Mask initiative that went viral
As a senior lawyer with Enbridge Gas, Gurrinderpal Pannu practises in a number of areas including litigation, risk management, privacy law, regulatory and energy law.
He has assisted Enbridge in obtaining the approval of a $106 million pipeline in the Windsor Essex region to help replace an older pipeline and bring an important economic resource to the local economy.
Prior to his work with Enbridge Gas, he was a litigation lawyer with the Toronto Transit Commission and received the Executive Branch Award for outstanding achievement.
Pannu co-founded Conquercovid-19 with a group of like-minded professionals with the aim to distribute as much personal protective equipment (PPE) as possible to areas that the government was unable to reach. The pivot from fighting cases in a courtroom to helping fight the pandemic sprang from the realization that there just wasn’t enough PPE to go around. Pannu’s training in emergency and disaster response came in handy.
Pannu’s father came from “extremely humble beginnings” in a Jat farming family in India. But he valued education and put himself through school, rising to a high position in government before immigrating to Canada in 1969. He settled in Manitoba, where he lived for some months before moving to Ontario.
His parents faced enormous challenges, says Pannu. They had to learn to adapt, learn the language, retrain.
“My brother Rupinder and I had it so much easier. Of course, there was some racism, and you feel it, but not so much. In high school, I became more aware of, and involved in, our culture and heritage. I didn’t really apply myself at school – I was more interested in hockey! My dad encouraged me, but also made it very clear that I should focus on academics. From him, I learned the importance of giving back. I am where I am today because of the lessons I absorbed from my parents. And because of the love and support of my beautiful wife Shafreen. She’s a Director of Operations at Rogers. We both met at the University of Waterloo and she’s the one who encouraged me to pursue law. She’s truly incredible. Works full-time, never wants to take the limelight. We’re best friends and she’s my biggest champion.”
The couple have two children, Ariyan and Anaya.
“Try not to be the smartest person in the room,” responds Pannu when asked for tips for newcomers. “Keep learning, ask questions.”
He also stresses the importance of networking. “I can’t underscore that enough. It’s so much harder to succeed alone. We needed to network to pull off what we did.”
And he tells people not to give up. “No matter how difficult the challenge, how seemingly insurmountable, have the will power to push ahead. Things go wrong, there are setbacks, but opportunities also arise in a crisis. And when that happens, be prepared to make the most of them.”