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Bio

Andrew is a documentary filmmaker, lawyer, and creative and critical future-minded thinker fighting for environmental and social justice. Andrew's life goal is to make people, animals, and plants happy. He think most people are happy when nobody takes advantage of them, they can trust their community, others in society respect them, they have some feeling of equality with the people around them – essentially, when they have real opportunity to live a fulfilling life in a healthy environment. Other animals might feel the same way, and plants probably like clean air, water, and soil so they can thrive as well. Unfortunately, many mainstream systems bar people, animals, and plants from happiness. Andrew wants to, and believe we can, design better systems that create a better future for society: one where all life can find happiness. Andrew strongly believes the stories we tell ourselves can shift our social structures and behaviours. He focuses on stories that will have mass impact, that support shifting mainstream systems away from damaging colonial and consumer capitalism toward thoughtful living with respect for diverse worldviews, and that protect species at risk, including our human species. Andrew believes designing, generating, and upholding high quality systems requires a strong understanding of law -- he focuses on environmental, Indigenous, and Canadian Aboriginal law. Law is a foundation upon which we build our societies. It is in some sense the intention underlying our actions, the product of our beliefs and attitudes, and the glue that binds us as a community. Through law we can also effectively subvert mainstream systems, challenging them to change, and thereby work to balance our societies' axes of privilege and oppression. We can make significant positive environmental and social change through transformation of our legal systems.