Indigenous Rights to Water Forum
May 20 & 21, 2026 at 9:00AM PDT
Downtown Vancouver and Live Webinar
Indigenous Rights to Water Forum
May 20 & 21, 2026
Overview
Water is life.
Indigenous use of, and jurisdiction over, water resources, marine areas, the seabed and the foreshore are critically important issues in Canada. They have both domestic and international dimensions.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) recognizes Indigenous peoples’ spiritual connection to water, and their rights to determine how water resources in their territories are used.
Issues relating to water, the seabed and the foreshore are increasingly arising in Indigenous-Crown litigation, including in the Cowichan and Haida title cases. Ways to address water-related challenges are also being negotiated in treaty and reconciliation agreements between Indigenous peoples and Crown governments, and in international agreements.
Come and learn how rights to water affect Indigenous communities - the need for safe drinking water and what is being done about it. We will also explore sustainable water management and the need to protect critical habitat.
Indigenous Rights to Water are critical and life sustaining. Please join us.
Key Areas Addressed:
Historic importance of water in Haida Indigenous culture
The rights to water – Indigenous Law and Common Law
The inherent jurisdiction of Indigenous rights versus proprietary rights
Indigenous rights to submerged lands and the foreshore
Indigenous rights to the seabed and rights to mine the seabed
The impact of the Cowichan decision
The murky waters of First Nations’ “safe drinking water”
Sustainable water management
Protecting critical habitat
Modern treaties – constitutional water protection
Do Indigenous rights to water protect Canadian water from international claims?
UNDRIP – how does free, prior and informed consent support Indigenous rights to water?
This Forum is Designed For:
First Nations leaders and officials
First Nations development companies
Municipal officials, managers, planners and lawyers
Federal and provincial officials involved in the development of reserve lands
Real estate developers and resource companies
Lawyers and in-house resource company counsel
Professionals in the utilities, banking, and real estate development industries
Consultation and treaty negotiators
Lawyers, accountants and other advisors acting for First Nations and/or developers
Agenda
Day One - May 20, 2026
9:00 - Welcome and Introduction by PBLI
9:05 - Chairs’ Welcome and Introduction
Rosanne Kyle, K.C.
Principal, Rosanne Kyle Law Corporation
Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson, K.C.
Principal and Senior Legal Counsel, White Raven Law
9:15 - Historic Importance of Water in Haida Indigenous Culture
Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson, K.C.
Principal and Senior Legal Counsel,White Raven Law
Creation Stories
Indigenous law and rights to water
10:00 - Questions and Discussion
10:10 - Refreshment Adjournment
10:25 - The Rights to Water – Indigenous Law and Common Law
Jessica Clogg
Executive Director & Senior Counsel, West Coast Environmental Law
Andrew Gage
Staff Lawyer, West Coast Environmental Law
Indigenous law and rights to water
Fundamentals
Common Law rights to Water – as found in the Magna Carta
Riparian rights
11:10 - Questions and Discussion
11:20 - The Inherent Jurisdiction of Indigenous Rights versus Proprietary Rights
Deborah Curran
Professor, University of Victoria
Who has jurisdiction over water?
12:05 - Questions and Discussion
12:15 - Networking Lunch
1:15 - Indigenous Rights to Submerged Lands and the Foreshore
Lisa Glowacki
Partner, Ratcliff & Company
Elizabeth Bulbrook, B.A., M.A., J.D.
Managing Lawyer, White Raven Law
2:00 - Questions and Discussion
2:10 - Refreshment Adjournment
2:25 - Indigenous Rights to the Seabed and Rights to Mine the Seabed
Lisa Fong, K.C.
Partner, Ng Ariss Fong
Ruben Tillman
Associate, Ng Ariss Fong
3:10 - Questions and Discussion
3:20 - Faculty Roundtable: The Impact of the Cowichan Decision
4:05 - Questions and Discussion
4:15 - Chairs’ Closing Remarks for Day One
4:20 - Forum Concludes for Day One
Day Two - May 21, 2026
9:00 - Chairs’ Welcome to Day Two
Rosanne Kyle, K.C.
Principal, Rosanne Kyle Law Corporation
Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson, K.C.
