Cathy Guirguis

CEO and Partner

(416) 981-9347

cguirguis@oktlaw.com

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Cathy serves as the Chief Executive Officer and a partner at OKT. Her practice is focused on advancing Aboriginal and treaty rights through litigation and negotiation.

Cathy has represented clients in applications and actions in Ontario and Manitoba, as well as in federal court and at the Supreme Court of Canada. She has also represented Indigenous clients in proceedings and tribunals regarding election processes, labour and employment, and environmental assessment. Cathy provides negotiation advice regarding Aboriginal and treaty rights, land claims, and consultation, and she also advises clients on day-to-day employment matters and governance administration. She received her LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School, and also has a Masters of Environmental Studies.

While at law school, Cathy was a senior editor of the Osgoode Hall Law Journal and volunteered at Osgoode’s Community Legal Aid Services Program and Downsview Legal Aid Clinic. She also contributed to environmental projects at the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER), working on projects dealing with the duty to consult and accommodate, and indigenous environmental laws. Prior to law, Cathy worked in international development and has a background in journalism.

Cathy is a member of the Ontario bar and is listed as a "consistently recommended" lawyer in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. She is also a member of The Advocates Society, and is currently serving as a member of the Mid-Career Advocates Standing Committee and the Standing Committee on Advocacy and Practice. Since 2022, Cathy has been an adjunct instructor at Osgoode Hall Law School.

The Services of Cathy Guirguis are provided through a Professional Corporation.

Representative Work

Co-lead counsel representing the Saugeen Ojibway Nation in its Aboriginal title claim to water and claim about the Crown’s fiduciary breach and failure to protect their land (2023 ONCA 565 (CanLII) | Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation v. Canada (Attorney General) | CanLII; 2021 ONSC 4181 (CanLII) | Saugeen First Nation v. The Attorney General of Canada | CanLII)
Lead counsel in a successful judicial review about Ontario’s failure to adequately consult and accommodate the Saugeen Ojibway in respect of aggregate mining in their traditional territory, including the failure to pay reasonable costs of the First Nations’ participation (Saugeen First Nation v. Ontario (MNRF), 2017 ONSC 3456 (CanLII))
Represented the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs in its intervention at the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the Crown’s fiduciary duty to protect Indigenous lands in Williams Lake Indian Band v. Canada [2018] 1SCR 83
Represented Athabascan Chipewyan First Nation in responding to Canada’s application to enforce compliance with the First Nations Financial Transparency Act
Counsel for Pimicikamak in the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench and Manitoba’s Court of Appeal in defence of their rights to be consulted and accommodated about conveyance of culturally significant lands and sites
Represented Peguis First Nation in its participation at the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission hearings regarding the Keeyask Generation Project
Counsel for First Nations in election disputes about custom election codes in federal court
Represented the family in an inquest about an in-custody death of an Indigenous member of Pimicikamak in Thompson, Manitoba

Publications and Media

Speaker, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for Indigenous Peoples 2023, Law Society of Ontario, November 16, 2023.
Speaker, Aboriginal Law Update, Ontario Bar Association, June 22, 2022.
Guest Lecturer, Effective Inclusive Legal Representation, University of Windsor, 2021 and 2023.
Panelist, Legal Professionalism in Indigenous Practice Areas, Legal Voices Conference, Lincoln Alexander School of Law, November 13, 2021.
Speaker, Dealing with Difficult People: The Difficult Witness, The Advocates Society, October 19, 2021.
Guest Lecture, Tutorial Indigenous and Aboriginal Law, “Saugeen Ojibway Nation’s Water Title Claims”, Lincoln Alexander School of Law, February 1, 2021.
Presentation (with Benjamin Brookwell), “Colonization and Racism: How Legal Structures Affect the Health of Indigenous Peoples”, Indigenous Health Conference (University of Toronto), December 3, 2020.
Guest Lecture, Evidence Law “Oral History Evidence”, Osgoode Hall Law School, November 24, 2020.
Panelist, “Navigating Uncertainty”, Career Panel Webcast, Middle Eastern Canadian Women Lawyers, June 10, 2020.
Presentation (with Sara Mainville), “The Duty to Consult and Accommodate: Moving Beyond Process”, Advanced Administrative Law, Canadian Institute, October 24, 2017.
"Making First Nations financial transparency fair", OKT Blog, October 28, 2015
Presentation, “Defining Aboriginal Title – What the Implications of the Tsilhqot’in Decision are for Canadian Aboriginal Communities and Proponents”, Canadian Institute, June 23, 2015.