Dufferin (Duff) Harper practises in the areas of environmental law, commercial litigation and regulatory law. He is the head of the Blakes Environmental Group in Calgary and has been recognized as a leading environmental law practitioner in The Best Lawyers in Canada annually since 2007 and as a leading business lawyer in the area of environmental law in Law Business Research's Who's Who Legal: Canada 2010.

Duff routinely acts for clients on environmental due diligence and liability issues, especially as they pertain to brownfield redevelopment. He has acted as lead counsel in several contaminated sites litigation cases, both on behalf of contaminated property owners and parties who were allegedly responsible for the contamination. He has appeared before numerous levels of courts and assessment tribunals, including tribunals constituted pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA).

Duff holds a bachelor of science degree and a master of science degree from Dalhousie University. His master's thesis was in the area of environmental toxicology. He graduated with distinction from the University of New Brunswick Law School in 1991. He is a member of both The Law Society of Alberta and the Nova Scotia Barrister's Society.

Duff is a past chair of the National Environmental Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association. From 1999 to 2006, he taught a course on business and environmental law at Dalhousie Law School.

In addition to his environmental, litigation and regulatory expertise, Duff has also been involved with numerous insolvencies, bankruptcies and creditor realizations. His experience has including being involved in the appointment of, and acting on behalf of, both privately appointed and court-appointed receivers, as well as trustees in bankruptcy and monitors appointed pursuant to the CCAA.

Selected Experience

• Environmental aspects of commercial transactions
• Contaminated sites and brownfield remediation
• Environmental due diligence
• Regulatory permits and approvals associated with major projects
• Counsel for area residents at the Canadian Environmental Assessment Panel Review of Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Oven Sites in Nova Scotia
• Counsel for a large land developer challenging a decision by the provincial Minister of Environment and the use of ministerial discretion
• Counsel for an international mining company in an environmental audit of mining reclamation operations
• Counsel for a Canadian chartered bank on a multimillion-dollar financing of waste energy power generation facilities
• Counsel in numerous commercial disputes, including counsel for a natural gas company in a multimillion-dollar contractual dispute involving more than 40 days of trial
• Adviser to the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development) on its 2009 audit of the extent to which federal government entities complied with the provisions of CEAA