Principal and Senior Legal Counsel, White Raven Law
9:10 - The Murky Waters of First Nations’ “Safe Drinking Water”
Clayton Leonard
Senior Counsel, JFK Law LLP
Denial of the problem?
The truth about First Nation Drinking Water Advisories
The Honor of the Crown and safe drinking water – Is Canada a partner or the problem?
Resources, then regulation
Bill C-61 – The lost opportunity
Once water is safe, will there be enough?
The potential implications of the Shamattawa decision
Class actions
9:55 - Questions and Discussion
10:05 - Sustainable Water Management
Oliver Brandes
Co-Director and Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships and Public Policy, University of Victoria
Governance of water management
Watershed security
Collaboration to enable sustainable outcomes
Indigenous input in governance institutions
Viable examples
10:50 - Questions and Discussion
11:00 - Refreshment Adjournment
11:15 - Protecting Critical Habitat
Rosanne Kyle, K.C.
Principal, Rosanne Kyle Law Corporation
Rosalie Yazzie, K.C.
Syilx Okanagan Nation
Columbia River Treaty examples
Salmon reintroduction strategy - studies, projects
12:00 - Questions and Discussion
12:10 - Networking Lunch
1:10 - Modern Treaties – Constitutional Water Protection
Kim Webber
Associate, Mandell Pinder LLP
The provision for water reservation in the treaty
Strategies
1:55 - Questions and Discussion
2:05 - Do Indigenous Rights to Water Protect Canadian Water from International Claims?
Risa Schwartz
Risa Schwartz International Law, Toronto
How might Indigenous rights to water protect Canada’s water?
CUSMA – claims by USA and other claims
2:50 - Questions and Discussion
3:00 - Refreshment Adjournment
3:15 - Faculty Roundtable: UNDRIP – How Does Free, Prior and Informed Consent Support Indigenous Rights to Water?
4:00 - Questions and Discussion
4:10 - Chairs’ Closing Remarks
4:20 - Forum Concludes
Meet the Co-Chairs
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Principal, Rosanne Kyle Law Corporation
Rosanne practises in the area of Aboriginal Law. She has been a trusted advisor to Indigenous clients for over 30 years, representing First Nations in litigation, negotiations, regulatory processes for resource development projects and consultation processes.
Rosanne has appeared at every level of court in Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and has been legal counsel on a number of first-of-their-kind First Nation reconciliation agreements in British Columbia, including the first consent-based decision-making agreements under BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
Recognized as a leading lawyer in the Aboriginal law field in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory for several years, Rosanne has also been repeatedly listed in Best Lawyers in Canada, the Doyle Guide, and Chambers Canada. In 2022, Canadian Lawyer named Rosanne in its list of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers 2022. She has also been an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia and a guest lecturer at Simon Fraser University.
Rosanne was appointed King’s Counsel in 2023.
In addition to representing First Nations in court, Rosanne also has been counsel to First Nations before regulatory bodies such as energy boards and environmental assessment panels.
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Principal and Senior Legal Counsel, White Raven Law
A citizen of, and General Counsel, to the Haida Nation, Terri-Lynn has practised in Indigenousenvironmental law since 1995 when she began representing the Haida Nation at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. She was lead counsel in litigation to protect the old growth forests of Haida Gwaii in the Haida case, the leading case on consultation and accommodation of Indigenous rights. She is counsel for the Haida Nation’s aboriginal title case and related reconciliation negotiations—which have resulted in innovative agreements with British Columbia and Canada—as well as other litigation including successfully challenging the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project, and injunctive relief for herring.
Terri-Lynn serves on the Law Society of BC Truth and Reconciliation Advisory Committee, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s Indigenous Advisory Council, the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the Centre for Business Law at Allard School of Law, and a co-principal investigator with the Canada Climate Law Initiative. Terri-Lynn has been honoured with awards, including the Peoples’ Choice Andrew Thompson Award for lifetime contributions to environmental protection and sustainability (2014); Courage in Law Award from UBC Indigenous Law Students Association (2018); Canadian Lawyer’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers, “Changemakers” category (2020); Maclean’s “Power List”, ranking 21 of 50 Canadians breaking ground in their field (2021); designated as King’s Counsel (2021); one of 500 most influential business leaders in BC, General Counsel category (2022); and the Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award (2023). Terri-Lynn is also a multi-award-winning performer, an artist, dancer, and author and is currently a PhD student at Allard School of Law, UBC.
