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Vancouver 604 891.1186
Victoria 250 381.9321
gplant@heenan.ca

Call to the Bar
British Columbia, 1982

Areas of Expertise

Aboriginal Law
Administrative & Constitutional Law
Appellate Litigation & Judicial Review
Arbitration & Dispute Resolution
Government Relations & Procurement


Geoff Plant, Q.C.
 

Geoff Plant was the Attorney General of British Columbia and Minister responsible for Treaty Negotiations from 2001 to 2005. He was first elected to the British Columbia Legislature in 1996 and from 1996 to 2001 was Opposition Justice Critic, as well as serving on a number of legislative and caucus committees. As Attorney General, Mr. Plant was the Chair of the Legislative Review Committee and the Minister responsible for the creation and oversight of the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.

Prior to his election to the Legislature, Mr. Plant was a partner in another Vancouver law firm, where he practised as a litigation lawyer with particular emphasis on aboriginal and public law. He was counsel in a number of leading aboriginal rights and title cases, including the landmark case of Delgamuukw v. British Columbia. He has lectured and written extensively on aboriginal and education law.

Early in his career, he was law clerk to Mr. Justice Roland Ritchie of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Since joining Heenan Blaikie in 2005, Mr. Plant has been appointed senior advisor to the Government of British Columbia in land and resource negotiations with the Council of Haida Nation, has undertaken more than two dozen successful mediations in a dispute between investors and a major Canadian mutual fund company, and has provided strategic advice to BC Hydro in relation to the design and implementation of its power acquisition processes. Mr. Plant has also provided advice to a number of private sector businesses on establishing effective relations with First Nations.

In 2006, Mr. Plant was appointed as a Special Advisor to the Premier and Minister of Advanced Education to lead a project called “Campus 2020: Thinking Ahead”, the first comprehensive review of post-secondary education in British Columbia in over 40 years. His report, entitled Access and Excellence: The Campus 2020 Plan for British Columbia’s Post-Secondary Education System, was released in April 2007.

In May 2007, Mr. Plant was appointed Vancouver’s Civil City Commissioner.

 
Education
LL.M., University of Cambridge, 1989
LL.B., Dalhousie University, 1981
LL.B., University of Southampton, 1980
A.B., Harvard University, 1978
 
 
Professional Affiliations
Business Council of British Columbia
Canadian Bar Association
Law Society of British Columbia
 
 
Publications and Conferences
 
Author, “Shrinking the Black Box, Reforming Administrative Tribunal Appointment Processes”, a paper prepared for the Pacific Business & Law Institute's Administrative Law: Key Concepts and Thorny Issues conference, Vancouver, February 5, 2009
 
Author, Access and Excellence: The Campus 2020 Plan for British Columbia’s Post-Secondary Education System, April 2007