Anna Côté
Anna Côté is a regulatory and litigation lawyer in Gowling WLG's Toronto office, practising at the intersection of environmental law, food law and land use planning law. She works with a wide range of clients – from corporate to municipal to Indigenous groups – to provide legal advice and representation on challenging and novel legal issues.
Areas of Practice
- Environmental assessments, both provincial and federal
- Environmental issues in the agri-food sector, including "green" food claims and protection of agricultural land
- Planning policy and land use development, including expropriations, aggregate operations and brownfield remediation
- Environmental management and compliance, including regulatory inspections, investigations and enforcement
- Technical and strategic advice to various industrial sectors, including manufacturing, waste and recycling
- Natural resource management and development
- Endangered species compliance and approvals
- Import and export of environmentally regulated substances and products including novel substances
- Environmental litigation and tribunal work
- Environmental permits and approvals
Regulatory Advisor & Client Advocate
Anna brings a dedicated, engaged approach to her practice, forging collaborative relationships and resolving intricate legal problems. She draws on her experience working on sustainable development matters in the Middle East, Europe and the UK, her education as an environmental land use planner, and her dual law degree from McGill in advising her clients on how to understand, navigate and comply with environmental laws.
She also acts as an advocate for her clients in matters before the tribunals and courts, including the Ontario Land Tribunal (formerly the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and Environmental Review Tribunal), federal panels convened under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Ontario courts and the Federal Court.
Thought Leadership
Anna is a frequent speaker and lecturer, having co-taught the 2019 JD environmental law course at Osgoode Hall Law School, appearing as guest lecturer at law schools and planning programs, and speaking at and chairing industry events. She writes frequently about developments in environmental law and co-authored A Guide to Canada's Impact Assessment Act, 2020 Edition. She is currently focused on spearheading the convergence of environmental, climate and food law.
Community Engagement
Anna is in her fourth year serving as a member of the Environmental Law Section Executive of the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) and her second year as part of the Canadian Association for Food Law and Policy. She is a big believer in the benefits of mentorship and dedicates her time to the McGill Alumni Mentorship Program, Gowling's Advocacy Student Committee, and other channels of formal and informal mentorship of law students and junior lawyers.