February 7, 2022
Bradley D. Regehr Appointed as Queen’s Counsel for the Province of Manitoba
Maurice Law celebrates Winnipeg partner, Brad Regehr, for his recent appointment as Queen’s Counsel for the Province of Manitoba. On January 19, 2022, an Order-in-Council was passed making Regehr one of eleven lawyers in the Province to receive the prestigious designation for 2021.
Queen’s Counsel is an honorary title awarded to a lawyer by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, based on recommendations made to the Minister of Justice. An advisory committee, chaired by Chief Justice Richard Chartier of the Manitoba Court of Appeal, which includes representatives from the Law Society of Manitoba, the Manitoba Bar Association and public representatives, makes recommendations to the Attorney General of Manitoba. The Attorney General then makes recommendations to the Lieutenant Governor in Council who make the appointments by Order-in-Council.
For a lawyer to be eligible, they must be a practicing member of the Law Society of Manitoba and have held this certification for at least ten years, they must demonstrate outstanding practice as a lawyer, act with integrity throughout their practice and have had contributed to the development of excellence in the legal profession.
Bradley D. Regehr, Q.C., Partner, Maurice Law
Brad is a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in Saskatchewan and a survivor of the Sixties Scoop. Brad joined Maurice Law in 2017 as a partner in the Winnipeg office. Over his twenty years of practice, Brad has worked on a wide variety of legal matters, including aboriginal law, corporate/commercial law, civil litigation and administrative law. Brad continues to provide advice to a wide range of clients, including First Nation and corporate clients. He has appeared in the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench and Manitoba Court of Appeal, as well as the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division and the Federal Court of Appeal. Brad was part of the legal team that successfully defended a challenge to a First Nation’s tax laws under the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, the first litigation involving that statute. He also acted for a First Nation which became a partner in a major hydro-electric project, advising and acting at all stages of the project as well as appearing before both the Clean Environment Commission and Public Utilities Board during the regulatory processes and continues to be involved in the construction stage of the project. Brad has and continues to advise First Nations on land claim matters and has also advised numerous First Nation clients on implementation issues involving both land claim and flooding agreements. He was involved in the litigation concerning the disposal of the Kapyong Barracks in Winnipeg and has been involved in arbitrations and litigation concerning the Manitoba Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement, Saskatchewan Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement and flooding agreements.
Brad recently completed a one-year term as President of the Canadian Bar Association, the first indigenous lawyer to hold that office. During his tenure as President, Brad made the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action his personal priority. The CBA’s continuing professional development program The Path, which focuses on the history of indigenous and Crown history, has become the most successful CBA program in its history. In addition, the CBA launched its Truth and Reconciliation Toolkit for Law Firms during Brad’s presidency. Brad also served a two-year term as President of the Manitoba Bar Association, the first indigenous lawyer to hold that office and the first lawyer since 1946 to hold the office for two years. Brad was also the Chair of the Aboriginal Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association for two years. Brad recently joined the Indigenous Advisory Group for St. Paul’s College at the University of Waterloo.
In November 2021, Brad was presented with the Special Recognition Award by the Canadian Bar Association – British Columbia Branch’s Aboriginal Lawyers Forum.
Congratulations, Brad!