Fraser has a general practice in civil litigation and public law, with a particular focus on administrative law and appeals. Fraser graduated as the gold medalist from McGill’s Faculty of Law, where he was also the recipient of numerous other awards and prizes. He then served as a law clerk to Chief Justice McLachlin and Justice Martin at the Supreme Court of Canada. Before joining Olthuis van Ert, Fraser worked as litigation counsel for Canada’s Department of Justice. He has extensive experience on public inquiries, having worked as commission counsel on the Ottawa Light Rail Transit Public Inquiry and participant counsel on the Public Inquiry into foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions.
Ontario (2018), British Columbia (2023)
BA (Mount Allison), MA (Victoria), BCL/LLB (McGill)
Supreme Court of Canada (McLachlin CJ and Martin J, 2017–2018)
English, French
he/him
Fraser has worked on a variety of public law matters including constitutional challenges, judicial reviews of administrative action, and statutory appeals.
Selected cases
Wright v. Yukon (Director of Public Safety and Investigations, 2024 YKSC 41: Fraser juniored Brent Olthuis KC on behalf of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in this constitutional challenge to the Yukon’s Safer Communities and Neighbourhood Act, SY 2006, c7.
Mowatt v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2024 BCCA 157: Fraser was junior counsel (with Gib van Ert) for the Mowatts in this successful judicial review of a decision of the Deputy Attorney General of British Columbia to put land the Mowatts had lived on for twenty-five up for auction under the Escheat Act. The Court of Appeal agreed with the Mowatts that the Deputy’s decision was unreasonable in its disregard of the constraints imposed by the law of escheat and the factual context.
York Region District School Board v. Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, 2024 SCC 22: Fraser acted for the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, intervening, in this appeal in which the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the Charter’s application to Ontario school boards and clarified teachers’ privacy rights when searched by their employer.
Gibot v. British Columbia (Public Guardian and Trustee), 2023 BCSC 1597: Fraser acted, together with Brent Olthuis, in this class proceeding certification decision. The court struck part the plaintiffs’ claim.
In 2023, Fraser worked on a successful challenge to his client’s placement on the no-fly list under the Secure Air Travel Act. The listing was reversed and the client has resumed international air travel without incident.
Canada (Attorney General) v. Impex Solutions Inc., 2021 FCA 171: Fraser acted for the Attorney General of Canada in this successful appeal involving the statutory interpretation of the Customs Tariff, SC 1997, c 36.
Miller v. Canada, 2019 FCA 61: Fraser successfully defended an appeal that sought to overturn Canada’s successful motion for summary judgment dismissing the claim under the limitation period in the National Defence Act, RSC 1985, c N-5.
Fraser has experience working as both commission counsel and party counsel in both provincial and federal commissions of inquiry.
Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions (2024; ongoing): Fraser is junior counsel for the Hon. Michael Chong MP. Mr. Chong is the Member of Parliament for Wellington—Halton Hills and the Conservative Party of Canada’s foreign affairs critic. The inquiry, presided by the Hon. Marié-Josée Hogue, is charged with investigating allegations of foreign interference in Canadian politics, including the alleged targeting of Mr. Chong and his family by a consular official of the People’s Republic of China.
Ottawa Light Rail Transit Public Inquiry (2022): Fraser worked as commission counsel to the Honourable Justice William Hourigan. The Commission investigated the commercial and technical circumstances leading to breakdowns and derailments on Ottawa’s light rail transit system.
Fraser represents and advises clients on Aboriginal rights under s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and Indigenous rights under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Representative work
Reference re An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, 2024 SCC 5: Fraser acted for the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, the First Nations Summit of British Columbia and British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, intervening, in this appeal from a reference to the Quebec Court of Appeal on the constitutionality of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, SC 2019 c 24. The decision was the Supreme Court of Canada’s first major pronouncement on the significance of UNDRIP in Canadian law.
“Taking the ‘Aboriginal Perspective’ Seriously: The (Mis)Use of Indigenous Law in Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia” (2018) 16/17:1 Indigenous Law Journal 21.
“Introduction: Moving from the Why to the How of Indigenous Law” (2016) 61:4 McGill LJ 721.
Fraser acts in a variety of private law matters including negligence actions, breach of contract claims, and property disputes.