Arvay Finlay LLP is pleased to announce that Andrew Petter, CM, QC, has joined the firm as Associate Counsel. Andrew is a longtime friend of the firm, and his expertise in constitutional law and other areas of public law and policy is a great fit for Arvay Finlay’s long history as a leading public law boutique.
Andrew is former Attorney General for the Province of British Columbia and holds law degrees from the University of Victoria, where he received the Law Society Gold Medal, and from the University of Cambridge, where he achieved first class honours.
He is a national authority in constitutional law and other areas of public law and policy, having practiced with the Saskatchewan Department of Justice and taught at Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Victoria Faculty of Law, where he served as dean from 2001 to 2008.
From 2010 to 2020, Andrew served as president of Simon Fraser University where he remains a professor in its School of Public Policy. From 1991 to 2001, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia and held numerous cabinet portfolios, including Aboriginal Affairs, Advanced Education, Intergovernmental Relations and Attorney General.
Andrew has been recipient of many awards and honours, including Public Policy Forum’s Peter Lougheed Award for exceptional contributions to public policy and Honorary Citizenship from the City of Victoria for his work in preserving heritage structures, expanding parks and developing the Galloping Goose and Lochside trail systems in the Capital Region.
In 2018, he was appointed to the Order of Canada in recognition of his record of public service and leadership in advancing university-community engagement and higher education throughout the country.