Panellist Profile

Aboriginal Law, Administrative Law, Appellate Litigation Law, Commercial Law, Constitutional Law, Corporate Law, Education Law, General Civil Law, Government Procurement Law, Government Relations Law, Judicial Review, Public Policy, Resource Industry - Energy, Resource Industry - Fisheries, Resource Industry - Forestry, Resource Industry - Gas, Resource Industry - Oil, School Law, University Disputes

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 law and law reform.

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, 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.

From May 2007 until February 2009, Mr. Plant served as Vancouver’s Civil City Commissioner. In 2010, he was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of Providence Health Care, one of the largest faith-based health care organizations in Canada, operating 14 sites in Vancouver.

Geoff Plant very well recognized Arbitrator and Mediator. Mr. Plant has undertaken more than two dozen successful mediations in a dispute between investors and a major Canadian mutual fund company. He has acted as both the panel chair and as the single arbitrator in arbitrations through BC International Commercial Arbitration Centre.

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

• Business Council of British Columbia
• Canadian Bar Association
• Law Society of British Columbia

University of Cambridge, LL.M., 1989
Dalhousie University, LL.B., 1981
University of Southampton, LL.B., 1980
Harvard University, A.B., 1978