Alex DeParde
- he / him / his
Admitted to the British Columbia Bar: 2025
Admitted to the Northwest Territories Bar: 2024
Admitted to the Yukon Bar: 2024
Admitted to the Alberta Bar: 2023
Admitted to the Ontario Bar: 2019
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Toronto
- Bio
- Awards & Recognition
- Professional Involvement
- Representative Matters
- Selected Speaking Engagements
- Selected Publications
- Insights
- Education
Alex is a skilled advocate and
litigator who practises exclusively in the area of Aboriginal law. With a
particular focus on collaboration and innovation, he works closely with his Indigenous
clients to develop litigation and alternative dispute resolution strategies
centred on advancing their unique goals and achieving lasting results.
Alex is a member of the firm’s
Indigenous Practice Group. He is also a member of the firm’s Litigation &
Dispute Resolution Group. Alex’s practice primarily focuses on helping
Indigenous communities, governments and nations navigate the various complex legal
avenues available to them to advance their rights, resolve their outstanding
claims and ensure their communities prosper for generations to come.
A significant component of Alex’s
practice involves strategically using litigation and alternative forms of
dispute resolution to advance the recognition and respect of Indigenous rights,
including in the area of self-government, situations involving overlapping
Indigenous rights or interests, and outstanding claims against the Crown. He
regularly advises on litigation and dispute resolution processes related to
Crown accountability, constitutional law, self-government, administrative law,
environmental protection and enforcement of Aboriginal and Treaty rights. Alex’s expertise also includes Crown duties flowing from the honour of the Crown, such as consultation, accommodation and others, and commercial disputes involving Indigenous peoples and their rights. He takes an innovative and practical approach to advocacy, working
hand-in-hand with his clients to achieve meaningful and lasting results that
align with their distinct rights, needs and vision for self-determination.
As a result of his work on behalf
of Indigenous and non-Indigenous clients, Alex has appeared before all levels
of Court, including courts in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, the Northwest
Territories, the Yukon, and the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, as
well as in commercial arbitrations. He has also appeared before the Supreme
Court of Canada multiple times.
Prior to joining Aird & Berlis, Alex practised at a nationally recognized Aboriginal law boutique firm where he focused on litigation for Indigenous governments and communities. He also summered, articled and practised at a national law firm, working in commercial litigation, where he advocated for clients on a range of matters, including complex contractual disputes, class action defence and shareholder disputes.
Awards & Recognition
- Received the Arthur Charles Pape Memorial Prize for his academic achievement in the study of Indigenous legal issues
- Received the Blaney McMurtry LLP Prize for his academic achievement in the study of Indigenous legal issues
- Received the Art and Science of Advocacy Prize for his academic achievement in the study of trial advocacy
Professional Involvement
Memberships
- Advocates Society
- Canadian Bar Association
- Law Society of Ontario
- Law Society of Alberta
- Law Society of Northwest Territories
- Law Society of Yukon
- Law Society of British Columbia
Representative Matters
Represented the Métis Nation of Alberta at the Court of Appeal of Alberta in an appeal of a judicial review successfully establishing that Alberta owed the Métis Nation of Alberta a duty to negotiate, flowing from the honour of the Crown, with respect to a Métis consultation policy.
Represented the Métis National Council, the Métis Nation of Ontario, the Métis Nation of Alberta, the Métis Nation – Saskatchewan, the Métis Nation British Columbia and Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak as interveners before the Supreme Court of Canada in Reference re An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families respecting whether the act was within Parliament’s jurisdiction.
Represented the Métis Nation of Ontario and the Métis Nation of Alberta as interveners before the Supreme Court of Canada in Dickson v. Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation respecting the application of the Charter to an Indigenous government.
Alex has also previously represented:
- A First Nation at the Court of Appeal for Ontario in an appeal of a trial decision confirming a tract of land had been improperly excluded from its treaty-guaranteed reserve by Crown land surveyors more than 150 years ago.
- A First Nation at the Supreme Court of Yukon in a statutory appeal of a Yukon Water Board decision ordering a mining company to provide security for restoration and remediation of its central Yukon mine, as well as in receivership proceedings following the June 2024 catastrophic failure of that mine.
- A First Nation at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in a motion for leave to intervene as a party in the action brought by Six Nations of the Grand River against Canada and Ontario respecting alleged breaches of Crown commitments in the 1784 Haldimand Proclamation.
- A Métis government at the Federal Court of Appeal in a statutory appeal of the Canadian Energy Regulator decision respecting the implementation and tracking of commitments made by the Crown to the Métis government in connection with an international transmission line.
- An accounting firm at the Court of King's Bench for Saskatchewan in a certification motion involving a proposed multi-jurisdictional class action related to a charitable donation program.
- A consumer finance company at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) in seeking specific performance of its sale to a Canadian bank in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Selected Speaking Engagements
Co-Presenter, "Defining Crown Duties in Performing Contracts With Indigenous Peoples," Aird & Berlis Webinar, February 26, 2025.
Presenter, "Introduction to the Honour of the Crown: Presentation for Indigenous Peoples and the Law Course," Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa Guest Lecture, February 19, 2025.
Co-Presenter, "The Ongoing Evolution of the Honour of the Crown and its Implications for Crown Counsel," 2024 ALOC/Government of Ontario Educational Conference, November 13, 2024.
Selected Publications
Co-Author, "‘Facilitating, Not Impeding, the Just Resolution of Aboriginal Claims’: The Doctrine of Abuse of Process in Aboriginal Rights Litigation," Aird & Berlis LLP, March 4, 2025.
Co-Author, "Structuring Indigenous-Developer Partnerships in the GTHA: A Playbook for Economic Reconciliation With Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation," Aird & Berlis LLP, February 27, 2025.
Co-Author, "Crown's Duty to Negotiate With Indigenous Peoples: Making Reconciliation Make Sense and Move Forward," Lexpert, January 27, 2025.
Co-Author, "Advancing Reconciliation and Reconciliatory Justice by Contract: The Honour of the Crown’s Application to Crown-Indigenous Agreements," Aird & Berlis LLP, January 8, 2025.
Insights
Education
- JD, Osgoode Hall Law School, 2018
- BA (Hons.), St. Lawrence University, 2015