Meet the Faculty
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Managing Lawyer, White Raven Law
Elizabeth is a Managing Lawyer at White Raven Law with an interest in Aboriginal, Indigenous, environmental, constitutional law and eDiscovery. Elizabeth brings extensive professional experience working with Indigenous Nations to her position. Prior to studying law, Elizabeth acted as a Reconciliation Coordinator for the Council of the Haida Nation and was an archaeologist for the Haida Heritage and Forest Guardians. She has also instructed and developed a wide variety of university level courses, which centered on Archaeology and Indigenous issues.
Elizabeth acts for the Haida through litigation and other legal strategies to advance their title, rights and interests and advises on governance and land and resource issues. Elizabeth has had the opportunity to work on high-profile litigation for the Haida Nation directed at environmental protection at the BC Supreme Court, BC Court of Appeal, Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Elizabeth practices law because of her dedication to using all available tools to improve Indigenous social justice and to protect the environment from unsustainable practices.
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Co-Director and Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships and Public Policy, University of Victoria
Oliver M. Brandesis an economist and lawyer by training and a trans-disciplinarian by design. He serves as Co-Director of the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance, based at the University of Victoria’s Centre for Global Studies (CFGS), where he leads the award-winning POLIS Water Sustainability Project. His work focuses on water sustainability, sound resource management, public policy development, and ecologically based legal and institutional reform.
Oliver serves as the Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships and Public Policy at CFGS. He is an Adjunct Professor in the University of Victoria Faculty of Law and School of Public Administration, and is a fellow of the Environmental Law Centre. In 2012, he co-developed B.C.’s first water law course at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law. He also has affiliations at the University of Manitoba and Brock University.
Oliver is a technical advisor to the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, supporting the ongoing development of the provincial Water Sustainability Act. He also provides ongoing advisory support to the provincial government and Indigenous nations on issues of governance and water law for watershed governance pilots and planning projects underway in regions across the province, including the Koksilah, Cowichan, Skeena, Nicola, Hullcar, and Coquitlam watersheds. In 2017 Oliver was appointed to lead an independent expert review on source drinking water protection in B.C., which resulted in regulatory change and informed the Auditor General of British Columbia’s work on drinking water.
Working in various settings, including scholarly, community, and expert practitioner forums, Oliver is a regular speaker and actively drives public dialogue and champions water sustainability and watershed security. This work includes chairing and planning the decade-long series of innovative biennial national Watersheds forums. He is also a founding member and Chair of the national Forum for Leadership on Water (FLOW), and an advisor to numerous national, provincial, and local governments, water funders, and water organizations, including the First Nations Fisheries Council, Freshwater Legacy Initiative, and the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources.
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Professor, University of Victoria
I am a Professor at the University of Victoria who is cross-appointed in the Faculties of Law and Social Sciences (School of Environmental Studies). Focusing on our relationships with land, water, and how we make responsible decisions relating to them, my courses include water law, environmental law, municipal law, environmental solutions and the environmental law clinic. My research includes all aspects of adapting water law and governance, responsible land use and how Indigenous law is shaping state law. As the Executive Director with the Environmental Law Centre I supervise students working for community and Indigenous organizations. For over 20 years I have supported community and Indigenous organizations on creating sustainable communities using green bylaws and new models for watershed governance.
