Wally is a partner in Gowling WLG’s Advocacy Group, and is one of Western Canada’s most highly regarded energy, Indigenous law and environmental lawyers. He has been repeatedly recognized by Lexpert as a leading lawyer in these areas, and by The Best Lawyers in Canada and Who’s Who Legal as one of Canada’s foremost environmental lawyers.

Wally maintains strong working relationships with federal and provincial regulators to keep abreast of unfolding policies and requirements. He has previously acted for regulators in litigation matters (including a precedent-setting case that imposed liability on a foreign subsidiary for environmental problems caused by its Canadian subsidiary), as well as law reform (such as the drafting of B.C.’s contaminated sites legislation, regulations and policy advice to the federal government on imports of hazardous waste).

Wally is a frequent commentator on energy-related legal developments, having authored numerous articles and presented at many conferences. He is also a contributing editor for the Environment Law journal. Before joining Gowling WLG, he was a partner at another well-respected Canadian law firm and served as the co-chair of that firm’s Aboriginal law practice group.

Tabatha Bull is currently the COO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business in Toronto. Tabatha is Anishinaabe and a proud member of Nipissing First Nation near North Bay, Ontario. An electrical engineer from the University of Waterloo, Tabatha spent the first 2 decades of her career in the electrical consulting and energy industry. Prior to joining the CCAB, Tabatha led the First Nations and Métis Relations team at the IESO, Ontario’s electricity system operator. In that time she focussed on building strong relationships with Indigenous communities and leaders in Ontario and developing partnerships, procurement and capacity development programs to enable Indigenous communities to be active participants and partners in the Energy Sector.

As a testament to her passion to better the lives of Indigenous people and stay connected to her community, Tabatha is in her 12th year as a Director on the Board of Wigwamen Housing Inc.; the oldest and largest urban Indigenous housing provider in Ontario.

Tabatha is the proud mom to two boys and can often be found in a hockey arena or at the baseball diamond.

Niilo Edwards is the Executive Director of the First Nations Major Project Coalition and has been involved with the organization since its establishment in 2015.

In this role he is responsible for the overall strategy, growth, and technical services of the organization including the Coalition’s work to support its members with project development opportunities. Prior to this role, he served in an advisory capacity to the First Nations Financial Management Board, one of the fiscal institutions created under the First Nations Fiscal Management Act.

Niilo has worked directly with First Nations on long-term comprehensive community planning initiatives and policy development in general. Previously, Niilo served as an advisor to the Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples for 7 years, and currently serves on the University of Ottawa’s “Positive Energy” advisory council for Canadian energy policy.

Paul has 15 years of progressive management experience spanning several diverse industries including oil and gas, civil construction, telecommunications and manufacturing.  Having held management roles within Human Resources, Operations, Business Development, Marketing, Sales and General Management he has an extensive portfolio of knowledge, skills and abilities.

Paul’s career has been focused in the North and includes positions in Northern Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Alaska and Northwest Territories.  In the past he has served as the General Manager of Dakwakada Capital Investments, CEO of Castle Rock Enterprises and President of RAB Energy. In addition to his broad experience, Paul has a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Northern British Columbia, a Chartered Professional Accounting Designation, Project Management Professional designation from the PMI Institute and recently completed his Institute of Corporate Directors Designation.

Josh Jantzi is a partner in Gowling WLG’s Calgary and Vancouver offices, practising in the Advocacy Group. As regulatory and litigation counsel, he has practised in Indigenous, environmental, transportation, constitutional, municipal and other administrative law for 13 years with a focus on energy and natural resource development. Josh has represented energy and mining companies in precedent-setting cases in the regulatory review and environmental assessment spaces, most notably before the Supreme Court of Canada in Chippewas of the Thames First Nation v. Enbridge Pipelines Inc., 2017 SCC 41.

Josh’s Indigenous law practice includes legal challenges to government decisions grounded in the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate regarding adverse impacts on asserted and proven Treaty and Aboriginal rights and title. Josh also acts in matters of treaties and land claim agreements, consultation protocols, impact and benefit agreements, application of the Indian Act and Indian Oil and Gas Act, governance issues, and customary Indigenous laws.

Josh’s environmental law practice includes environmental and impact assessment, land and water use, management of contaminated sites, the protection of species at risk, cultural heritage, transportation of goods, waste management, and prosecuting and defending against enforcement and related legal proceedings.

Aldea was born and raised in Northern British Columbia. For the last 35 years, she has been working with many northern Indigenous communities in various roles including non-profit positions within the family support sector, educational facilities and social services. For the last 15 years she has held positions in the mining industry in Northern BC and the Yukon, both in Human Resources and Community Relations

Her mining career has brought many highlights, notably when she was presented with the Yukon Chamber of Mines Community Award in 2013 for her workshop development and community presentations on “Working in the Mining Industry”.

