John Stefaniuk, K.C.

Lawyer

he/him

John Stefaniuk, K.C., engages in a broad practice with emphasis on environmental law, real estate and development law, natural resources and energy, commercial law and municipal law.

John Stefaniuk, K.C.

Profile

John Stefaniuk, K.C., is a partner at TDS who engages in a broad practice with emphasis on environmental law, real estate and development law, natural resources and energy, commercial law and municipal law matters. He has particular experience in relation to contaminated sites, mining and mine rehabilitation, wind power development, natural resource development, environmental approvals and licensing, commercial real estate, leasing, financing and development, municipal approvals, taxation and assessment and business acquisitions. He appears regularly before government licensing bodies and administrative tribunals including the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission and Municipal Board, municipal councils, provincial legislative committees and in all levels of court in Manitoba and in the Federal Court in connection with environmental, resource, regulatory municipal, and property issues.

John has been repeatedly named to the Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the 500 Leading Lawyers in Canada. He is also listed in the Canadian Legal LEXPERT Directory under Environmental Law and Property Development and is listed in the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, under Environment, Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Environmental Lawyers and the National Post-Best Lawyers in Canada directory, among other listings. He was among the “most highly regarded individuals” under Environmental Law in the “Who’s Who Legal: Canada 2017 Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers”. He is a roster member of the Canadian Centre for Environmental Arbitration and Mediation.


Additional Information

University of Manitoba, B. Comm. (Hons.) 1984, LL.B. 1987

Manitoba, 1988

Recognized as a Lexpert-ranked leading lawyer in the Lexpert Special Edition: Energy and Mining 2024

Appointed King’s Counsel (K.C.) by the Manitoba Government, 2023

John is a member of the national Board Of Directors of the Canadian Bar Association.

John is a Life Council Member of the Manitoba Bar Association.

Recognized nationally in the 2024 Chambers Canada Guide under Environmental Law.

Recognized globally in the 2023 Chambers Global Guide under Environmental Law.

Listed in the Chambers Global 2020 and 2 and Chambers Canada 2020 guide under the specialty of Environmental Law

Recognized as a Lexpert-ranked leading infrastructure lawyer in the Lexpert Special Edition: Infrastructure 2022

Recognized in Lexpert Magazine’s “Leading Lawyers in Global Mining” special edition

Recognized in Lexpert Magazine’s “Canada’s Leading Energy Lawyers” special edition

Repeatedly recognized by Lexpert as a Leading Lawyer in Environmental Law, Mining and Property Development

Recognized by Who’s Who Legal as a Global Leader in the area of Environmental Law in 2023

Recognized by Who’s Who Legal as a National Leader in Canada in the area of Environmental Law in 2017, 2019 and 2022

John was selected as one of only three Canadian lawyers for inclusion in Who’s Who Legal’s 2020 edition of WWL: Thought Leaders – Global Elite under the Environmental Law chapter 

John is repeatedly selected by his peers to be included in the 2006 – 2024 Editions of The Best Lawyers in Canada in the specialties of Environmental Law and Natural Resources Law

John is on the Judicial Issues Subcommittee of the Canadian Bar Association.

John is Board Chair of the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and Honorary Counsel to the Family Centre of Winnipeg.

John was President of the Manitoba Bar Association in 2005-2006 and served on the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Board of Directors the following year. John was Organizing Committee Chair for the successful 2004 Canadian Legal Conference and Expo in Winnipeg. He serves on the CBA Supreme Court of Canada Liaison Committee.

John is a past Chair CBA National Environmental Energy and Resources Law Section (NEERLS) Executive. He was co-editor of the NEERLS national newsletter, Ecobulletin, and has co-chaired three of NEERLS’ national CLEs. He chairs the NEERLS Legislation and Law Reform Committee. He is a past Chair of the MBA’s Environmental Law Section and its Municipal Law Section.

John is Chair of the Manitoba Criminal Code Review Board that deals with dispositions of accused who are found not criminally responsible. He served on the Province of Manitoba’s Planning Act Review Task Force, a task group to study the use of administrative monetary penalties for regulatory offences and on an advisory group dealing with The Contaminated Sites Remediation Act.

John Stefaniuk has been appointed a member of the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Foundation for Legal Research, effective February 21, 2020. The Foundation supports research that enhances the practice of law in Canada by exploring emerging trends and issues. The research it funds provides lawyers, judges and legal professionals’ evidence generated by Canada’s thought leaders in the profession. Each year, the Foundation provides funding for research grants and honours excellence through its prestigious Walter Owen Book Prize.

