Executive Summary
Heather practices primarily in the area of non-profit and charity law. She provides corporate and commercial services to her clients, and acts as general corporate counsel to charities and not-for-profits operating in Canada and internationally. Heather can assist with incorporation, continuance, charitable registration, dissolution, and general commercial services, and she regularly advises her clients on questions of governance, by-laws, regulatory compliance, and real estate matters.
Heather also maintains a general business practice, advising small and medium-sized businesses on both corporate and commercial matters, including corporate restructuring, contracts, transactional work, and commercial leasing.
Heather began her legal career as a law clerk at the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa, and subsequently taught law in The Gambia, West Africa before practicing for several years in a Toronto solicitor-side general practice.
Heather has been volunteering for more than 10 years within the charitable and not-for-profit community in Toronto, and currently sits on several volunteer boards.
Expertise
- Non-Profit and Charities
- Business and Corporate Commerical
Articles and Presentations
- “Case Law Update”, Canadian Bar Association Charity Law Symposium, May 2023
- “Key Governance Considerations for Ontario Corporations under the ONCA”, Law Society of Ontario, November 2022
- “Strategic Philanthropy During Covid-19”, GTA Accountants and Finance Network and Toronto Foundation, September 2022
- “ONCA Transition Provisions”, Ontario Bar Association, November 2021
- “How to manage dual loyalties on not-for-profit boards”, Canadian Society of Association Executives, Annual Conference, February 2020
- “Case Law and Public Guardian and Trustee Update”, Ontario Bar Association Institute, February 2019
- “Get Ready for the ONCA”, ONN Nonprofit Driven 2019, November 2019
- “Governance in the Not-for-Profit Sector”, Guest Lecture at Seneca College, September 2017
- “Effecting Fundamental Changes: Unification, Separation, and Dissolution of Charities and Not-for-Profit Corporations in Ontario”, Ontario Bar Association, April 2017
- “Teaming Up: Critical Considerations for Associate Agreements”, Ontario Chiropractic Association webinar, March 2017
- “Roles and Responsibilities of Directors and Officers”, NFP Board Development Workshop Series, May 2016
- “Corporate Record Keeping for Small Businesses”, Toronto Reference Library, Small Business Seminar Program, April 2016 and October 2016
- Federal or Provincial Incorporation?, OBA Charity and Not-for-Profit Law Section Newsletter, November 2015
- “Non-profit basics”, Career Skills Incubator, CSI Spadina, November 2015
- “Transitioning to the new Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act”, CSI Annex, May 2014
My Blog
- Ontario Business Registry: Moving Businesses Online - October 14, 2021
- SPECIAL RELEASE Re Proclamation of Not-For-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (Ontario) (the - August 19, 2021
- Preparing for the ONCA Thursday - November 12, 2020
Recognition
- Recognized nationwide in the 2023 edition of Chambers Canada — Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Charities/Non-profits
Professional Involvement
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The Law Society of Ontario
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Adjunct Professor, University of Windsor Faculty of Law, Charity and Not-for-profit Law intensive course, January 2022
- Chair, 2023-2024, Canadian Bar Association Charity and Not-For-Profit Law Section
- Chair, 2019-2020, Ontario Bar Association, Charity and Not-For-Profit Law Section