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Partner, Ratcliff & Company
Lisa is a leading legal advisor with extensive experience representing First Nations in protecting and asserting their rights through engagement with the government and, when necessary, in litigation. With a focus on Aboriginal rights and title, she has been legal counsel in many landmark cases and resulting significant developments advancing the rights of Indigenous peoples in British Columbia and beyond. In addition to Aboriginal rights and title litigation, Lisa has expertise in:
Environmental and natural resources law
First Nations consultation, negotiations and reconciliation agreements
Regulatory and administrative law
Constitutional law (Charter and jurisdiction)
Social justice and human rights
Indigenous self-governance initiatives
Workplace investigations
Implementation of the United Nations on the Declaration of Indigenous Peoples
First Nations elections, including as a member of First Nations election appeal board and in review of elections
Recently, Lisa was legal counsel for one of two First Nations (Ehattesaht First Nation) who successfully challenged the mineral tenure regime in British Columbia on the basis that it did not uphold the duty to consult and was inconsistent with UNDRIP. On December 5, 2025, the BC Court of Appeal released their decision in the case affirming that UNDRIP applies to the laws of British Columbia, and, that First Nations may raise UNDRIP rights in consultation (Gitxaala First Nation v. British Columbia, 2025 BCCA 430). The decision sets a long-awaited and important precedent.
Lisa was one of a team of lawyers on the Blueberry River First Nations treaty rights litigation that proved that the cumulative effect of industrial development in their territory violated their s. 35 treaty rights (Yahey v. British Columbia, 2021 BCSC 1287). For decades, Blueberry had witnessed their territory taken up and harmed by LNG and forestry. The decision provides vital protections for their rights, as well as the land, wildlife and environment. It has led to a significant agreement between Blueberry and the provincial government that implements a new approach aimed at restoring balance between development and protection of their treaty rights.
Over her years of practice, Lisa has developed a particular knowledge of fisheries, including DFO management, conservation issues, and, most importantly, the significance of fisheries to many First Nations. Lisa was counsel for environmental organizations at the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon, and, has represented First Nations in numerous court actions and negotiations regarding fisheries (including the leading commercial Aboriginal fishing rights case of Ahousaht Indian Band et al. v. Canada, in which five First Nations received declarations of commercial fishing rights, and, in related litigation, a court injunction enjoining the Minister of Fisheries from opening a herring fishery in 2014 contrary to their Aboriginal rights and conservation concerns), and, a successful challenge to federal food, social and ceremonial allocation policy in Squamish Nation v. Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, 2019 FCA 216).
Other representative cases are listed under “Notable Experience”.
Lisa frequently appears at all levels of court in British Columbia, as well as the Specific Claims Tribunal, the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada.
Lisa has worked with numerous community organizations, including West Coast LEAF, Pivot, Deswuav and Amici Curiae. She is a past-chair and is currently on the executive of the CBABC Constitutional Section.
Before joining Ratcliff in 2004, Lisa spent three years in Chiapas, Mexico working for a human rights organization assisting indigenous communities with land claims, indigenous rights and international law.
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Executive Director & Senior Counsel, West Coast Environmental Law
Jessica Clogg (she/her/hers) West Coast’s Executive Director and Senior Counsel. In her third decade of legal practice as an environmental and Indigenous rights lawyer at West Coast, Jessica has said that she does the work she does “because she loves the land, and because she believes in justice.” She is a white-bodied settler of mixed European ancestry who grew up in Stó:lō country in the Fraser Valley, drawn to environmental and social justice work because of the impacts of unsustainable clearcut logging on her community.
Throughout her career, Jessica’s work has focused on providing legal and strategic support to First Nations – working alongside Indigenous leaders and community members who are using their own Indigenous laws as the foundation for powerful strategies to care for the lands and resources of their territories and to catalyze broader shifts in Canadian law. In 2016, based on learnings and partnerships developed through this work, West Coast launched the RELAW (Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air and Water) Program, a unique co-learning and legal support program focused on researching, applying and enforcing Indigenous law. Jessica continues to work with the RELAW program today, and on law reform initiatives aimed at transforming the legal landscape in ways that are more democratic, more sustainable and more just.
Jessica holds a joint Masters in Environmental Studies and law degree from Osgoode Hall, York University and an Ashoka fellowship recognizing her work bridging between Canadian and Indigenous legal traditions. In 2020 Jessica was voted one of the top 25 most influential lawyers in Canada by Canadian Lawyer Magazine.
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Staff Lawyer, West Coast Environmental Law
Andrew (he/him/his) was an environmental activist before he was an environmental lawyer: he was accepted into law school shortly after being arrested for protesting logging in Clayoquot Sound, on Vancouver Island’s West Coast. During law school Andrew helped found the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre and volunteered with the noted Indian environmental lawyer, M.C. Mehta. These experiences changed his understanding of what is possible through law.
