Gavin’s family immigrated to Canada from Britain and the United States shortly before he was born on Coast Salish territories in Vancouver, BC. He resides on Cas Yikh territory of the Gidimt’en Clan, home of the Witsuwit’en Nation, in Smithers, BC.
Called to the bar in 2012, Gavin’s work has included: a successful legal challenge to Canada’s approval of the Enbridge Northern Gateway oil pipeline project; deep involvement in enactment of the federal Oil Tanker Moratorium Act prohibiting crude oil supertankers on the north coast of BC; advocacy and engagement in reforming BC’s Environmental Assessment Act; a successful legal challenge to the constitutionality of BC’s process for automatically granting mineral tenures; as well as an array of efforts supporting First Nations revitalizing and applying their own laws to environmental matters, from Indigenous-led assessment to Indigenous protected and conserved areas.
Gavin has practiced at multiple Aboriginal law firms and he was staff counsel for over a decade at West Coast Environmental Law. Currently on sabbatical from legal practice to run a small farming business, Gavin will be joining White Raven Law in 2026.