John Stefaniuk attended the Canadian Bar Association’s annual general meeting in Ottawa on February 19, 2020. John is currently in his third year of chairing the CBA’s Judicial Issues Subcommittee. Reporting to the Policy Committee, the Subcommittee addresses policy issues relating to judicial appointments, compensation, discipline and independence.

John has been appointed to the Board of Regents of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys (ACMA) in September 2024. ACMA is an academic college comprised of more than 500 attorneys that specialize in mortgage law and real estate finance transactions across all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Mexico and Canada.

John is a founding organizer of the annual Environmental Law Forum. He is a frequent presenter at Law Society of Manitoba continuing legal education programs and is an occasional lecturer in Environmental Law and Municipal and Planning Law.

John is a frequent presenter on topical legal issues. He has given presentations for the CBA, the Law Society of Manitoba, the Canadian Waste Management Association, the Manitoba Environmental Industries Association, the Canadian Geotechnical Society, Enviro-Test Laboratories, the Toronto-Dominion Bank and others.

Co-chair, and “Hot Topics” moderator, 11th annual Environmental Law Forum, 2015

Co-Chair, Law Society of Manitoba Pitblado Lectures, Law in a Greener World, November 2008

Love Me Tenderer: Municipalities, Tendering and the Law, Municipal Leader Magazine, Fall 2008

Chair and presenter, Property Development, Lorman Education, 2008

Municipalities and the Constitution, Municipal Leader Magazine, Spring 2008

Caution with Precaution, Municipal Leader Magazine, Fall 2007

Chair and presenter, EPIC Professional Education Environmental Law and Regulation course, 200

The New Planning Act, presenter, 2006 Manitoba Planning Conference

Panellist, Appearing as an Expert Witness, 2006 Aquatic Toxicity Workshop, Jasper, Alberta

Moderator, Corporate Social Responsibility Panel, NEERLS annual continuing legal education, Vancouver, 2005

Civil Injunction Powers Tried Under Environmental Statute, The Lawyers Weekly, April 30 2004

The Use Of Injunctions As An Enforcement Tool: A Case Study Under Section 311 Of The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, annual CBA Environmental/Natural Resources Law education program, Halifax, March 2004

Development Agreements: Overview and Selected Legal Issues, annual Province of Manitoba Planning Conference, March 2004

Regulatory Liability and Due Diligence, Manitoba Heavy Construc­tion Association, December, 2003

Liability for Municipal Facilities, with Lynda Troup, Municipal Leader magazine, September 2003

Overview Of Drinking Water Quality Regulation In The Prairie Provinces, CBA National Symposium on Water Law, Vancouver, March, 2003

Legal Issues in Intensive Livestock Operations, Manitoba Bar Asso­ciation Midwinter Meeting, January 30, 2003

Municipalities and The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, presented with Antoine Hacault, annual convention of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, November 2003

Chair of the Law Society of Manitoba Continuing Legal Education Program, Recent Developments in Environmental Law and Practice, September 2002

Confidentiality and the Provision of Information to Environmental Regulatory Authorities, Law Society of Manitoba Continuing Legal Education, September, 2002

Recipient of a grant from the Legal Research Foundation in recog­nition of the paper Environmental Law Basics For Lawyers: Selected Topics (International Agreements, Private Prosecutions And Topical Cases) August 2002

Moderator and Presenter at the Canadian Bar Association Annual General Meeting, London, Ontario program Environmental Law Primer for Lawyers, presenting the paper titled Environmental Law Basics For Lawyers: Selected Topics (International Agreements, Private Prosecutions And Topical Cases), August 2002

The Green Greenfields of Home: Contaminated Sites Legislation in the Prairie Provinces – An Overview, Canadian Bar Association National Environmental Law Section Annual Continuing Legal Education Program, Toronto, April 2002

A Halloween Treat: Federal Legislation and Other Scary Stuff Annual Technical Meeting of the Canadian Prairie and Northern Section of the Air and Waste Management Association, October 31, 2001

Going Fishing In Turbid Waters: How The Fisheries Act Can Catch You, the Canadian national Aquatic Toxicity Workshop, October 2001

Co-editor, Canadian Bar Association National Environmental Law Section national newsletter, EcoBulletin, 1999-2001

CBA Annual Meeting, Saskatoon, Random Musings on Intensive Livestock Operations, August 2001

Environmental Liability of Officers and Directors and exercising Due Diligence, Asper School of Business MBA program, March, 2001

Contaminated Site, Eh? (or LUST Canadian Style) American Bar Association International Environmental Law Committee Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 4., July, 2000

John Stefaniuk will be presenting at the Canadian Bar Association’s Environmental, Energy & Resources Law Summit in Toronto, May 21 – 22, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. John will be speaking on contractual indemnity agreements and the impacts of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Resolute FP Canada Inc. v. Ontario.

  • Manitoba