Aria Laskin
Partner
She/Her/Hers- alaskin@jfklaw.ca
- P 604-687-0579 ext 103
- C 604-351-8441
- Legal Administrative Assistant Chelsea Powers 604-687-0549 ext. 124 cpowers@jfklaw.ca
- 260 - 200 Granville Street Vancouver, BC V6C 1S4
Aria practices Aboriginal, environmental and constitutional law in JFK Law’s Vancouver office, with a focus on dispute resolution and litigation. She is passionate about working collaboratively with clients. Aria assists clients to find creative solutions where possible, and advocates fiercely when necessary.
Prior to joining JFK Law in 2018, Aria practiced Aboriginal, administrative, and commercial litigation at a leading national law firm in Toronto. In Ontario, Aria represented clients in negotiations and litigation proceedings involving both private parties and federal, provincial, and territorial government entities. She has appeared in front of all levels of court in British Columbia and Ontario, the Federal Court, the Supreme Court of Canada and a range of administrative and arbitral panels. She is also on the Aboriginal Law – Vancouver Section Executive, and on the Young Advocates Standing Committee (the young advocates’ branch of The Advocates’ Society).
Aria is originally from Vancouver, and clerked at the BC Court of Appeal in 2014-2015. Outside of work, when her nose is not buried in a book, Aria can be found on the soccer field or in the woods, inexpertly identifying edible mushrooms.
Education and Professional Affiliations
JD, Hons – University of Toronto, 2014
MPhil – University of Cambridge, 2009
BA, Hons – Harvard University, 2008
Law Society of Ontario – 2015
Law Society of BC – 2018
Law Society of Nunavut – 2020 (Restricted Appearance Certificate)
Publications and Presentations
Beyond Autonomy: A Transnational Comparison of End-of-Life Decision Making by Mature Minors (Aria Laskin, Noah Dolgoy, Professor Gregg Bloche, and Han Limei), Michigan State University Journal of Medicine and Law, Vol. 18, 2014
National Strategy to Change the Immigration Detention System and Protect Children (with Rachel Kronick and Hanna Gros), Opening the Doors to Refugees, McGill University, November 2016
Highlights
Co-counsel to three First Nations intervening at the Supreme Court of Canada with respect to the application of federalism principles to proposed environmental legislation.
Co-counsel to the Tsilhqot’in Nation in litigation with Taseko Mines Corporation and its proposed New Prosperity mine.
Acted as counsel for First Nations organizations in legal proceedings against multiple provincial governments.
Represented respondent on a successful statutory appeal before the Divisional Court of Ontario.
Represented applicant in a successful application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Wrote a report for a Canadian policy development group on the future of Canadian policing, with focus on Aboriginal policing and constitutional issues associated with private police forces.
Publications
On April 16, 2024, Canada released the 2024 federal budget. The theme of Budget 2024 is “Fairness for Every
Today the Supreme Court of Canada released its unanimous decision in Shot Both Sides v. Canada, 2024 SCC 12, which deals