Course Chairs
Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson — Miller Titerle + Co., Vancouver
Melissa Kahahxstahlas Louie — In-house Legal Counsel, Musqueam Indian Band, Vancouver
About the Course Chairs
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, for three terms. Leah worked for the TWN for 18 years and held various positions for the Nation, the last one being Director of the Treaty, Land and Resources Department. Leah holds a BA in Anthropology from Simon Fraser University and an LLB from UBC Faculty of Law. She was called to the BC bar on January 31, 2015 and is currently an associate at Miller Titerle.
Since 2004, Leah has been elected as co-chair of the First Nations Summit. She also sits on the First Nations Lands Advisory Board.
Melissa Louie, Kahahxstahlas, is a Coast Salish and Syilx lawyer. She is a Citizen of the Tla'amin Nation, located north of Powell River, BC and also has family ties to the Penticton Indian Band. Melissa holds a BA in Criminal Justice from UCFV and an LLB from UBC, Faculty of Law. Prior to pursuing a legal career, Melissa worked with a number of First Nations participating in treaty negotiations, including with her own Nation as a member of Tla'amin Nation's treaty negotiation team. Since becoming a lawyer in 2008, Melissa worked with her Nation through-out the treaty implementation process (including drafting of the Tla'amin Constitution, setting up the Government structure and drafting a number of key laws and regulations) and has developed broad and practical experience in providing legal and strategic policy advice on a wide range of treaty-related and Aboriginal title and rights issues. In addition, Melissa has relevant experience working at the international-level to advance Indigenous rights through United Nations mechanisms by supporting the former North American representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Elder
George Harris — Stz'uminus First Nation
Featured Speakers
The Honourable David Eby, QC, MLA — Attorney General of BC, Minister Responsible for Housing, Victoria
Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond/Akikwe, QC — Senior Associate Counsel, Woodward & Company Lawyers LLP, Victoria
The Honourable David Eby is the MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey. He was first elected in 2013.
David was re-elected in 2020 to serve a third term in the BC legislature. In July 2017, David was appointed to his current role as Attorney General by Premier John Horgan. David is also the Minister Responsible for Housing. In his time as Attorney General, David has led multiple priority government initiatives, including:
- the establishment of a provincial public inquiry into money laundering (the Cullen Commission), following his work exposing large-scale transnational money laundering centred in the Lower Mainland
- a provincial ban on union and corporate political donations
- award-winning reforms to protect British Columbians' free expression from silencing strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP)
- laws enabling a national class action against opioid producers and manufacturers for their alleged role in the overdose crisis
- BC's first government whistleblower protection system
- overhauling BC's public auto insurance system to eliminate billion-dollar losses at the provincial insurer, while increasing benefits and reducing rates
- the modernization of BC's national class action, international arbitration, and domestic arbitration systems
Before he was elected, David was the executive director of the BC Civil Liberties Association and an adjunct Professor of Law at UBC. An award-winning human rights lawyer, he has been repeatedly recognized as one of BC's most effective advocates.
In her role as senior associate counsel at Woodward and Company, Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond/Akikwe brings her extensive experience in the field of Aboriginal law to her current practice, which sees her appear at all levels of court on cases relating to land claims, Indigenous and human rights matters, and public law litigation. She is a tenured full Professor of Law at Peter Allard Hall Law School at UBC and served as a Saskatchewan Provincial Court judge for 20 years.
During her time on the bench, Mary Ellen was actively involved in projects relating to better supports for Indigenous peoples, specifically the unique circumstances and needs of youth involved in the justice system. Ceaselessly advocating for children's human rights, she later served as BC's first Representative for Children and Youth (2006-16), a role that saw her take on case advocacy for more than 17,000 youths and their families—most of whom were Indigenous peoples.
Mary Ellen holds a Doctorate in Law from Harvard Law School (S.J.D.), a master's in international law from Cambridge University (Gonville and Caius College), a J.D. law degree from York University's Osgoode Hall, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University. She also holds a Certificate in the international and comparative law of human rights from the University of Strasbourg.
Mary Ellen is a member of the Indigenous Bar as well as the Law Societies of BC, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan. She's been awarded for her contributions to the field of Aboriginal law multiple times, including the distinction of Indigenous Peoples' Counsel from the Indigenous Bar Association in 2006, and honourary degrees from nine Canadian universities and Schools of Law. She is the author of more than 50 published works and reports.
Faculty
Merle Lagax'niitsk Alexander, QC — Miller Titerle Law Corporation, Vancouver
Rob Botterell/Naacaɫuk — Botterell Law Corporation, Pender Island
Deborah L. Curran — Associate Professor, Faculty of Law and School of Environmental Studies, Executive Director, Environmental Law Centre, UVIC, Victoria
Stacey M. Edzerza Fox — Morgan & Associates, West Vancouver
Lisa C. Fong, QC — Ng Ariss Fong, Lawyers, Vancouver
Darwin I. Hanna — Callison & Hanna Law, Vancouver
James Hickling — Hickling Harrison Law, Vancouver
Tim Howard — Tim Howard, Barrister & Solicitor, Roberts Creek
Heather Mahony — Woodward & Co. Lawyers LLP, Victoria
Nathan Matthew — Secwepemc Representative to the Columbia River Treaty Negotiations, Barriere
Dr. Bruce McIvor — First Peoples Law, Vancouver
Dr. Millie Nickason, MPA, BA — Barrister & Solicitor, Nanaimo
Tim Raybould, PhD — The KaLoNa Group, Quathiaski Cove
Chris Roine — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Heidi Rolfe — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Chief K̓áwáziɫ Marilyn Slett — President of Coastal First Nations, Chief Councillor, Heiltsuk Tribal Council, Bella Bella
Ruben Tillman — Ng Ariss Fong, Lawyers, Vancouver
Course Materials Contributor
Kate Gunn — First Peoples Law, Vancouver
Caroline Roberts — Callison & Hanna Law, Vancouver
Click here for full faculty bios