Michael Morris

Michael H. Morris is a Senior General Counsel with the Department of Justice, Ontario Regional Office. Mr. Morris litigates public law cases on behalf of the federal Crown at every Court level. He also co-Chairs the Department's Supreme Court of Canada Committee. Mr. Morris was counsel for Canada in the 2004 Same-sex Marriage Reference at the Supreme court, as well as Bedford v. A.G. Canada, a constitutional challenge to the provisions of the Criminal Code governing prostitution. He was lead counsel for Canada on the Vavilov v. AGC (2019 SCC 65) in which the Supreme Court revised the test of standard of review in administrative law. Mr. Morris was also lead litigator on behalf of the federal Crown Respondent in the administrative law challenges in Mason v. Canada (MCI), 2023 SCC 21, and in Auer v. Auer et al. 2024 SCC 36. He is also lead counsel for Canada in the upcoming SCC appeal on the limits of s. 7 of the Charter in AGC v. Drover (SCC 42005), hearing expected in Winter, 2027. 

Mr. Morris frequently publishes (and presents at conferences) in the area of Charter, Crown liability, advocacy, administrative law and ethics and professionalism issues as they apply to public sector lawyers. He is the past and current co-Chair of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Administrative Law and Practice, past co-Chair and continuing frequent speaker in Osgoode Hall’s National Forum on Administrative Law and past and current co-chair of their Crown Liability conferences, as well as other university and Advocate Society CLE programs. Mr. Morris is a Faculty Member of the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute. He is also co-author of the 2019 Annotated Crown Liability and Proceedings Act book published by Thomson Reuters. Mr. Morris was awarded the Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for outstanding contribution to Canada in 2012.