John A. Doolan* is a partner in the Vancouver office practising in the Real Property & Planning Group and as co-head of the firm's National Environmental, Regulatory & Aboriginal Group. He has wide variety of experience in business, real estate and aboriginal law.
Mr. Doolan is recognized as a leading lawyer in Aboriginal Law in Canada for 2015 by Chambers & Partners. He is included in the 2014 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, a guide to the leading law firms and practitioners in Canada, as a leading lawyer in the areas of aboriginal law and property development, and as one of Canada's Leading Infrastructure Lawyers in the October 2011 Lexpert special edition.
Mr. Doolan's experience includes advising on major projects and infrastructure development, structuring transactions, acquisitions and dispositions, partnerships and joint ventures, financing, subdivision, real estate development and leasing.
He has considerable knowledge and experience in the areas of developments on First Nations' lands and transactions and commercial agreements involving First Nations. He represents both business enterprises and First Nations groups.
Mr. Doolan works successfully with federal, provincial, municipal and aboriginal governments and officials, including First Nation councils and administrations, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, Justice Canada, the office of the provincial Attorney General, the Superintendent of Real Estate and the Resort Municipality of Whistler.
He represented the private sector and the legal profession in the development of the provincial rules for the regulation of real estate securities by the Securities Commission and the Superintendent of Real Estate.
Mr. Doolan's experience includes the following:
•advising lending syndicates on structuring, capacity, contracting, security and legal opinion issues in connection with utility infrastructure projects in Ontario involving First Nation participants;
•advising lending syndicates on First Nations' issues in connection with the financing of a major resort and casino project on First Nation reserve lands in Alberta;
•advising, energy, utility and forestry companies on Frist Nations' issues, including relationship building and agreements, land tenures, additions to reserve lands and treaty issues;
•acting on Whistler/Blackcomb on Ski Area Development Agreements, real estate developments, public offerings, going private and syndicated financing transactions, including advising on First Nations issues;
•advising a variety of other business clients on due diligence, structuring, land tenure and security matters in connection with business ventures involving First Nations and First Nations' land;
•preparing requests for proposals and responses to requests for proposals on major projects, including destination casino, sewage treatment plant and infrastructure projects on First Nations' land;
•assisting with the establishment of the federal First Nations Tax Commission and the development and implementation of its corporate governance and employment policies;
•acting as lead counsel to the First Nations Tax Commission on the proposed new federal First Nations Property Ownership Act and regulations;
•advising on modern First Nation legislation, including the Indian Oil and Gas Act, First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act and First Nations Land Management Act and on modern First Nations' treaties;
•acting as general commercial counsel to Tsawwassen First Nation on corporate structuring, economic development, leasing and commercial matters, including advising on their new regional shopping centre and industrial lands developments;
•advising Tk'emlups te Secwepemc (Kamloops) on relations with the all levels of government and a broad range of commercial matters, including the establishment of a development approval process, the structuring and implementation of comprehensive real estate developments and the acquisition of a major ranch property to be added to the band's reserve lands;
•advising the developer of the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort near Golden, British Columbia on all real estate development and regulatory matters from resort start-up, including negotiating its Ski Area Development Agreement with the Province and establishing water and sewer utilities and a regime for the mountain's regulation of real estate development; and
•advising developers on the structuring and implementation of multi-phase, mixed-use developments on First Nations' lands.
* denotes Law Corporation
