Overview
Christie is a member of Miller Thomson’s Advocacy Group, where she regularly advises Indigenous communities and companies on environmental, Indigenous, administrative, and regulatory law matters, as well as ESG issues. She has appeared before the BC Court of Appeal, the BC Supreme Court, the BC Provincial Court, the Territorial Court of Yukon, and the Nunavut Court of Justice.
Christie joined Miller Thomson as a student in 2019 and concluded her articles in 2020. She completed the joint JD/Masters in Environmental Studies program at Osgoode Hall Law School and York University, with the latter focusing on Canadian climate accountability. During her education, Christie also worked with Human Rights Watch in New York City and Toronto to research the impact of climate change on food security in Indigenous communities in Canada, and with West Coast Environmental Law as a summer student and legal researcher.
Christie appeared before the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development as a witness regarding Bill C-12 (The Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act). In this role, Christie authored and submitted a brief which nearly 200 youth and youth-led organizations signed onto, as well as co-authored a brief submitted by Lawyers for Climate Justice.
In 2022, Christie traveled to Greenland to take part in the UNLEASH Regional Innovation Lab, where she worked alongside other young professionals from the global Arctic and Nordic region to develop innovative climate solutions.
Prior to law school, Christie served as the Executive Director of a non-profit organization devoted to children’s education and healthcare in East Africa. She concurrently founded Human Rights Hub Winnipeg, an initiative that raises awareness about local human rights issues and promotes events and opportunities in Winnipeg’s vibrant human rights sector. Christie continued to manage and grow this initiative through law school, and remains a Director of the organization today.
Christie regularly writes and speaks about human rights and environmental issues, including the climate crisis, and undertakes climate advocacy efforts in her spare time. She also serves as a Director of Lawyers for Climate Justice and a Policy Advisor for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.
Professional achievements & leadership
- Environmental Law Institute, Emerging Leaders Initiative, 2022
- Corporate Knights: Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leader, 2019
- Osgoode Hall Law School Upper Year Award of Excellence, 2018
- Gowling WLG Award in Climate Change Law, 2018
- Victor Internship Award in Environmental Law, 2017 & 2018
- The University Women’s Club of North York – Lee Robertson Memorial Award, 2017
- Centennial Entrance Scholarship for the Prairie Provinces, 2016
- CBC Manitoba: Future40 Award, 2016
- Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, and the Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties: Sybil Shacks Human Rights Youth Award, 2015
- The Winnipeg Foundation: Emerging Leaders' Fellowship, 2015
Notable matters
- Successfully argued in the Territorial Court of Yukon that a warrantless search of a commercial property carried out by the Crown violated rights under section 8 of the Charter, and that evidence obtained during the search was to be excluded from future proceedings pursuant to section 24(2) of the Charter.
- Successfully challenged the Inspector of Mines’ permit amendment to increase production in the McAbee Quarry on the basis that the amendment was unreasonable and failed to adequately discharge the honour of the Crown regarding the consultation process with the Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc Nation (Ignace v. British Columbia (Chief Inspector of Mines), 2021 BCSC 1989).
Thought leadership
- "The Human Rights-Based Approach to Carbon Finance by Damilola S. Olawuyi." Osgoode Hall Law Journal 58.3 (2021) : 759-773.