Andrew is currently project lead for West Coast's Climate Change program. Under his direction the program has focused on the legal and professional consequences – to industry, government and professionals – of failing to address climate change.
Andrew has played a wide variety of roles within West Coast since first coming to the organization in 2001, from helping communities press for more sustainable forestry to working to protect farmworkers from pesticide exposure. In addition to his climate work, Andrew is lead author for the Environmental Law Alert blog and has published a series of cutting edge academic papers on the rights of the public to a healthy natural environment.
Andrew lives in Victoria with his wife, Grace and their two children, Rebecca and Colm. Andrew enjoys playing the violin, gardening and sailing with his family.
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Partner, Ng Ariss Fong
Lisa’s love for great pie is equally matched by her respect for the law. She believes that good law is necessary to maintain a fair and just society and that we are all responsible for maintaining good law. She applies this belief to pie also.
Her practice is a blend of administrative, aboriginal and environmental litigation, and advising governmental bodies.
In professional regulatory law, Lisa advises both regulatory bodies and professionals. This breadth of her experience gives her a depth of knowledge that allows her to serve clients with a comprehensive view of their legal issues.
She advises professional regulatory bodies on all areas of their responsibilities including quality assurance, registration, inquiry, discipline, reviews and appeals. In acting for professionals, Lisa has defended them against allegations of misconduct, incompetence, and lack of good character in registration matters.
Lisa has the privilege of assisting Indigenous governments in asserting the aboriginal rights and title of their peoples. She has a special interest in energy projects and assisting her Indigenous clients in exercising their governance powers to determine whether such projects should proceed.
Her practice also extends to general commercial litigation including a variety of contract disputes (e.g. leases, employment contracts, purchase and sale agreements, and shareholders’ agreements), and tort disputes (e.g. negligence, economic interference, and interference with property).
Significant matters include:
Gitxaala Nation v. British Columbia (Chief Gold Commissioner), 2023 BCSC 1680 [a judicial review about the legality of mineral tenures grants without prior Indigenous consultation – currently on appeal respecting justiciability of inconsistencies with UNDRIP]
College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia v. The Health Professions Review Board, 2022 BCCA 10 [Dawson] (HPRB’s application for leave to appeal to the SCC dismissed);
College of Midwives of British Columbia v. MaryMoon, 2020 BCCA 224;
Reference re: the Environmental Management Act, S.C.C. Court File No. 38682, January 16, 2020 [concerning proposed amendments to B.C.’s Environmental Management Act – representing Heiltsuk First Nation as an Intervenor]
College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia v. Health Professions Review Board, 2019 BCSC 539 [Feldman]
College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia v. Health Professions Review Board, 2018 BCSC 2021 [Dawson]
Maroofi v. College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, 2017 BCSC 1558 and Maroofi v. Health Professions Review Board, 2020 BCSC 1243
Gitxaala Nation and others v. Her Majesty the Queen, 2016 FCA 187 [duty to consult on Northern Gateway Enbridge pipeline]
Ktunaxa Nation v British Columbia (SCC file 36664; appeal of 2015 BCCA 352) [aboriginal spirituality – intervenor factum]
Scott v. College of Massage Therapists, 2016 BCCA 180 [interim suspension]
College of Massage Therapists of BC v. Martin (CMTBC Discipline Committee 2015) [sexual misconduct and penalty decisions]
Cohen Commission on the Inquiry into the Decline of Fraser River Sockeye Salmon (2010-2011)
Public Commission on Legal Aid (2010)
Newman v. Halstead, 2006 BCSC 65 [defamation of professionals]
Stuart v. British Columbia College of Teachers, 2005 BCSC 645 [competence]
Lisa works with First Nations on law reform, which in recent years has included Canada’s Indigenous consultations on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Fisheries Act, the Navigation Protection Act, the National Energy Board Act, the Pilotage Act, and the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, and British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Act.
Lisa regularly gives presentations in her areas of practice and writes for the firm’s two blogs. She is a member of the Boards of Directors of the West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation, and the British Columbia Law Institute. See the firm’s events page here.
