Background

Stephen Waqué is a senior partner who was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1979, having graduated from the University of Toronto Law School in 1977.

Stephen is a former member of the Toronto Regional Management Committee, a founding member of National Council and National Focus Group leader in Expropriation.

Areas of Practice

• Real estate development and litigation, including expropriation, environmental, professional liability, planning and municipal law.

Rankings and Recognitions

• Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012 (Real Estate Law)
• Martindale-Hubbell BV® Distinguished™ 4.4 out of 5 Rating
• Recognized in the 2011 Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Property Development)

Professional Experience

• Regularly acts as legal counsel to Regional Governments, and cities including Toronto, York, Halton, Windsor and London and more than 20 other municipalities to resolve major real estate development issues.
• Counsel to major developers on key development sites including Yonge and Sheppard in North York, the former GE Canada lands in West Toronto and greenfield subdivisions in the 905.
• Experienced as lead counsel providing strategic advice and representation on planning, environmental and expropriation issues on significant public projects including the Sheppard Subway, Windsor Casino and Richmond Landing assemblies, the Toronto Yonge-Dundas Square development, Ataratiri, Toyota- Woodstock and the Waterfront Toronto assemblies, transit related development projects for the Yonge and Vaughan Subways and Right of Way projects for The Region of Halton, York, Peel, City of Brampton and others.
• Prosecutes and defends substantive claims dealing with lease arbitration, expropriation, environmental and professional liability fields, and has acted as lead counsel in the successful prosecution of the largest expropriation claim brought in Ontario, and in the defence of the largest environmental case occurring in this province.
• Retained as appeal counsel and consulted by other solicitors in Ontario, elsewhere in Canada, and in the United States, for expert advice on real estate, expropriation, environmental, and other matters.
• Recognized achievement in alternative dispute resolution. Appointed as an independent arbitrator to determine real estate values and rental rates by both government and the private sector.
• Practical experience balanced by having delivered at seminars or published over 70 legal papers on issues related to real estate litigation and development, value determination, legal responsibilities of real estate professionals and insuring real estate related risks.
• Expertise recognized as Chairman of, or Speaker at, Seminars held by Canadian Bar Association, the American Bar Association, Appraisal Institute of Canada, International Right-of-Way Association, Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, Canadian Institute of Business Valuators, Ontario Association of Real Estate Administrators, Ontario Land Economists, the Alberta and Ontario Expropriation Associations, The Law Society of Upper Canada, and other organizations.
• Focused on finding cost-effective, creative solutions before trial, but has acted successfully as counsel in a variety of trial situations where credibility of expert and non-expert witnesses was in issue. List of reported decisions from 30 years of professional practice available on request.
• Author of text New Law of Expropriation - updated on a regular basis. This text, dealing comprehensively with government acquisitions of real estate and business interests, has been quoted from and approved by courts and tribunals since its publication. Also published by Insurance Law Journal, Canadian Underwriters Magazine and The Appraisal Institute Magazine, among others.

Professional and Community Activities

• Founding director and past president of the Ontario Expropriation Association
• Canadian Bar Association and Advocates Society
• Chair of Board of Rosalie Hall, a charitable service organization
• Lectured for and participated in professional activities of the Appraisal Institute of Canada, the International Right-of-Way Association, Canadian Institute of Business Valuators, the Ontario Association of Real Estate Administrators, the Ontario Land Economists, and other professional organizations
• Honorary Member AACI