- Bio
- Awards & Recognition
- Professional Involvement
- Selected Speaking Engagements
- Selected Publications
- Insights
- Education
Laura thoroughly understands the environment in which her clients operate and offers advice that suits the broader context. Her experience working as a senior policy advisor in the Ontario provincial government contributes to her ability to identify and resolve issues. Laura is an effective mediator with a calm, articulate demeanour.
As a member of the firm's Municipal & Land Use Planning Group and Expropriation Law Group, Laura provides advice and representation to both private and public sector clients on land use planning matters, municipal governance and accountability regimes, and the development and implementation of a wide array of municipal by-laws and policies.
Before beginning her legal practice, Laura worked as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Housing Policy Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. In this capacity, Laura provided advanced policy analysis, research and business planning in support of strategic housing policy initiatives and legislation.
Laura also worked as a Policy Advisor with the Ontario government’s Climate Change Secretariat where she was responsible for monitoring and reporting on provincial greenhouse gas emissions targets, conducting research and providing advice on the green economy.
Laura joined Aird & Berlis as an associate in 2015, after summering and articling at the firm.
Awards & Recognition
- Recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada in the field of Municipal Law
- Named the “Ward Advocacy Volunteer of the Year” from Cycle Toronto
Professional Involvement
Membership
- Ontario Expropriation Association
Selected Speaking Engagements
"Innovative Adaptive Reuse in Heritage Planning: Municipal Incentives and Case Studies," ACTION: CIP & OPPI National Planning Conference, July 8-10, 2025.
"Now Therefore: Drafting Municipal Bylaws That Work for Your Community" and "Strong Mayor Powers – Centralizing Authority and Eroding Democracy," AMCTO Conference, June 8-11, 2025.
"Ontario Land Use Planning: Hot Topics for 2025," 2025 OACA Conference and AGM, May 11-14, 2025.
"Ontario Land Use Planning: Hot Topics for 2025," Aird & Berlis LLP Municipal Webinar, January 22, 2025.
"Ontario's Provincial Planning Statement, 2024," Canadian Association of Certified Planning Technicians 2024 Conference, November 18, 2024.
"Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 and Planning Law Update," Ontario Municipal Administrators' Association 2024 Fall Workshop, October 16-18, 2024.
"The Encroachment of Sensitive Uses Near Ontario's Major Fuel Terminals (Champagned Centre Ltd. v. Toronto (City))," The Eight-Minute Environmental Lawyer, September 16, 2024.
"Ask the Expert: Lawyer Edition," 2024 OACA Conference, June 2-5, 2024.
"Provincial Planning Statement," Smart Density Webinar, April 21, 2023.
"Modernizing Municipal Accountability: The Bill 68 Amendments," International Municipal Lawyers Association in Canada, May 18, 2017.
"Accountability and Transparency: Emerging Issues," AMCTO 2016 Municipal Clerks’ Forum: Effective Citizen Engagement in a Changing World, April 6, 2016.
"Releasing Councillors’ Personal Records – Has the IPC Opened Pandora’s Box?" Aird & Berlis LLP Municipal Webinar, March 2016.
Selected Publications
"Bill 17 and the Push to Build: How Ontario Plans to Speed Up Development," Aird & Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, May 16, 2025.
"Ontario Seeks Feedback on Pay-on-Demand Surety Bonds to Secure Land Use Planning Obligations," Aird & Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, September 27, 2024.
"It’s Here! Ontario Releases Provincial Planning Statement, 2024," Aird & Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, August 23, 2024.
"Bill 185, Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024 Receives Royal Assent," Aird & Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, June 7, 2024.
"Ontario Extends Deadline for Heritage Property Designation Under Ontario Heritage Act," Aird & Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, June 7, 2024.
"First Reading of Bill 185 and the Draft 2024 Provincial Planning Statement," Aird & Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, April 12, 2024.
"Ontario Releases a Revised Draft Provincial Planning Statement," Aird & Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, April 12, 2024.
"Ontario Introduces Bill 162: The Get It Done Act, 2024," Aird & Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, February 29, 2024.
"Ontario Introduces Legislation to Reverse Certain Provincial Planning Decisions," Aird & Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, November 20, 2023.
"Ontario Makes a Statement: An Overview of the Proposed Provincial Planning Statement, 2023," Aird & Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, April 14, 2023.
"Ontario Proposes Amendments to a Number of Statutes Affecting Municipalities and the Development Industry," Aird and Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, July 13, 2020.
“Modernizing Ontario’s Municipal Accountability Regime,” Co-Authored with John Mascarin, The Digest of Municipal & Planning Law, July 2017.
“Municipal Codes of Conduct, Integrity Commissioners and the Investigative Process,” Co-Authored with John Mascarin, The Digest of Municipal & Planning Law, November 2016.
"Councillor Records and Disclosure – Same Old Analysis, Different Result," Co-Authored with John Mascarin, The Digest of Municipal & Planning Law, June 2016.
"Ontario Releases Proposed Revisions to Four Land Use Plans Affecting the Greater Golden Horseshoe," Aird and Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, May 2016.
"IPC Orders the Release of Email Sent From City Councillor’s Personal Account," Co-Authored with John Mascarin and Jody Johnson, Aird and Berlis LLP Municipal & Planning Law Bulletin, February 2016.
"Bill 8 Or: How Municipalities Learned to Stop Worrying About Oversight and Love the Ombudsman," Co-Authored with John Mascarin, The Six-Minute Municipal Lawyer 2015, Law Society of Upper Canada, May 2015.
"Municipal Regulation of Renewable Energy Projects: Tilting at Windmills no More?," Co-Authored with Piper Morley, The Digest of Municipal & Planning Law, July 2013.
Insights
Education
- JD, University of Windsor, 2014
- M.Sc. (with distinction), Urbanization & Development, London School of Economics, 2008
- BA (Hons.), McGill University, 2007