Aldea joined Pretium Resources Inc. in 2015 as Human Resources Coordinator. She was promoted to Human Resources Manager and later to her current role as Community Relations Manager. Aldea is based out of the Smithers office and supports Pretium’s commitment to engage with northern BC communities in the region of the Brucejack Mine.

Together with managers in human resources, operations, permitting, and communications, Aldea aims to develop and deliver programs and initiatives in line with Pretium’s social responsibility goals. Her focus is to identify employment challenges and develop strategies to assist in overcoming barriers such as working in a rotational job away from home.

Aldea is committed to promoting Pretium’s goals of fostering positive relationships with neighbouring local and Indigenous communities and supporting local access to economic opportunities related to the development and operation of the Brucejack Mine.

Drew is a partner at Woodward & Company, and has consistently driven the firm to excel in planning and executing business development strategies. His primary areas of practice are resource law, business associations, tax, trusts, contracts, and strategic implementation of Aboriginal rights and title strategies.

Drew’s current practice focuses on strategic negotiations between First Nations, other governments, and resource companies. Across the entire spectrum of his work, he’s determined to see Canada, provincial and territorial governments honour the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP), re-establishing First-Nations’ control over decisions that impact their traditional lands.

Outside of his practice in the firm, Drew has acted as a Director of the Victoria Cool Aid Society, and is a Past Chair of the CBA Vancouver Island Aboriginal Law Section.

Coming from an Urban Planning and Design background, Arman’s sole focus in recent years has been the built environment. Specifically, accelerating sustainable energy innovations for equal-opportunity, zero-impact, connected communities. As the co-founder and CEO of Lambda Science, he and his team are introducing new energy modeling and analysis solutions to the small residential construction subsector, paving the path for Net-Zero Homes.

Arman also serves as a board director at the BC Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA) where he champions Entrepreneurs For Sustainability (EN4S) as well as various initiatives related to the organization’s operations. With 15 years of achievements and 4 volunteer-led chapters across the province, BCSEA has been a key player in the BC’s path towards a sustainable future.

Darren is currently the Northern Saskatchewan Environmental Quality Committee (NSEQC) Manager with the Government of Saskatchewan; Indigenous and Northern Relations Branch.  Throughout his career, Darren has worked with Aboriginal and northern communities across Canada – from BC to Quebec to Nunavut. Project include: northern housing gap analyses; winter road and seasonal access issues; climate change and local adaptation planning; and Environmental Impact Assessments for energy and forestry projects.  Originally from the Saulteaux First Nation in central Saskatchewan, Darren grew up throughout northern Saskatchewan. Darren holds a Masters Degree in Natural Resources Management from the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) at the University of Manitoba and a BSc. in Environmental Science with a minor in Native Studies.

Ms. Trottier is Director of Capacity Development and Intervention with the First Nations Financial Management Board (FMB). She and her team support more than 200 First Nations governments across Canada build their financial management capacity. Ms. Trottier has testified to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs as it relates to the federal policy on default management and prevention, is a member of the National Indigenous Financial Literacy Group and was a member of the National Steering Committee on Financial Literacy.

Ms. Trottier currently serves on the Business Development Bank of Canada board and has served on the boards of the North Fraser Métis Association, AFOA Quebec and Actions Enfance.

Before joining FMB, Ms. Trottier was a Vice-President at EY Corporate Finance, one of the founding partners of BASE Partners and a Regional Coordinator of Financing Agreements for Health Canada’s First Nations and Inuit Health Branch in Quebec.

Ms. Trottier is a Chartered Financial Analyst, holds a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) from the University of Manitoba.

Lyle has more than 25 years’ experience in the nickel industry, and was previously General Manager, Sustainability with Sherritt International Corp. at their Alberta nickel refinery. In this role, his duties included oversight of environment, health and safety, and stakeholder relations activities. Previous roles included managing Sherritt’s engineering and research groups, and the review of potential investment opportunities for Sherritt’s Technologies division. Through his career, Lyle has been involved with base metals projects on five continents, including nickel, cobalt, copper, and zinc. Lyle has a collaborative mindset and has worked with major industry consortia, including Fertilizer Canada, the Nickel Institute, and the Northeast Capital Industry Association. Although his career has been spent in the metals business, as a proud Albertan working in the Industrial Heartland for the last two decades, Lyle also has ties to the hydrocarbon processing industry. Currently, Lyle is overseeing all aspects of the development of Giga Metals’ Turnagain nickel-cobalt sulphide deposit in northern BC, working to turn a world-class deposit into a major long-life mine, responsibly supplying battery metals to the world.