Dr. Larry A. Reynolds

Counsel

Larry completed his Undergraduate Law Degree (LLB) at the University of Alberta. He went on to complete his Master’s Degree in Law (LLM) at the University of British Columbia before returning to Alberta to complete a Doctorate in Law. He has taught and held academic positions at a number of post-secondary institutions including the University of Alberta’s Faculties of Law, Public Health Science and Extension, Vancouver Island University, Lakeland College and Nunavut Arctic College. His extensive research and expertise earned him numerous awards including a Doctoral Fellowship from the Environment Canada Tri Council Eco-Research Program in Environmental Risk Management, a Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada Fellowship, the Wilfrid R. May Alberta Heritage Fund Scholarship, the Louise McKinney Heritage Fund Scholarship, the Society for Risk Analysis International Student Presentation Award and the Sir John A. MacTaggart Essay Prize in Environmental Law.

During a career that spans more than 25 years, Larry has represented Federal, Provincial, Territorial, and Municipal governments, administrative tribunals, various industries, and aboriginal and environmental organizations across a wide spectrum of legal matters. Highlights include prosecutions and enforcement-related advising to federal departments (including Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Transport Canada, Atomic Energy Canada, etc.); appearances as legal counsel at hearings before a range of administrative bodies; judicial training, review, and assessment of administrative tribunals; and the preparation and negotiation of legislative amendments and constitutional matters (clients include the Government of Canada, the Province of Alberta, the Government of Nunavut, the City of Edmonton, the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties, and more than 75 local governments across a number of jurisdictions).

In his practice, Larry has contributed to many ground-breaking firsts in these areas of law. R. v. Peterson was the first successful prosecution involving protection of marine mammals (killer whales) under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. Qikiqtani Inuit Assn v. Attorney General of Canada & Nanisivik Mines Ltd. was the first ever judicial review of an administrative tribunal in the Nunavut Territory. R. v. Canadian National Railway involved the successful prosecution of CNR, involving the largest inland hydrocarbon spill in Canadian history. It also resulted in one of the largest environmental penalties in Canadian law, including environmental sensitivity mapping along CNR trackage in Alberta and BC.

Larry has published and presented numerous peer-reviewed articles, papers, and addresses across North America during his career. These include “Managing Uncertainty in Environmental Decision-Making: The Risky Business of Establishing a Relationship Between Science and Law” (Geneva, 2006), “Innovative Approaches to Environmental Enforcement in Canada” (Washington D.C., 2006), “The Era of Juriscience: Evidentiary Needs in Environmental Law” (George Washington University, 2001), “The Era of Juriscience: Investigating the Relationship Between Science, Law and the Environment” (Carswell, DeBoo, 1996), “The Use and Abuse of Scientific Evidence Before Administrative Tribunals” (Toronto, 1996), “Communication of Environmental Risk: Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Information and Legal Decision-Making” (Honolulu, 1995), and “New Directions for the Civil Liability of Public Authorities in Canada” (Canadian Bar Review, 1992).