Peigi L. Wilson

Peigi is Métis. She was raised in Dundas, Ontario. She guided and taught canoeing to help pay for university, where she earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts Double Major in History and Political Science from the University of Western Ontario in 1984 and a law degree from the University of Victoria in 1990. 

In 1992, following her call to the Bar of Ontario, Peigi moved to Bangkok, Thailand, where she wrote for business and legal publications on Thai business and environmental law. In 1994, Peigi moved to Nairobi, Kenya where she worked at the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Environmental Law Centre. At UNEP, Peigi focused on international trade and water law.  While overseas, she traveled extensively throughout Asia and Africa. 

Upon her return to Canada in 1998, Peigi turned her focus to national law and policy, working for one year each at Indian and Northern Affairs and Environment Canada. She joined the Assembly of First Nations in 2000, serving from 2004-2006 as the Director of Environmental Stewardship. 

Over the years, Peigi has worked on a wide variety of Aboriginal, international, and environmental issues. At the international level, in addition to trade and water law, Peigi has worked on issues of climate change, biological diversity, hazardous wastes, respect for traditional knowledge, and intellectual property rights. At the federal level, Peigi has supported the reform of all major environmental laws to ease their negative impact on Aboriginal peoples, and the implementation of law that respects Aboriginal peoples’ rights and interests. 

Peigi is currently pursuing a Master of Laws at the University of Ottawa and does freelance environmental research and writing. She lives in Ottawa and at Crow Lake, Ontario with her husband.