Allan Donovan
Email: allan_donovan@aboriginal-law.com
Practice Profile
Allan Donovan has practiced aboriginal law and represented First Nations for over 19 years. Allan has worked extensively in all areas of aboriginal law including aboriginal rights and title, negotiations, litigation, specific claims, residential schools, taxation and business development, and aboriginal governance.
Allan has represented First Nations and aboriginal people at the Supreme Court of Canada, the British Columbia Court of Appeal, the British Columbia Supreme Court, the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court of Canada, the Tax Court of Canada, the British Columbia Provincial Court and the Indian Claims Commission.
Allan is recognized by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as "Consistently Recommended" and one of the Leading Practitioners in the area of Aboriginal Law.
He was voted as one of the leading lawyers in Canada in the area of Aboriginal Law in a peer-reviewed survey published in the inaugural edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada published in June 2006 and every year since.
After practicing at a prominent litigation boutique firm for eight years, in 1996 Allan founded Donovan & Company a firm dedicated to providing the best legal advice and representation possible to First Nations.
Aboriginal Law Experience
Allan Donovan's aboriginal law work includes the following:
- Litigation (Environmental Appeal Board, Provincial Court, British Columbia Supreme Court, British Columbia Court of Appeal, Tax Court of Canada, Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, Indian Claims Commission, and the Supreme Court of Canada) concerning aboriginal fishing rights, aboriginal related environmental issues, forestry and other resource issues, reserve ownership, consultation and accommodation obligations, Treaty rights, taxation, residential schools, and other aboriginal law questions.
- Provided legal and strategic assistance to First Nations during all stages of the British Columbia Treaty Negotiation process.
- Conducted research and negotiations concerning alternatives to extinguishment in Treaty negotiations.
- Research, submission and negotiation of Specific Claims concerning reserve allotment (including colonial reserves), reserve boundaries, breach of fiduciary duty, inadequate compensation on surrender, road issues, rights-of-way, forestry activities, and various other issues. Donovan & Company has submitted more Specific Claims than any other law firm in British Columbia.
- Legal counsel to First Nations in Inquiries before the Indian Claims Commission into Specific Claims Branch decisions.
- Part of the team responsible for the negotiation of protection and joint management of the Kitlope Heritage Conservancy (over 1 million acres);
- Provided legal assistance in the designation of a reserve for industrial and commercial purposes.
- Assisted First Nations during successful negotiations with Provincial and Federal governments and large corporations concerning various matters, including environmental issues, reserve erosion, capital projects and funding initiatives;
- Litigation and Negotiation concerning an on-going clean up of and compensation for industrial pollution of a major river within the territory of a First Nation;
- Assisted in obtaining a grizzly bear hunting moratorium within a portion of the territory of a First Nation.
- Negotiated many Forestry Accommodation Agreements, Forest and Range Agreements, and other interim measures agreements.
- Assisted in successful addition to reserve negotiations with Provincial and Federal governments.
- Provided legal advice concerning First Nations governance matters.
- Obtained loan and grant funding for First Nations from government and industry.
Representative Cases
Some significant cases where Allan has acted as counsel include:
- F.H. v. McDougall et al., (SCC)
- - counsel with Karim Ramji and Niki Sharma at the Supreme Court of Canada appeal relating to a finding of sexual abuse at the Sechelt Indian Residential School.
- Kapp et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen (SCC)
- - counsel with Bram Rogachevsky for the intervener Haisla Nation. The case involved a challenge by a group of commercial fishers to the Pilot Sales Program, an aspect of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy.
- Indian Residential School Class Action
- - counsel with Karim Ramji and Niki Sharma representing Indian Residential School survivors seeking to amend the Canadian Government's proposed Agreement.
- F.H. v. McDougall et al., (BCCA)
- - counsel with Karim Ramji and Niki Sharma at the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Canada, the Church and Ian MacDougall had appealed a finding by the British Columbia Supreme Court that Ian MacDougall had sexually assaulted FH when FH was a 9 year old boy attending the Sechelt Indian Residential School.
- District of Kitimat et al. v. British Columbia et al.
- - counsel with Bram Rogachevsky for the intervener Haisla Nation in a judicial review concerning the legality of Alcan's power sales.
- Mikisew Cree First Nation v. Canada (Minister of Canadian Heritage), [2005] S.C.C. 69
- - counsel with Bram Rogachevsky in the Supreme Court of Canada for the intervener Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council. Here the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that the Crown's consultation and accommodation obligations set out in Haida Nation apply in treaty negotiations.
- Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests), [2004] 3 S.C.R. 511
- - counsel with Jennifer Griffith in the Supreme Court of Canada for the intervener Haisla Nation. This landmark case confirmed the Crown's obligation to consult and accommodate First Nations concerning asserted aboriginal rights and title.
- Wewaykum Indian Band v. Canada, [2002] 4 S.C.R. 245
- - counsel for the Wewaikai Nation in this protracted litigation concerning reserve ownership and the fiduciary duty of the Crown.
- Blueberry River First Nation v. B.C. et al., [1997] B.C.J. No. 2864 (B.C.S.C.)
- - counsel for the Blueberry First Nation in successfully setting aside a large scale permit for seismic exploration.
- Amoco et al. v. Chief Stuart Cameron et al.
- - counsel for the Saulteau First Nations in litigation concerning the legality of an oil exploration permit.
- Halfway River First Nation v. British Columbia (Ministry of Forests), [1999] 4 C.N.L.R. 1 (B.C.C.A.)
- - counsel for the Halfway River First Nation in this precedent setting decision establishing obligation of the provincial Crown to consult and accommodate with section 35 rights.
- R. v. NTC Smokehouse S.C.C. Registry No. 23800, (S.C.C.)
- - counsel for the intervener Wewaikai Nation in an attempt by the Nuu-chah-nulth to establish the right to fish for livelihood purposes
Professional Memberships
- Law Society of British Columbia
- Canadian Bar Association
Education
- Law Clerk to Justice Bertha Wilson of the Supreme Court of Canada, July 1987 to June 1988
- Master of Laws: University of Cambridge, England, Graduated June 1987, Class 1
- Bachelor of Laws: University of Calgary, Graduated 1986, Gold Medalist, ranked first in each of three years
- Master of Arts: University of Toronto, Graduated 1983 (Economics)
- Bachelor of Arts: University of Manitoba, Graduated 1982 (Economics and History)
Publications
- "RESPECTING ABORIGINAL RIGHTS AND TITLE: "Strength of Claim" and the Implementation of the Haida Nation and Taku River Tlingit Decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada", The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, October 26, 2007.
- "Canada's Specific Claims Policy: Senate Committee Demands Reform", The Lawyers Weekly, April 20, 2007, Vol. 26, No. 47.
- Submission of the Aboriginal Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association to the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples: "Examination of the Government of Canada's Specific Claims Policy", November 2006.
- "The Evolving Interpretation and Significance of Section 87 of the Indian Act", Insight Information 2nd Annual Western Canada Aboriginal Law Forum, May 2006.
- "Residential Schools Package Fails to Provide a Foundation for Fair Resolution", The Lawyers Weekly, April 28, 2006, Vol. 25, No. 48.
- "Duty to Consult and Accommodate: Doing Business in Aboriginal Territory", The Scrivener 13:3 (Fall 2004) 28.
- "The Protection of Aboriginal Rights and Title through Injunction and Judicial Review", The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (2004), (with Mariana Storoni).
- "Conducting Business On Lands Over Which Treaty Rights Or Aboriginal Rights Or Title Exist Or Are Asserted - Consultation From The First Nation's Perspective", The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (2003), (with Jennifer Griffith).
- Annual Review of Law and Practice, "Aboriginal Law" Chapter, The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (wrote Chapter in each of the 2000, 2001 and 2002 publications).
- "Protecting Aboriginal and Treaty Rights through Judicial Review" in "Resolving Disputes Involving Aboriginal Peoples", The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (1999).
- "Surrenders and Developments in the Law of Fiduciary Duty" in Aboriginal Law 1997 Update, The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia.
- "Flexible Approaches to Charter Remedies" 49 The Advocate, 603, (1991).
- Case Comment "Ford v. Quebec (Attorney General); Irwin Toy v. Quebec (Attorney General)" 23 U.B.C. Law Review 615, (1989), with John D. McAlpine, Q.C.
- "Hypnotically-Enhanced Testimony in Criminal Proceedings", 26 Alberta Law Review 584 (1988).
- "Law or Order", Policy Options, Vol.8, No.6, p.30, July/August (1987).