The CBA Environmental, Energy and Resources Law Section is pleased to announce that Niall Rand was presented the 2016/2017 Gowling WLG - David Estrin Prize at the 2017 NEERLS Summit on April 27-28 for his paper entitled Subordination and Pretence: Canadian Environmental Assessment, Indigenous Knowledge, and Reconciliation.
Niall Rand, a graduate law student at the UBC Peter A. Allard School of Law, completed his B.A in Law and Society at the University of Calgary and his LL.B with Honours at Queen Mary University of London. His research incorporates environmental regulation, administrative law, and the revitalization of Indigenous legal traditions. He is particularly interested in the hegemonic power of colonialism and the use of reconciliation by the Canadian settler-state. While working for the Centre for Small States, he helped to produce their inaugural book series The World of Small States. Niall’s research on reforming the International Whaling Commission will be published in a forthcoming edition of the International Community Law Review.
Read the winning paper*
*The views expressed in this essay are solely the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Canadian Bar Association.
This award has been established in honour of David Estrin who, through his work as a lawyer, author and educator, has been at the forefront of the evolution of environmental law in Canada for over 40 years. Counsel in Gowling WLG’s Toronto office, he is among the country’s most experienced and most respected environmental law specialists. He has lectured widely at law faculties and environmental studies, and is the author of several books, including the definitive text, Business Guide to Environmental Law (Carswell), as well as being the founding Editor of the Canadian Environmental Law Reports. He was a founder and first general counsel of the Canadian Environmental Law Association, and recently co-founded Osgoode Hall Law School’s Environmental Justice and Sustainability Law Clinical Program, of which he is also co-academic director. David continues to provide leadership on climate change justice and human rights as co-chair of the International Bar Association Working Group that is about to release a Model Climate Change Claims and Remedies Statute and as past chair of the International Bar Association Environment Committee. In May 2016, David was awarded the Law Society of Upper Canada Medal for outstanding career achievements and community contributions.
The prize is donated by the CBA NEERLS’ Law School Essay Contest – Gowling WLG-David Estrin Prize Fund. The Gowling WLG-David Estrin Prize is supported by Gowling WLG as Foundation Sponsor, and by members of the environmental, energy and natural resources law community.