John J. Wilson
John practises public law in Gowling WLG's Ottawa office - chiefly in the areas of Indigenous, administrative, and constitutional law.
As part of Gowling WLG's Indigenous Law Group, John has assisted First Nations in litigation involving the interpretation and application of modern and historic treaties, resource revenue sharing, contested elections, membership eligibility, and the duty to consult. He also advises First Nations clients in self-government negotiations and on the submission and negotiation of claims under the Specific Claims Policy. He also has experience in Indigenous class action litigation.
In the administrative law space, John has assisted various clients, including First Nations, organizations, and individuals in judicial review applications in various courts. He has appeared before the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
John has also advised on division of powers and Charter issues, including freedom of association, equality rights, and rights to life, liberty and security of the person. He maintains an active interest in each of these areas, having published relevant work in the McGill Law Journal and the Ontario Bar Association's Constitutional, Civil Liberties, and Human Rights Law bulletins.
John also coaches a team at the Kawaskimhon National Moot, an annual Indigenous law moot hosted by law schools across Canada.
Before joining Gowling WLG, John earned his juris doctorate at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he worked as a research assistant for two Osgoode professors on Indigenous and constitutional law issues. Prior to law school, he earned a bachelor of arts, honours, in philosophy from Queen's University where he sat on the Alma Mater Society's Judicial Committee.