Genevieve Boulay

Geneviève (she/her) supports the firm’s First Nation clients in asserting their rights and legal claims against the Crown by providing litigation, negotiation and strategic advisory services. She also acts as Ottawa Agent to counsel on matters before the Supreme Court of Canada. Prior to joining Maurice Law, Gen practiced at a boutique Aboriginal Law firm based in Ottawa for five (5) years. Her recent representative experience includes: • Acting as Ottawa Agent at the Supreme Court of Canada and leading her previous firm’s SCC practice. She also acted as co-counsel (second chair) for an intervenor in the Southwind appeal. • Developing test cases to challenge discriminatory government policies and programs for Indigenous organizations and equality-seeking groups, especially Charter cases. • Assisting First Nations and Tribal Councils to negotiate Specific Claims settlements, out-of-court settlements, and governance agreements with the Crown. • Defending section 35 rights-holders charged with harvesting offences at the Court of Québec, Superior Court of Québec, and Ontario Court of Justice in both English and French. Geneviève brings a passion and commitment to social justice to Maurice Law. In addition to her professional work promoting Indigenous rights, she has nearly a decade of experience and involvement working with organizations promoting the rights of equality-seeking groups. Geneviève grew up in Montreal and northern New Brunswick. She is bilingual (English/French). In her free time she enjoys being on the water and relaxing with her beloved pooch, Poppy the Pomeranian.

Practice Areas

• Specific Claims • Civil Litigation • Constitutional Litigation • Supreme Court of Canada

Recent Community Engagement & Insights

• Member, LEAF Ottawa, 2015-present • Advisory Board Member, Kappa Kappa Gamma – Delta Delta Chapter (McGill University), 2016-present • Co-Author and Presenter, “First Nations Governance and Human Rights Interests”, Annual Update on Human Rights Program, Ontario Bar Association, May 25 2022 • Co-Presenter, “Legal Update: Supreme Court of Canada decision in R v Southwind”, Anishinabek Nation Fall Grand Council Assembly, November 2 2022 • Presenter, “Leveraging flexible work practices to support better work-life balance”, Women in Law Summit, Canadian Lawyer, February 12 2020 • Author and Presenter, “Human Rights Litigation and Indigenous Litigants: Background and developments in causes of actions arising beyond the human rights/section 15 Charter paradigm for Indigenous complainants”, Annual Update on Human Rights Program, Ontario Bar Association, May 29 2019 • Co-Presenter, “The Aboriginal Rights Framework in s. 35: The Rights Protected and the Tests for Establishing Them”, Certificate in Fundamentals of Indigenous Peoples and Canadian Law 2019, Osgoode Professional Development, April 3 2019 • Presenter, “Putting your Politics into (Private) Practice: How a commitment to allyship and social justice can shape your future legal practice”, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law Diversity Night, UOAWL, March 14 2018