Brent Olthuis' practice spans a wide range of litigation matters, with a primary focus in the areas of administrative, commercial, class action defence, and constitutional law. In addition, Brent has an ongoing criminal appellate practice.

Brent has appeared as counsel before all levels of court in British Columbia and Ontario, the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada, on behalf of a wide variety of clients. As part of a broader experience in the area of regulated professions, Brent has also represented licensees before the Real Estate Council on disciplinary matters, and has developed a particular familiarity with the Real Estate Services Act, the Mortgage Brokers Act, the Financial Institutions Act, the Legal Profession Act, and the Notaries Act.

Prior to his call to the bar, Brent finished first in his LL.B. class at McGill and clerked for both the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada. Following two years of practice at a national firm in Ottawa, he obtained an LL.M. in Victoria, where he was the recipient of numerous awards, including a SSHRC scholarship.

Brent has published articles in the fields of aboriginal law and criminal practice and has contributed a chapter on professional conduct to a leading text concerning the practice of law in Canada. He has received multiple honours for his commitment to pro bono legal services, and is a member of the Canadian Bar Association and l'Association des juristes d'expression française de la Colombie-Britannique.

Education
B. Comm., University of British Columbia, 1995
LL.B., McGill University, 2000
LL.M., University of Victoria, 2006

Clerkships
Ontario Court of Appeal, 2000-2001
Supreme Court of Canada, 2001-2002

Bar Admissions
Ontario, 2001
British Columbia, 2005

Representative Cases

Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v. Alberta Teachers' Association (Supreme Court of Canada, 2011)
client: B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
issue:  review of commissioner's alleged failure to comply with statutory time limits

Reference re Section 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada (British Columbia Supreme Court, 2011)
client: Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children and David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights
issue:  constitutionality of the provision criminalizing polygamy

Attorney General of Canada v. Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited et al (Supreme Court of Canada, 2011) (with John Hunter, Q.C.)
client: Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited
issue:  validity of third party claim in tort against Federal Government

Fuller v. Harper (British Columbia Court of Appeal, 2010)
client: Geramy Harper
issue: application of the presumption of resulting trust to a transfer of real property

Arkinstall v. City of Surrey (British Columbia Court of Appeal, 2010)
client: BC Civil Liberties Association
issue: constitutionality of statute permitting warrantless entry into the home

R. v. Cunningham (Supreme Court of Canada, 2010) (with John Hunter, Q.C.)
client: Law Society of Yukon
issue: courts’ oversight of a lawyer’s withdrawal from representation

Jamieson v. Loureiro (British Columbia Court of Appeal, 2010)
client: Cathleen Jamieson
issue: whether a divorced husband can set off an award of costs against child support arrears

Law Society of British Columbia v. Targosz (Bonnar) (British Columbia Supreme Court, 2010)
client: Law Society of British Columbia and Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia
issue: issuance of injunction to restrain unauthorized practice of law

British Columbia (Ministry of Labour and Citizens’ Services) v. British Columbia (Information and Privacy Commissioner) (British Columbia Supreme Court, 2009)
client: BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
issue: application of statutory response time limit to a third party review

Bryjen Holdings Co. Ltd. v. Pug Investments Ltd. (British Columbia Supreme Court, 2008)
client: Pug Investments Ltd.
issue: whether parties had formed a valid “agreement for sale” contract in respect of commercial real estate

Law Society of British Columbia v. Yehia (British Columbia Supreme Court, 2008)
client: Law Society of British Columbia
issue: contempt of court application

Gardiner v. 357 Beatty Street Project (British Columbia Court of Appeal, 2008)
client: Robert Gardiner
issue: application of Residential Tenancy Act to artist’s live-work studio

Publications

"Life, Liberty and Security of the Person as Generalized Human Rights: A Section 7 Redux", prepared for and presented at the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC's Human Rights Conference, Vancouver, BC, November 25, 2011

"Criminal Investigators in Municipal Functionaries' Clothing?: the Safety Standards Act and Controlled Substances Bylaws", prepared for and presented at the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia's Contemporary Criminal Law Conference, Vancouver, BC, September 23, 2011

"The Constitution's Peoples: Approaching Community in the Context of Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982" (2009) 54 McGill Law Journal 1

"Professional Conduct", in Barristers & Solicitors in Practice (Markham: LexisNexis Canada, 2009)

"Civil Procedure -- Court Rules" in Continuing Legal Education's Annual Review of Law & Practice (2008), with Mark Oulton, Stephanie McHugh, and Shannon Ramsay

"Disclosure of Electronic Information: R. v. Cassidy" Note (2004) 49 Criminal Law Quarterly 287

"Defrosting Delgamuukw" (2001) 12 National Journal of Constitutional Law 385