Jeffrey Gordon Cowan

He acts as counsel before administrative tribunals and the trial and appellate courts in many aspects of public law, including professional self-regulation and discipline, judicial review of government decision-making, freedom of information and privacy matters, municipal and provincial planning and environmental approvals, municipal assessment and taxation, health, education, alcohol and gaming, legislative drafting and government relations, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In addition, Jeff regularly litigates in matters relating to real property, including purchase and sale disputes, lease and contract interpretation, expropriation, valuation, taxation, boundary and ownership issues, Indigenous peoples’ land claims, and arbitration proceedings, including acting as an arbitrator and mediator.

Jeff has argued many of the leading cases – including in the Supreme Court of Canada – in the areas of tribunal jurisdiction and independence, Ministerial discretion, standard of judicial review, equality rights, constitutionality and interpretation of taxation and valuation legislation and remedies, freedom of information, Indigenous peoples’ land claims and remedies, ownership of waterfront property, and the interpretation of commercial leases.

C.U.P.E. v. Ontario (Minister of Labour) – Jeff was co-counsel, along with WeirFoulds partner Greg Richards, for the Canadian Bar Association in its successful intervention before the Supreme Court of Canada in this leading case in administrative law involving judicial review of the Minister’s discretionary decision to appoint retired judges as chairs of interest arbitration panels in the health care sector.

Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point v. Canada and Chippewas of Sarnia v. Canada – Jeff was successful counsel in these important decisions on aboriginal law and remedies in land claims, in the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario.