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ETIENNE

ETIENNE

ETIENNE ESQUEGA

Etienne has experience in dealing with a wide range of legal issues and has appeared on numerous occasions before administrative tribunals, the courts of Ontario and the Federal Court of Canada. Etienne also routinely provides advice and representation on governance, negotiations, strategy and corporate/commercial matters.

Etienne offers general legal services and advice on the following areas:

INDIGENOUS LAW
CORPORATE/COMMERCIAL LAW
CIVIL LITIGATION

Etienne was born and raised in Thunder Bay. He is a member of the Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek (Rocky Bay First Nation) and grew up with his grandparents. After graduating from Port Arthur Collegiate Institute he went on to further his studies at the University of Windsor where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Political Science. Etienne attended Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2005. Etienne has been in private practice since his call to the bar and has had the privilege of being exposed to many areas of civil litigation and general counsel files earlier on in his career. This experience helped Etienne develop the skills which now assist him in finding the most practical and efficient solutions for his client’s legal issues.

  • Bachelors of Law (LLB), Osgoode Hall Law School
  • Bachelors of Arts (BA), Political Science, University of Windsor

While in law school, Etienne’s abilities were recognized with scholarships from the Assembly of First Nations and from the Native Law Centre of Canada (University of Saskatchewan), for his academic achievements and commitment to the advancement of First Nations people in Canada.

  • Law Society of Ontario (Call to the Bar 2005)
  • The Indigenous Bar Association
  • The Canadian Bar Association – Ontario Bar Association
  • Thunder Bay Law Association
  • 2021-Present: Member, Ontario Civil Rules Committee, Appointee of Chief Justice G.B. Morawetz of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice
  • 2021 – Present: Director, LawPro Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company
  • 2020 – Present: Inquest Hearing Officer, Roster Member, Chief Coroner’s Office of Ontario
  • 2019 – Present: Elected Bencher, Northwest Regional Representative, Law Society of Ontario
  • 2019 – Present: Adjudicator, Hearing Division, Law Society Tribunal
  • 2017 – Present: Coach of Bora Laskin Faculty of Law Moot Team, Annual Kawaskimhon Moot (Aboriginal Law)
  • 2009 – Present: Trustee, Red Rock Indian Band Hydro-Minor Settlement Trust Fund
  • 2014 – Present: Trustee, Gull Bay First Nation OPG Settlement Trust
  • 2020 – 2021: Trustee, Law Foundation of Ontario
  • 2016-2019: Member, and Co-Chair, Indigenous Advisory Group, Law Society of Ontario
  • Representing an Indigenous woman and her two-spirited parents with their human rights complaint before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal against a hospital and its service provider.

 

  • Representing a brother  who tragically lost his only brother in a house fire as a result of the negligence of the home owner and a municipality.

 

  • Representing an elderly couple in their claim with respect to a deficient home that was provided to them from a pre-fabrication home company.

 

 

  • Represented and successfully negotiated a resolution to a provincial offences proceeding as a result of  a workplace injury for  a large local retail client in a matter concerning the Occupational Health and Safety Act. 

 

 

  • Represented and successfully negotiated on behalf of a First Nation a resolution to a breach of the duty to consult and accommodate judicial review proceeding against the Ontario Government and a transmission line company.  

 

 

  • Represented a First Nation before the Ontario Energy Board in the leave to construction proceedings concerning the construction of the East-West Tie transmission line project in Northern Ontario. 

 

 

 

 

  • Currently representing a First Nation in negotiations with the Federal Government and Ontario Government in relation to its historical flooding specific land claim.

 

  • Currently assisting a First Nation client with its preparation and submission of a specific land claim in relation to the Government of Canada’s failure to provide sufficient farming land pursuant to the terms of a Treaty.

 

  • Currently assisting a First Nation client with its preparation and submission of a specific land claim in relation to the Government of Canada’s failure to protect the First Nation’s interest in timber that was unlawfully harvested from its reserve.

 

  • Currently assisting a First Nation client with its preparation and submission of a  claim in relation to the Government of Ontario’s forced removal of a community to facilitate the creation of the provincial park.

 

  • Currently assisting a First Nation client with its preparation and submission of a  land claim in relation to detrimental affects associated with unlawful upstream flooding.

 

  • Currently representing a First Nation client in the regulatory process of asserting its full jurisdiction over child welfare matters.

 

  • Currently representing a First Nation client in its negotiations concerning the proposed development and  construction of the Waasigan Transmission Line which is being considered for  Northwestern Ontario. 

 

  • Currently assisting a client with the development and a ratification of its custom election code.

 

  • Currently providing independent legal advice to First Nation individuals in relation to proposed flooding easements over their lands. 

 

  • Currently providing advice to various First Nation clients in relation to several mining exploration projects in Northwestern Ontario.