Speaker Biography: Pixie Hobby

Pixie Hobby.

I was born in Ottawa, Ontario and grew up in the Gatineau Hills just outside of the city. Most of my childhood was spent outdoors in the natural environment of the Gatineau Park, cross-country skiing and skating in the winter and swimming, hiking and canoeing in the summer, fall and spring.

As a young adult, my love of and concern for the natural environment led me to become an environmental and social justice activist while attending university. After graduating, I attended law school with the goal of practicing environmental law.

I joined the federal Department of Justice where I gained several years of courtroom experience before representing Environment Canada. There, I worked on climate change issues, management of toxic substances, and the development of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

Recruited to work on environmental issues on reserve lands, I soon became involved in a number of Aboriginal self-government initiatives, including the development of the First Nations Land Management Act and the Inherent Right to Self Government policy. It was this challenge that brought me to Vancouver in 1995.

Since then, my career has been focused in the area of environmental assessments of major development projects, including DeltaPort Container Terminal Berth 3, Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project, New Prosperity Gold and Copper Mine and the Site C Clean Energy Project.

When I am not working on environmental or social justice matters, you can find me practicing yoga or playing the violin with other musicians.

I get a kick out of experimenting with raw food recipes, and I enjoy kayaking in Boundary Bay, working in my organic veggie garden, and singing with the Soul of the World Choir. I love sailing with my son, hiking in the forests of the Semiahmoo Peninsula or strolling along the beach, and sharing Reiki healing with friends and neighbours.

In 1997 I authored The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act: an Annotated Guide published by Canada Law Book, which I up-date every year.

In 2014, I left the federal public service, and continue to practice environmental law from my home in Crescent Beach. Last summer I combined my passion for social justice with my experience in environmental law and represented a group of citizens in White Rock, Ocean Park and Crescent Beach in the Canadian Transportation Agency’s arbitration process in relation to the environmental and health issues resulting from BNSF’s trains carrying thermal coal from the US through the Semiahmoo Peninsula.