Evan Barz

Evan Barz

Associate, Disputes

Toronto

(416) 862-4209 

[email protected]

Bar Admission: Ontario, 2017

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Areas of Expertise

Evan is a member of Osler’s Municipal, Land Use Planning and Development group, Regulatory, Indigenous and Environmental group, and Disputes Department.

Evan’s land use planning and development practice involves seeking or opposing development approvals for a broad range of clients, including private businesses, landowners, property managers, and municipalities. He advises on a broad range of planning and heritage matters, and regularly appears before the Ontario Land Tribunal on appeals related to official plan and zoning by-law amendments, plans of subdivision, site plan applications and minor variances. He also advises landowners and authorities on expropriations under both provincial and federal statutes.

Evan’s regulatory practice involves advising businesses regarding matters related to the environment and environmental laws, including waste diversion, environmental permitting, transportation of dangerous goods, renewable energy projects, contaminated site remediation, toxic substances regulations and general environmental regulatory compliance. He also assists clients through the environmental aspects of commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, land transactions, and debt and equity offerings.

Evan also maintains a commercial litigation and dispute resolution practice with a particular emphasis on environmental and land litigation. He has considerable experience conducting environmental litigation, including civil actions, administrative tribunal proceedings, and defence of prosecutions.

Evan is recognized for his expertise in Environmental Law by Chambers Canada.

Areas of Expertise

Representative Work

    • Acting for developers across Ontario in obtaining Planning Act approvals and negotiating development agreements, including Tribute Communities, Kaitlin Corporation, and Primont Homes
    • Representing multiple landowner groups and individual developers across the Golden Horseshoe on all aspects of approvals
    • Counsel to Colacem Canada Inc. in successful appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal securing approval of a state-of-the-art cement manufacturing facility in eastern Ontario
    • Acting for various municipalities, including the City of Toronto, City of Burlington, and Town of Caledon in appeals before the Ontario Land Tribunal
    • Advising a world leading construction company in disputes resulting from several projects related to a significant Ontario transit project
    • Representing an Ontario construction company engaged on public infrastructure projects in its insolvency proceedings under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act
    • Representing a full service Ontario construction company in disputes involving construction liens and trusts
    • An American products distributor regarding cross-border general environmental regulatory compliance
    • Wholesale and retail supplier of agricultural products in its successful defence of a prosecution under provincial pesticides legislation
    • A land developer in a complaint to the Ontario Energy Board regarding a breach of an electricity distributor’s distribution obligations
    • A Canadian corporation in its defence of regulatory or quasi-criminal charges
    View all Representative Work

    Awards and Recognition

    • Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business: Recognized in Environmental Law

    Community Involvement

    • Law Help Ontario, Duty Counsel Volunteer

    Credentials

    Education

    • University of Ottawa, J.D. (Honours)
    • Queen’s University, B.Ed. (Honours)
    • University of Ottawa, B.A. (Honours)

    Languages

    • English

    Professional Affiliations

    • Law Society of Upper Canada
    • Ontario Bar Association
    • Canadian Bar Association 

    Osler is a leading business law firm practising internationally from offices across Canada and in New York. Our clients include industry and business leaders in all segments of the market and at various stages in the growth of their businesses. We have built our reputation on our commitment to our clients' success and the experience, expertise and collaborative approach for which we are recognized. We believe that our success is a reflection of our clients' success.