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About Charles

Charles practises all aspects of environmental law. He advises clients in the commercial, industrial, mining and waste-management sectors. Charles is based in both Montréal and Toronto and has extensive expertise in environmental aspects of corporate, commercial and property transactions, project development, regulatory compliance and liability issues. He advises businesses with regard to contaminated property, remediation and redevelopment, environmental permits, investigations and enforcement under environmental legislation, environmental assessments, waste management issues, environmental management systems, commercial agreements, environmental audits, regulatory and legislative compliance, officer/director/parent company liability, and defending environmental prosecutions.

Charles has advised several major mining companies in matters including mine acquisitions and divestitures, mine reclamation and closure issues, and mineral rights concerns. He has also been involved in negotiating agreements with First Nations.

Select Experience

Recent representative matters include advising:

  • Novacap Technologies III, L.P. on the amalgamation of iWeb Group Inc., under a merger agreement with 7807201 Canada Inc. and 7807210 Canada Inc., with two corporations controlled directly or indirectly by Novacap, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and an investment vehicle affiliated with Bank Street Capital Partners and certain of their affiliates

  • Goldcorp Inc. on a collaboration agreement signed with the Cree Nation of Wemindji, the Grand Council of the Crees and the Cree Regional Authority regarding the development and operation of Goldcorp's Éléonore gold project in northern Quebec

  • Novacap and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ in the amalgamation of certain of their affiliates with IPL Inc.

  • Barrick Gold Inc. on its acquisition of the Golden Giant Mine Properties at the Hemlo Camp in northern Ontario from Newmont Mining Corp.

Awards & Recognition

Charles has been recognized as a leading lawyer by the following publications:

  • The Best Lawyers in Canada 2025 (Environmental Law, Mining Law)

  • Lexpert Special Edition: Energy and Mining 2024

  • Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2024 (Environment – Band 2)

  • The 2024 Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada (Mining)

  • The Legal 500 Canada 2024 (Environment; Energy and Natural Resources: Mining)

  • Chambers Canada: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business 2024 (Energy & Natural Resources: Mining: Development and Operations; and Environment – Band 2)

  • The Best Lawyers in Canada 2024 (Environmental Law, Mining Law)

  • Best Lawyers: "Lawyer of the Year" 2024 (Environmental Law, Montréal)

  • Lexpert Special Edition: Mining 2023

  • Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2023 (Environment – Band 2)

  • The Legal 500 Canada 2023 (Environment, Mining)

  • Chambers Canada: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business 2023 (Environment)

  • The Best Lawyers in Canada 2023 (Environmental Law, Mining Law)

  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory – 2022–2023 (Environmental, Aboriginal, Mining)

  • Who's Who Legal: Global (2022–2023: Mining; 2022: Environment; 2021: Environment – Climate Change)

  • The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada 2022 (Mining)

  • Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2022 (Environment)

  • Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2022 (Global 2022 Environment – Canada – Band 2)

  • Who's Who Legal: Canada – 2021–2022 (Climate Change, Environment, Mining)

  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2021 (Environmental Law)

  • Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2021 (Environment – Canada, Band 2)

  • Who’s Who Legal 2020 (Environment – Climate Change, Environment, Mining)

  • Who’s Who Legal: Canada 2020 (Climate Change, Environment, Mining, M&A)

  • Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2020 (Environment – Nationwide – Canada, Band 2)

  • The Legal 500 Canada 2019 (Environment, Energy – Mining)

  • Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2019 (Environment)

  • Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Global Elite 2019 (Environment)

  • Who’s Who Legal: Mining 2019

  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2019 (Environmental, Mining)

  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2018 (Environmental, Mining)

  • Chambers Canada 2018 (Environment – Band 2)

  • The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018 (Environmental Law, Mining Law); also named Best Lawyers' Montréal Environmental Law "Lawyer of the Year"

  • The Legal 500 Canada 2018 (Environment)

  • The 2017 Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada (Mining)

  • Who's Who Legal: M&A and Governance 2017

  • Who's Who Legal: Mining 2017

  • Chambers Canada 2017: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business (Environment – Band 2)

  • Chambers Global 2017: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business (Environment – Band 2)

  • The Legal 500 Canada 2016 (Environment, Mining)

  • Who's Who Legal: Canada 2016 (Mining, Environment)

  • Who's Who Legal: Environment 2016

  • The 2016 Lexpert Special Edition on Leading Corporate Lawyers (featured in Report on Business Magazine)

Professional Activities

Charles has been a frequent speaker and has participated in the preparation of several continuing legal education programs in the area of environmental law, particularly regarding contaminated lands.

He is past chair of the Canadian Bar Association National Environment, Energy and Resource Law Section, past chair of the Environment Section of the Canadian Bar Association, Quebec Branch, as well as a past member of the Quebec Bar Standing Committee on Environmental Law.

Publications
Education

Admitted to the Ontario Bar – 2002
Admitted to the Quebec Bar – 1990
LLB, Dalhousie University – 1989
LLL (Magna Cum Laude), University of Ottawa – 1988

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