Senwung Luk is a Partner at OKT. He has appeared in different levels of court and tribunals, including the Supreme Court of Canada and various courts of appeal, representing Indigenous clients fighting for their rights. He has focuses on litigation on Aboriginal rights and title, the Crown's fiduciary obligations to First Nations, and the implementation of Impacts and Benefits Agreements (IBAs). He has numerous peer-reviewed publications on these areas and his work has been cited by different levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada.
Senwung received his J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School, where he won awards for highest standing in Aboriginal law, civil liberties, and constitutional law courses. He served as law clerk to Mr. Justice John Evans of the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada. Senwung has also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and a postgraduate Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the University of Oxford.
Senwung is a member of the Bars of Ontario, the Northwest Territories, and Newfoundland and Labrador, and is listed as Consistently Recommended in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory on Indigenous Law. He has also been recognized in the areas of Aboriginal Law / Indigenous Practice and Administrative and Public Law in The Best Lawyers in Canada™.
Senwung Luk provides his services through a Professional Corporation.
Representative Work
- Counsel for the Innu Nation in injunction proceedings to protect benefits from an Impacts and Benefits Agreement
- Represented the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs before the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the duties of the Crown to protect Indigenous lands
- Represented the Shibogama First Nations Council in the Supreme Court of Canada, in defence of the protection of Indigenous sacred spaces as Charter rights
- Represented the Innu Nation before the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Utilities Board to ensure fair electricity rates for their communities
- Represented the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation before the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench in defence of their right to be consulted about energy projects that affect their harvesting rights
- Led the expert selection process for a large land claim litigation
Publications and Media
- Senwung Luk, "Where Can an Aboriginal Rights Holder Exercise Their Rights? Reflections from R v. Desautel" In: The Supreme Court Law Review Second Series, 2022 Osgoode Hall Constitutional Cases Conference, Volume 108, 2023.
- Senwung Luk (2020) Terra Nullius and the Doctrine of Discovery. In: Kocsis M. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Territorial Rights.
- With Brooke Barrett, "Time is on Our Side: Colonialism through laches and limitations of actions in the age of reconciliation" in Special Lectures 2017: Canada at 150: The Charter and the Constitution" (Law Society of Upper Canada, 2017)
- “The Law of the Land: New Jurisprudence on Aboriginal Title“, The Supreme Court Law Review v. 67, 2014
- “Sacred places in the Treaty Relationship“, presentation to As Long as the Rivers Flow, treaty rights conference 2014
- “A De-Spirited Land: Recent jurisprudence on Aboriginal title“, presentation to Osgoode Constitutional Cases Conference 2014, April 2014.
- Guest Lecturer in Access to Justice, “Aboriginal Law Litigation”, February 2014, University of Windsor, Faculty of Law.
- Guest Lecturer in Osgoode Professional development LLM Course on Aboriginal Communities and Resource Development, “Aboriginal Title”, January 2014.
- Senwung Luk, “Not So Many Hats: The Crown’s Fiduciary Obligations to Aboriginal Communities since Guerin” (2013) 76:1 Sask L Rev.
- Senwung Luk “Justified Infringement: a Minimal Impairment Approach” (2013) 25 J Envtl L & Prac 169.
- Presentation, “Justified Infringement: A Minimal Impairment Approach”, May 2012, Journal of Environmental Law Conference.
- Senwung Luk (with F. Ahmed), “How Religious Arbitration Could Enhance Personal Autonomy” (2012) Oxford J of L & Rel 1
- Senwung Luk (with F. Ahmed), “Religious Arbitration: A Study of Legal Safeguards“ (2011) 77 Arbitration 290.
- Senwung Luk, “Confounding Concepts: Judicial recognition of the constitutional protection of the Aboriginal right to self-government in Canada” (2010) 41:1 Ottawa L Rev.
- Guest Lecturer in Property Law, “Aboriginal Title”, 2010 – 2013, Osgoode Hall Law School.
- Senior Editor, Osgoode Hall Law Journal (2005-2006) Osgoode Hall LJ.
- Senwung Luk, "Recontextualizing Ktunaxa Nation v. British Columbia: Crown Land, History and Indigenous Religious Freedom"
- With Krista Nerland, "SCC says failure to create reserve a breach of fiduciary duty in divided decision", OKT Blog.
- With Krista Nerland, "Supreme Court: Charter does not protect Ktunaxa sacred site", OKT Blog.
- "TRC@1: Gratitude for the invitation to the Treaty relationship", OKT Blog, May 26, 2016
- "Traditional Knowledge collection, confidentiality, and ownership: some issues to consider", OKT Blog, May 18, 2016
- "Ditching the doctrine of discovery (and what that means for Canadian law)", OKT Blog, November 30, 2015
- "SCC case will affect expert witnesses in Aboriginal rights cases (WBLI v Abbott and Haliburton)", OKT Blog, May 27, 2015
- "Bill C-51 could be a blank cheque to the government to stifle Indigenous dissent", with Michael McClurg, OKT Blog, February 10, 2015
- "The Tsilhqot'in Decisions and Indigenous Law on Sacred Spaces", OKT Blog, December 9, 2014
- "Court to Crown: Please stop making excuses for not fulfilling your treaty obligations", OKT Blog, August 27, 2014
- "Supreme Court releases decision in Keewatin", with Cathy Guirguis, OKT Blog, July 11, 2014
- “In a first for a Canadian court, SCC recognizes Aboriginal title for Tsilhqot’in Nation” (with Andrea Bradley), OKT Blog Post, June 26, 2014
- “Ahousaht decision affirming Aboriginal fishing rights stands”, OKT Blog Post, January 30, 2014.
- “Fraser Institute to First Nations: Just be glad it’s not 1947”, OKT Blog Post, December 12, 2013.
- “BC Court of Appeal affirms Aboriginal commercial fishing rights”, OKT Blog Post, July 5, 2013.
- “Looking at ‘justified infringement’ and pipelines”, OKT Blog Post, April 18, 2013.
- “The upcoming Supreme Court of Canada case on Aboriginal title”, OKT Blog Post, January 25, 2013.
Recent Articles
OKT Podcast - United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Is UNDRIP going to bring about transformational change to the relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples? What about the federal government’s implementing legislation?
In this episode,…
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UNDRIP is now part of Canada’s “domestic positive law”. What does this mean?
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Seventeen years after the UN General Assembly passed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (“UNDRIP”), and eight years after Canada endorsed…
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AMC Wins Unprecedented Discount Hydro Rates for On Reserve Residents
By Senwung Luk and Corey Shefman
On May 1st, 2018, Manitoba’ Public Utilities Board adopted recommendations made by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (“AMC”) to create a new electricity rate…
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