Course Chair
Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson — Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, Vancouver
About the Course Chair
Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson is a member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) in North Vancouver. She was the first woman to hold the office of Elected Chief for the TWN, a position she held from 2001 to 2003 and 2005 to 2009. Leah worked for the TWN for 18 years and held various positions for the Nation including member of the TWN’s negotiating team in the BC Treaty Process and Director of the Treaty, Land and Resources Department.
Leah holds a BA in Anthropology from Simon Fraser University and an LLB from the University of BC Faculty of Law. She was called to the BC bar on January 31, 2015, and in August 2015 Leah joined Gowling LaFleur Henderson LLP, Vancouver (now Gowling WLG) as an Associate in the Aboriginal Law Group.
Since 2004, Leah has been elected as co-chair of the First Nations Summit. She also sits on a number of boards, including the First Nations Lands Advisory Board and the First Nations Health Council.
About the Keynote Speaker
The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, PC, QC, MP - Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould is the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, MP for Vancouver Granville, a lawyer, advocate, and former Regional Chief of the BC Assembly of First Nations. Called to the BC Bar in 2000, Wilson-Raybould began her legal career as a provincial crown prosecutor in Vancouver and later served as an advisor at the BC Treaty Commission. In 2004, she was elected as Commissioner by the Chiefs of the First Nations Summit. Wilson-Raybould was elected Regional Chief of the BC Assembly of First Nations in 2009 and re-elected in 2012. After being elected as the Member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville in 2015, Wilson-Raybould was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General on November 4, 2015.
Minister Wilson-Raybould is a descendant of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk and Laich-Kwil-Tach peoples, which are part of the Kwakwaka’wakw and also known as the Kwak’wala speaking peoples. She is a member of the We Wai Kai Nation and is married to Dr. Tim Raybould.
Faculty
The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, PC, QC, MP — Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Vancouver
Douglas R. Eyford, QC — Eyford Macaulay Shaw & Padmanabhan LLP, Vancouver
Ernie L. George — Director, Treaty Lands and Resources, Tsleil-Waututh Council, North Vancouver
Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson — Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, Vancouver
Andrea Hilland — Staff Lawyer, Truth & Reconciliation Advisory Committee, Law Society of British Columbia, Vancouver
Isabel Jackson — Department of Justice, Vancouver
Grand Chief Edward Akile Ch’oh John — First Nations Summit Society, West Vancouver
Andrew P. Mayer — Vice President, Commercial and Regulatory Affairs & General Counsel, Prince Rupert Port Authority, Prince Rupert
Roy W. Millen — Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Vancouver
Nalaine Morin — Arrowblade Consulting Services, Leduc
Dr. Val Napoleon — Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Victoria
Bev Sellars — Chair, First Nations Women Advocating for Responsible Mining (FNWARM), Williams Lake
Kris Statnyk — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver
Ardith Walpetko We’dalx Walkem — Cedar and Sage Law Corporation, Chilliwack
Charles F. Willms — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver