Arthur C. Pape, Partner, Pape Salter Teillet, Vancouver, BC and Toronto, ON. Mr. Pape represents Aboriginal Peoples in Aboriginal rights litigation and negotiations. He was lead counsel for the Taku River Tlingit in the Supreme Court of Canada decision respecting the duty to consult and accommodate, and for Little Salmon/Carmacks in the recent decision in the Supreme Court of Yukon which ruled that the duty applies in the context of modern land claims agreements in Yukon. Mr. Pape has been involved at the appellate level in many leading cases, including Guerin, Dick, Pasco, Sparrow, Apsassin, Delgamuukw and Powley, as well as in land claims and self-government negotiations in B.C., the Yukon, and the N.W.T.

James R. Aldridge, Q.C., Barrister and Solicitor, Rosenbloom & Aldridge, Vancouver, BC. Mr. Aldridge is a member of the British Columbia Bar and an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia. He represented the Nisga’a Nation in treaty negotiations since 1980, and was lead counsel during most of that time. He is a member of the legal team representing the Manitoba Métis Federation in its current legal action in respect of Métis land rights under the Manitoba Act. Mr. Aldridge has also represented a number of other clients in the areas of Aboriginal law, as well as immigration, constitutional and administrative law. He enjoys lecturing and teaching and routinely participates in or chairs various committees and conferences in the legal community.

Charlotte A. Bell, Q.C., General Counsel, Ontario Regional Office, Department of Justice, Toronto, ON. Ms. Bell is a team leader of the Aboriginal Law Litigation Team in the Ontario Regional Office of the Department of Justice. The team conducts many high profile Aboriginal law cases, including Nisga’a, Chippewas of Sarnia, Mushkegowuk, Caldwell, Six Nations, Kettle Point and Ipperwash. Ms. Bell has been a frequent guest speaker on Aboriginal issues at the CBA, various Aboriginal law seminars, government departments, local service clubs and the Department of Justice litigation conference.

Robert J. M. Janes, Partner, Cook Roberts LLP, Victoria, BC. Mr. Janes is a litigator who has represented First Nations in a number of section 35 and Indian Act cases. He has acted as counsel for First Nations in injunction, judicial review and trial proceedings. He has also acted for a number of intervenors in Supreme Court of Canada cases including Haida Nation, Taku River, Marshall, Bernard and Sappier & Grey. He recently was counsel for the plaintiff in Keewatin v. Ontario (MNR), the first successful advance cost order in Ontario. Mr. Janes also advises a number of clients involved in the BC Treaty Process.

Maria A. Morellato, Partner, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Vancouver, BC. Ms. Morellato leads the First Nations & Aboriginal Group in the Vancouver office. She is a civil litigator experienced in Aboriginal law as well as regulatory law matters relating to marketing boards and international trade. She has acted as legal counsel before all levels of the court system, including the Supreme Court of Canada and the Federal Court and also regularly appears before administrative tribunals and regulatory commissions. Ms. Morellato has published and spoken extensively on First Nations and administrative law issues. She is recognized in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as one of the leading lawyers in Canada. She was also voted by peers as one of the leading lawyers in Canada in the 2006 inaugral edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada, as well as each subsequent annual edition.

Clarine (Clo) Ostrove, Partner, Mandell Pinder, Vancouver, BC. Ms. Ostrove has been involved in pivotal cases which have established the law on the protection and advancement of Aboriginal rights and title including Meares Island, Saanichton Marina and Double Tracking. More recently, she was involved with the Haida Nation case and appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of the interveners, the Okanagan Nation Alliance and the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council in Gray and Sappier. Her work involves developing and drafting specific claims for submission to Canada, negotiating settlements of these historic grievances, advising on consultation and drafting accommodation agreements, and negotiating resolution of reserve land issues, such as rights-of-way for roads and hydro.

Paul J. Pearlman, Q.C., Partner, Fuller, Pearlman, McNeil, Victoria, BC. Mr. Pearlman has appeared regularly as counsel for the Province of British Columbia in Aboriginal law cases, including, most recently, the Kitkatla, Taku River, Council of the Haida Nation v. Minister of Forests, Willison and Gitanyow cases. He has been involved in the negotiation of a number of forestry interim measures agreements with First Nations.

Professor Lorne Sossin, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. Professor Sossin was the former Associate Dean (2004-2007) and will become the Director of the Faculty of Law’s new Centre for Professionalism, Ethics and Public Service in 2008. His teaching interests span administrative law, public administration, professional regulation, civil litigation, ethics & professionalism and legal process. He was the recipient of the Mewett Teaching Award in 2003 and 2004. Professor Sossin holds doctorates in Law from Columbia University and in Political Science from the University of Toronto. He is the author of over 50 articles and books, a frequent advisor to government, and has been commissioned to write papers for several inquiries and expert commissions including the Ipperwash Inquiry. He is a part-time member of the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, and serves on the Boards of the Law Foundation of Ontario, Pro Bono Law Ontario, and the Ontario Justice Education Network.

Robert Watts, Interim Executive Director, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Ottawa, ON. Mr. Watts will examine and make recommendations with respect to the Indian Residential School era and its legacy. Most recently Mr. Watts served as the Chief of Staff to the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, where he was a member of the team which negotiated the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the largest class action settlement in Canada’s history. A former Assistant Deputy Minister for the Government of Canada, he is a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and Fellow at the Harvard Law School where he researched and lectured on the role culture plays in conflict. He is also a Fellow at the European Institute for Community Based Conflict Resolution. Mr. Watts was a senior associate with the Consensus Building Institute, and a governor of the Ridgewood Foundation for Community Based Conflict Resolution, and has worked as a practitioner and trainer in both negotiations and conflict resolution. He has taught, debated and lectured at a number of universities in Canada. Mr. Watts is from the Mohawk and Ojibway Nations and resides at Six Nations Reserve, Ontario.

Robert Winogron, Senior Counsel, Specific Claims, DIAND Legal Services, Department of Justice, Ottawa, ON. Mr. Winogron was called to the Bar in 1984 and has spent most of his legal career working as lead crown counsel in numerous high profile negotiation and prosecution matters. For the last 14 years he has been dedicated to the area of Aboriginal law and its practice up to and including the most recent endeavour the Specific Claims Reform Initiative.