Louise Mandell, Q.C., LL.D. (Hon.), Q.C., LL.D. (Hon.)
Louise Mandell Q.C.
Louise Mandell Q.C., one of Canada’s foremost Aboriginal rights lawyers and a tireless advocate for Canada’s First Nations, is Vancouver Island University’s second chancellor.
In 1983, Mandell was one of the founding partners of Mandell Pinder, a law firm specializing in Aboriginal and treaty rights law. She is still connected to the firm in the esteemed capacity of Partner Emeritus.
Mandell received a Degree in Education at UBC before graduating from Law School, and was selected by the UBC Faculty of Law as one of the two outstanding alumni from each decade.
She was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1997 and, in 2001, was awarded the Georges Goyer Q.C. Memorial Award for exceptional contribution to the development of Aboriginal and Treaty Rights jurisprudence across the country. In 2013, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs recognized and honoured her by creating The Louise Mandell Legal Research Collection.
Passionate about education, Mandell uses her skills as a public speaker at workshops and forums and also as a writer to pass on her knowledge and expertise of the law as it relates to the rights of Canada’s Aboriginal people.
Mandell embodies many of VIU’s values through her work with First Nations communities, and also recognizes the important role education plays in the reconciliation of Canada’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
Transcription of speeches given at convocation