When not working, Lisa can be seen at Vancouver’s hippest pie spots. She does not bake her own pies because she’s a terrible baker, but actively befriends people who can bake great pies.
Lisa practices through Lisa C. Fong (2024) Law Corporation.
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Senior Counsel, JFK Law LLP
Clayton Leonard advises Aboriginal communities and land owner clients on resource projects and government policy and legislation.
A significant amount of Clayton’s practice relates to water management and allocation, Treaty and Aboriginal water rights and other water issues facing First Nations and other stakeholders. Clayton also has significant experience regarding First Nation Treaty and Aboriginal rights matters, Métis Aboriginal rights, Aboriginal governance issues, negotiating impact benefit agreements with industry and influencing government decisions regarding major projects, policy and legislation. Clayton also represents landowners impacted by major projects.
Clayton was named one of Canada’s Leading Lawyers in The Canadian Lexpert Legal Directory – Aboriginal Law and in 2002 Clayton was recognized with the Harris Gillespie Field, Q.C. Prize in Environmental Law.
Practice Focus:
Treaty Rights
Duty to consult and accommodate
Environmental assessments and regulatory proceedings
Impact benefit agreement negotiations
Crown policy and legislative development
Water Rights
Water Issues Facing First Nations
Landowners
Publications:
“Three Out of Ten: The odds of finding a solution to First Nation water rights in Alberta”, 2017.
“Watered Down: Issues Surrounding Water Use, Legislation and Policy in Southern Alberta”, 2007.
“A New Era in Metis Constitutional Rights: The Importance of Powley and Blais”, 2004.
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Risa Schwartz International Law, Toronto
Risa Schwartz International Law is a sole practitioner law firm that specializes in international trade and investment law and international environmental law and the intersections with the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Risa was a member of the Indigenous Working Group for Indigenous Trade Policy during the CUSMA negotiations, and a member of the Indigenous Peoples Advisory Committee (IPAC) for the IPETCA negotiations. Risa is currently a member of the World Economic Forum’s Indigenous Trade Steering Group.
Risa formerly worked as a senior research fellow with Centre for International Governance Innovation’s International Law Research Program.
Risa also held positions as counsel to the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in Ontario, and the Ministry of the Environment, and worked as a legal officer at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. She obtained her LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School and her LL.M. from the London School of Economics in international and environmental law.
Risa has co-edited two recent books on Indigenous rights and international law: Braiding Legal Orders (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019) and Indigenous Peoples and International Trade: Building equitable and inclusive International Trade and Investment Agreements (Cambridge University Press, 2020).
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Syilx Okanagan Nation
Rosalie is Syilx from the Okanagan Indian Band with ancestral ties to the Secwépemc Nation. She is the Vice-Chair of the BC First Nations Justice Council and an 11-year member of the Law Society of British Columbia. Rosalie holds a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from Simon Fraser University in Indigenous Business & Leadership.
Ms. Yazzie owns and operates Nesika Law Corporation which specializes in Aboriginal law, title and rights and Nation rebuilding. She is a passionate champion for Nation building approaches based in traditional governance values, customs and First Nations legal traditions. Her firm supports First Nations clients to achieve their governance and institutional development goals through sound policy, strategic engagement, and communication.
Ms. Yazzie applies a unique lens to her practice, earned through decades of professional experience in First Nations political advocacy, human rights, and social development issues including – child welfare, health and education.
Ms. Yazzie currently serves as general counsel to the Chiefs Executive Council of the Syilx Okanagan Nation and is a past member of the Law Society of B.C.’s Truth and Reconciliation Advisory Committee. She is a member of the Columbia River Treaty Negotiations Advisory Team and has recently been appointed to the Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust 2021 Legislative Review Committee. Rosalie is Chair of the Implementation Team for Bringing the Salmon Home: The Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative.
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Associate, Ng Ariss Fong
Ruben maintains a busy and fulfilling administrative, environmental, human rights, and Aboriginal law practice. He went to law school to try to “do something good” in the world. With his current practice, he can do that.
