Representative Work
- Protected a sacred area in a Treaty 9 First Nation's traditional territory by securing an interim injunction against a mining company.
- Lead counsel for First Nations at multiple environmental and regulatory proceedings, including the Nunavut Impact Review Board, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Canada Energy Regulator, and Manitoba Clean Environment Commission.
- Negotiated and drafted exploration agreements and long term relationship agreements for First Nations with industrial proponents.
- Counsel for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs in an intervention before the Public Utilities Board that secured a discounted Hydro rate for on-reserve residents.
- Worked with traditional Anishinabe lawmaking body at Sagkeeng First Nation to draft traditional laws, including a new Election Law.
- Represented Garden River First Nation in Essar Steel Algoma's CCAA proceedings.
- Bringing a defamation action against a prominent online commenter who had targeted a community leader with racist comments.
- Expanding the scope of an Inquest to consider the role that systemic racism played in the death.
Publications and Media
- Panelist, “Making Space for Indigenous Legal Orders in Administrative Justice”, The Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals 40th Annual Symposium, June 5 2024.
- Panelist, "Truth and Reconciliation: From Words to Action", Canadian Bar Association Administrative, Labour & Employment Law Conference, November 4, 2022
- Corey Shefman, "The Indigenous incarceration crisis demands a bolder response: Decarceration", Editorial, The Globe and Mail (11 May 2022)
- Presentation, "Indigenous Issues in Administrative Law", Ontario Health Professions Appeal and Review Board and the Ontario Health Services Appeal and Review Board, November 22, 2021.
- Corey Shefman, "Stop using the rule of law as a weapon against Indigenous peoples", Editorial, The Globe and Mail (19 February 2020)
- Corey Shefman, "Staggering number of Indigenous people in jail is a Canadian crisis", Editorial, Toronto Star (3 July 2018)
- Corey Shefman, "Time to Address Systemic Inequality", Editorial, Winnipeg Free Press (3 November 2016)
- The Disabled Professional: Duties and Obligations on a Licensing Body to Accommodate, Corey Shefman & Garth Smorang Q.C., (Winnipeg: Law Society of Manitoba, 2013)
Recent Articles
Manitoba's Seal River Watershed Embarks on a Historic Journey to Become an Indigenous Protected Area
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
There aren’t many truly pristine spaces left in North America, but the Seal River Watershed in Northern Manitoba is one of them. As the homeland of…
Read More...Update #2 on Ontario’s State of Emergency
This post is current to March 30, 2020.
The Premier announced late on March 28, 2020 that he will be banning public meetings of more than five people. This…
Read More...Weighing Alternatives to Indian Act Elections: Custom Election Codes and the FNEA
Many First Nations conduct elections based on the provisions in the Indian Act. Under the Indian Act, the Chief and Council hold office for two years unless their office becomes…
Read More...