- "Does Climate Change Increase the Risk of Child Marriage? A Look at What We Know— and What We Don’t—With lessons from Bangladesh and Mozambique", Columbia Journal of Gender & Law, Dec. 2019 (co-authored)
- "Environmental Law 2023: Definitive global law guides offering comparative analysis from top-ranked lawyers ", Chambers Global Practice Guide, January 2024
- "Canada: Trends & Developments", Chambers Global Practice Guides – Environmental Law 2022 (co-authored)
- "Fighting for Change Within (and Outside) the Law", CBABC BarTalk, Dec. 2022
- "Canada: Trends & Developments", Chambers Global Practice Guides - Environmental Law 2021 (co-authored)
- "Canada's new climate target still jeopardizes our future", National Observer, May 2021 (co-authored)
- "Canada can't afford to put the climate crisis on the back burner", National Observer, May 2020
- "Canada is seen as a global human rights beacon-but not so much, at home", Maclean's, June 2017
- "Opting for litigation over reconciliation", Winnipeg Free Press, Apr. 2017
- "Calling all feminists", Winnipeg Free Press, Mar. 2016
- "State of Emergency? Or State of Indifference?", Winnipeg Free Press, Nov. 2015
- "Canada Falling Behind on Gender Equality", Winnipeg Free Press, Apr. 2015
- “The right to a healthy environment recognized in federal Canadian law”, MT BiosphereTM, Jun. 2023
- "Mathur et al: Youth climate litigation against Ontario government found to be justiciable but dismissed for failing to establish charter violations", MT Biosphere TM, Apr. 2023 (co-authored)
- "Greenwashing in Canada: Enforcement and trends for 2023", MT Biosphere TM, Jan. 2023 (co-authored)
- "The Right to a Healthy Environment Gains Global (and some Canadian) Traction", EnviroNotes!, Jul. 2022
- "Book Review: Corporate Citizen: New Perspectives on the Globalized Rule of Law edited by Oonagh E. Fitzgerald", The London School of Economics and Political Science, Apr. 2021
- "SCC Upholds Validity of Federal Government's Carbon Pricing System", EnviroNotes!, Mar. 2021
- "New triggers requiring site disclosure statements: BC rolls out a new contaminated sites regime", EnviroNotes!, Mar. 2021
- "Cambie Surgeries Corporation v. British Columbia (Attorney General): Case comment", Health Communiqué, Dec. 2020
- "Appeal launched against Federal Court's dismissal of youth climate change lawsuit", EnviroNotes!, Nov. 2020
- "How Are Vulnerable Populations Impacted by Carbon Pricing Schemes in Canada?", Osgoode Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinic Blog, Apr. 2018
- "Welcome to Winnipeg: The Human Rights Capital of Canada", Human Rights Hub Winnipeg, Jan. 2018
- "Greenwashing Litigation and Trends", Miller Thomson panel, 2023
- "ESG and the Mining Industry", Miller Thomson panel, 2023
- "Learning from Parallels and Precedents: Lessons for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty", Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Symposium, Sept. 2022 (London)
- "International Efforts to Address the Global Climate Crisis", BC CLE Climate Law Conference, 2022
- "International Climate Litigation & its Applicability to Canada", Osgoode Hall Law School - Climate Litigation Panel, 2021
- "Climate Litigation Trends", National Environmental Law Group 2021 Cross Country Seminar, 2021
- "Climate Legislative and Policy Updates", Environmental Litigation and Project Development, Miller Thomson seminar, 2021
- "An Overview of Bill-C12", Divest Canada Coalition, 2021
- "Advocating for Climate Change", Humans, On Rights (podcast), 2021
- "The Weaknesses of Regulating Highly Hazardous Pesticides in International Law", Guest Lecturer, Osgoode Hall Law School - International Environmental Law class, 2020; 2019
- "Climate Change & Child Marriage", Columbia Law School Climate Justice Symposium, 2018
Community involvement
- ESG Advisory Committee Member, Mondetta Clothing, Present
- Board Member, Human Rights Hub Winnipeg, Present
- Board Member, Lawyers for Climate Justice, Present
- Legal Working Group Member, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, Present
- Delegate, Leading Change Canada, 2018 & 2020
- Editor, Osgoode Hall Law Journal, 2016-2018
- Volunteer, Justice Corporate Accountability Project, 2017
- Commissioning Clinic, Parkdale Community Legal Services, 2017
- Board Member, Institute for International Women’s Rights-Manitoba, 2016-2017
- Resolutions Committee, Provincial Council of Women of Manitoba, 2015-2017
- National Council of Women of Canada Delegate, UN Commission on the Status of Women, 2015
- Founding Member, Friends of Shoal Lake 40, 2015
Professional memberships
- Canadian Bar Association
- Law Society of British Columbia
- Law Society of the Yukon
- IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law Climate Change Law Specialization Group
- Global Network for Human Rights and the Environment
Bar admissions & education
- Yukon, 2022
- British Columbia, 2021
- Osgoode Certificate in ESG, Climate Risk and the Law, 2022
- JD/Masters of Environmental Studies, Osgoode Hall Law School/York University, 2020
- BA (Human Rights & Global Studies; International Development Studies), University of Winnipeg, 2014