Ruben has worked with Indigenous clients to prepare evidence for regulatory proceedings, human rights tribunals, and court. He has extensive experience drafting submissions to tribunals and courts. He regularly advises both First Nations clients and professional regulators on issues ranging from employment matters and contracts to bylaw enforcement. He has ongoing work on human rights files for Indigenous people who have faced systemic racism in accessing publicly-available goods and services. He has appeared at all levels of BC court. He acted for Heiltsuk Nation at the Ontario Court of Appeal, intervening on the issue of aboriginal title to submerged lands. More recently he successfully defended a judicial review of band council resolutions in Federal Court, including on the basis that the Court did not have jurisdiction over pure expressions of Indigenous laws that have not been incorporated in Canadian law. He is part of the legal team that challenged the constitutionality of the mineral tenure regime under BC’s Mineral Tenure Act on behalf of Gitxaala Nation, which is also the first case to have considered the legal effect of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
Outside of work, Ruben is a member of the CBA – Environmental Law Section, and sits on the board of the non-profit Action Committee of People With Disabilities. When he is not working or volunteering, Ruben likes to cycle around Vancouver or, if feeling ambitious, beyond Vancouver, and he enjoys eating popcorn while watching esoteric movies, preferably with his cat near or on him.
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Associate, Mandell Pinder LLP
Kim is Kwakwaka’wakw and Coast Salish on her mother’s side, and Scottish and Irish on her father’s side. She is a member of the K’ómoks First Nation, which is located in the modern day Comox Valley in British Columbia.
Kim joined Mandell Pinder as an Articling Student and is now an Associate, bringing to the firm her experience in BC Treaty Negotiations with her own nation. She is committed to using her legal education and career to give back to the Indigenous community in any way that she can. She is passionate about the inclusion of Indigenous ways of being and knowing in legal practice, and bringing about positive change.
Registration Form
Program:
Indigenous Rights to Water Forum
Date:
May 20 & 21, 2026
Location:
UBC Robson Square (800 Robson Street - Classroom level), Vancouver, BC
Registration:
The registration fee is $1,665.00 plus GST of $83.25 totaling $1,748.25 for webinar and in-person attendance. Registration fee covers your attendance at the program and electronic materials. In-person attendance includes a catered lunch and refreshments throughout the day.
Early Bird Discount:
Register by April 20, 2026 and receive a $200 discount on the registration fee ($1,465.00 plus GST). Discounts cannot be combined.
Group Discount:
Register four persons from the same organization at the same time and you are entitled to a complimentary fifth registration. Discounts cannot be combined.
If you would like to register a group, please fill out this form and email it to registrations@pbli.com:
Payment:
You may pay by VISA, Mastercard or cheque. Cheques should be made payable to the Pacific Business & Law Institute and mailed to Unit 2-2246 Spruce Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 2P3. Please do not send cheques via courier with signature required.
When and Where:
Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. The program starts at 9:00 a.m. (PDT). UBC Robson Square is located at 800 Robson Street in Vancouver, BC, and our event will take place on the classroom level. Please visit https://robsonsquare.ubc.ca/find-us/ for directions.
Materials:
The faculty will prepare papers and/or other materials explaining many of the points raised during this program. Materials will be distributed electronically. Please contact us at registrations@pbli.com if you are unable to attend the program and wish to purchase a set of materials.
Cancellations/Transfers:
Refunds will be given for cancellations (less a $60.00 administration fee) if notice is received in writing five full business days prior to the program (May 12, 2026). After that time we are unable to refund registration fees. Substitutions will be permitted. We reserve the right to cancel, change or revise the date, faculty, content, availability of webinar or venue and transfer in-person registration to webinar registration for this event.
To register by phone:
Telephone us: 604-730-2500
Your Privacy:
We will keep all information that you provide to us in strict confidence, other than to prepare a delegate list containing your name, title, firm and city for our faculty and the program delegates. We do not share our mailing lists with any non-affiliated organization.
Course Accreditation:
Course Accreditation: Attendance at this course can be listed for up to 11.6 hours of continuing professional development credits with the Law Societies of BC and Ontario. For practitioners in other jurisdictions, please check your governing body’s CPD requirements.
If you would like to register a group, please fill out this form (DOWNLOAD FORM) and email it to registrations@pbli.com; for individual registration, please continue with form below.