lands on March 11, 2008 with presenters Jean Yuan, Mai Rempel (BC Hydro & Power Authority) and Charles McKee (our Joint Meeting with the Real Estate Section)
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Traditional Land Use in the Context of Consultation on June 12, 2008 with presenters Craig Candler, Ph.D. (Golder & Associates) and Jessica Clogg (West Coast Environmental Law)
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Members Social and Elections on July 9, 2008 at The Alibi Room in Gastown.
The Section thanks each of our presenters for generously volunteering their time and expertise.
The 2007-2008 Executive of the CBABC Aboriginal (Vancouver) Section was as follows:
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Roy Millen (Blakes) – Co-Chair
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Jennifer Spencer (Blakes) – Co-Chair
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Rosanne Kyle (Miller Thomson) – Secretary
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Joanna Mullard (BC Hydro) – Treasurer
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Brett Marleau (Department of Justice) – Legislative Liaison
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Merrill Shepard (Donovan & Co.) – Member at Large
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Marvin Stark, QC – Member at Large
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Jeff Schnuerer (McDonald & Co.) – Member at Large
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Kevin Contzen (BC Hydro) – Member at Large
The Section was saddened to lose Marvin Stark, QC, Executive Member at Large, who passed away in early January 2008 after a brief illness. Marvin was a long-time member of the Section and tireless supporter of both the Section and the Canadian Bar Association. He is missed.
We thank this year’s Executive for their hard work and strong spirit of collegiality in organizing Section events and circulating material of interest to Section members in the last year.
Turning to the year ahead, the 2008-2009 Executive will be:
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Jennifer Spencer (Blakes) – Chair
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Roy Millen (Blakes) – Past Chair
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Ming Song (McDonald & Co.) – Vice Chair
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Kevin Contzen (BC Hydro) – Secretary
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Brett Marleau (Department of Justice) – Legislative Liaison
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Joanna Mullard (BC Hydro) – Treasurer
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Janelle Dwyer (Mandell Pinder) – Member at Large
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Katey Grist (Faskens) – Member at Large
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Geordie Hungerford (Fraser Milner) – Member at Large
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Amyn Lalji (McDonald & Co.) – Member at Large
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Merrill Shepard (Donovan & Co.) – Member at Large
The Executive will meet in late August / early September to plan next year’s programming. All members are invited to suggest topics of interest for future meetings to any member of the Executive.
Roy Millen, Co-Chair
Jennifer Spencer, Co-Chair