Chris Tollefson

Chris Tollefson is the founding Executive Director of Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation (“CELL”) and a Professor of Law at the University of Victoria. Chris combines teaching and research on environmental issues with counsel work for various public interest environmental clients. This counsel work includes appearances before all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada and various environmental regulatory boards and tribunals. He was counsel to BC Nature and Nature Canada during the Enbridge Northern Gateway and Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline hearing processes. He is co-author (with Meinhard Doelle) of a leading environmental law textbook and has played a leading role in scholarly analysis of and advocacy for anti-SLAPP legislation. He is a former President of Ecojustice and founding executive director of the UVic Environmental Law Centre and has won various awards for his teaching and research. In 2014 he was the recipient of Nature Canada’s Conservation Partner Award for his work leading their legal team during the Northern Gateway pipeline hearings.