Background
Ross Switzer is an environmental partner at our Vancouver office. He was admitted to the British Columbia Bar in 1975. He is a graduate of the University of London with a Master of Laws in 1973, after completing a Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia in 1972. Prior to that, Ross received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Saskatchewan in 1969.
Areas of Practice
· Ross practises in the area of civil litigation with an emphasis on environmental and forestry law. Ross is the former National Chair of the Environmental Group at BLG.
Rankings and Recognitions
· Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012 (Environmental Law; Natural Resources Law)
· Martindale-Hubbell BV Peer Review Rating
Professional Experience
· Ross has defended industrial and resource based clients, including railways, against charges under the Fisheries Act and other environmental legislation.
· He has appeared frequently before administrative tribunals including the Forest Practices Board and the Environmental Appeal Board. Recently Ross represented a railway in a six-week hearing before the Environmental Appeal Board that involved a multi-million dollar clean up of a contaminated site in British Columbia.
· Ross has been lead counsel in obtaining injunctions against environmental and aboriginal protesters and has also acted in the prosecution of individuals charged with contempt arising out of breaches of those injunctions. He has acted for clients, including railways, in negotiations with natives and in judicial review applications brought by natives and other environmental interest groups. All levels of court, including applications to the Supreme Court of Canada, have heard these reviews.
· He has acted as counsel on numerous forestry law matters and has defended forestry clients charged under the Fisheries Act and Waste Management Act. Ross has also acted in the defence of alleged administrative contraventions under the Forest Practices Code.
· Ross has acted for a license holder in numerous mediations and arbitrations under the Timber Harvesting Contract and Subcontract Regulation and has advised on compensation issues arising out of government takings.
· He has appeared as counsel for leading British Columbia mining companies and provided environmental law advice to such clients.
Professional and Community Activities
· Has been a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education seminars on a variety of topics including forestry law
· Co-Chaired CLE presentation "Boot Camp for Young Litigators" in January, 2008
· Member of the Canadian Bar Association, Environmental Law Subsection
· Founding member of the Canadian Centre for Environmental Arbitration and Mediation (CCEAM)