Lawyers

Faye Sonier

Faye Sonier, general manager

Professional Affiliations:

  • Christian Legal Fellowship, Member
  • County of Carleton Law Association, Member
  • Canadian Bar Association, Member
  • Canadian Centre for Christian Charities, Professional Associate

About

Faye Sonier is a co-founder of The Acacia Group and its General Manager.

Faye practices in the areas of charity and corporate law. She also assists individuals and families with their estate planning and supports other Acacia lawyers in their constitutional rights advocacy work.

Church and Charity Law
Faye has extensive management, leadership, and legal experience in the non-profit and charitable sector.

Prior to joining The Acacia Group, she served as Legal Counsel to The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the national association of evangelical Christians. Following that, she was the Executive Director and General Counsel for Canadian Physicians for Life, the national association of physicians committed to the traditional and life-affirming Hippocratic Oath.

In everything from incorporating new non-profits to guiding others through the CRA charitable status application process, reviewing corporate documents, helping to rebuild corporate minute books, and updating policies to reflect the changes in our legal and cultural environments, Faye partners with clients so they can meet their goals.

Her extensive experience in the charitable sector has given Faye insight into the financial realities many churches and charities face, and her rates are some of the most competitive in the market. Thanks to the Acacia Group’s unique structure, she can meet charities’ legal needs at a reasonable rate and offer a church and charity discount of 10% to most clients.

Estate Planning
Faye makes estate planning accessible for those who are new to the process. Her ability to gently guide clients through their options and help them identify the best means to address their unique circumstances, along with her affordable rates, makes her well-suited to assist those new to the process.

Religious Freedom and Conscience Rights Advocacy Work
For over a decade, Faye practiced constitutional and human rights law, with a special focus on freedom of religion and conscience.

She is passionate about advocating for individuals’ rights to freely assemble, practice their faith, and express their beliefs.

She has participated in interventions before appellate courts and the Supreme Court of Canada, engaged with Parliamentarians and national groups on public policy matters, and made submissions to government.

She has written extensively on these topics and has been published by various outlets, including the National Post, Comment Magazine, Christian Legal Journal, Faith Today and Church and Faith Trends.

Faye has spoken on these issues on CTV News, Sun News, CFRB NewsTalk 1010 AM, CJOB 680 AM, 100 Huntley Street, and other media programs as well as having her commentary featured in news outlets such as The Globe and Mail, The Montreal Gazette, The Vancouver Sun, The Winnipeg Free Press, The Regina Leader-Post, and The Christian Post.

More Information

Details

Practice Areas:

Constitutional and Human Rights Law

Charity and Not-for-profit Law

Corporate Law

Estate Law

Wills

Powers of Attorney

Bar Admissions:

Ontario (2008)

Education:

McLoughlinMedia (2008) Communicate with Power Media Training 

University of Ottawa (2007) LLB

Harvard Law School (2006) Program on Negotiation 

Expertise

Practice Areas:

Constitutional and Human Rights Law

Charity and Not-for-profit Law

Board Governance

Bar Admissions:

Ontario (2008)

Education:

University of Ottawa (2007) LLB