- Toronto, ON
- December 2, 2026
Public Sector Bargaining Conference
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Conference Only - $1,455
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Conference Overview
Lancaster House’s Ontario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference will offer essential updates and analysis for union and management representatives, legal practitioners, and labour relations professionals.
To deepen your learning, don’t miss the interactive Skills Training Workshop, taking place at the same venue on on Wednesday, December 2. This full-day session will allow attendees to work through realistic scenarios with guidance and analysis from experienced panelists, offering practical tools and strategic insights to help you respond to evolving bargaining demands.
What to Expect
The day will begin with a networking breakfast, giving attendees the chance to connect with colleagues and peers before diving into the program. Throughout the conference, you’ll have multiple opportunities to engage with others in the field—during refreshment breaks, over lunch, and between sessions—making this not only a learning opportunity but a valuable space to exchange ideas, compare experiences, and build professional relationships.
Panelists will include leading voices from union, management, and neutral perspectives, with moderated discussions and interactive Q&A sessions to encourage dialogue and deeper insight.
All attendees will also receive a comprehensive digital resource package, including case summaries, textbook chapters, and legal commentary compiled by Lancaster House’s legal research lawyers.
Who Should Attend?
This conference is ideal for:
- Union Negotiators – Connect with other union leaders and hear from top voices on strategies at the table.
- Government Representatives and Human Resources (HR) Managers and Directors – Build bargaining approaches informed by the latest legal and economic developments while connecting with and hearing from union counterparts.
- Industrial Relations Specialists and Labour Lawyers/Consultants – Stay up to date on the latest developments impacting public sector bargaining and evolving collective agreement language on complex and emerging workplace issues.
Learning Outcomes
By attending this conference, you will:
- Gain a comprehensive understanding of federal and Ontario economic and fiscal outlooks and the implications for labour relations, and how this may impact public sector bargaining.
- Learn how to translate these economic realities into bargaining strategies and understand and communicate how the statistics may impact approaches at the table.
- Keep informed on recent cases and legislative changes impacting bargaining, including the legality of government interventions in strike actions.
- Engage with leading experts through interactive Q+A periods, enhancing your professional practice.
- Network with peers across industries and across the table, building bridges and fostering collaborative approaches to bargaining challenges.
Featured Workshops & Bundles
Attendees have the option to attend one of two featured workshops offered by Lancaster’s Centre for Labour Relations Training & Development, taking place the day before the conference at the same venue.In these interactive, day-long workshops, participants will hear from leading experts and work in small groups on skill-building exercises, learning practical tools and techniques that will prove invaluable in day-to-day work.
Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
Attend Lancaster House’s Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference, taking place at the same venue the day after this conference – December 3, 2026.
Gain valuable insights into the latest arbitration decisions, emerging workplace issues, and policy developments that are shaping labour relations in Ontario and across Canada. Then, continue your professional development with your choice of a practical, hands-on Labour Arbitration and Policy Skills Training Workshop or a Public Sector Bargaining Skills Training Workshop on December 4.
Register for both conferences and your choice of Skills Training Workshop and take advantage of two-three days of learning, networking, and exclusive bundle pricing.
Featured Skills Training Workshops
Attendees have the option to attend one of two featured workshops offered by Lancaster’s Centre for Labour Relations Training & Development, taking place at the same venue on December 4, 2026. In these interactive, day-long workshops, participants will hear from leading experts and work in small groups on skill-building exercises, learning practical tools and techniques that will prove invaluable in day-to-day.
Wednesday, December 2, 2026
Breakfast: 8:00 – 9:00 am
Introductory Remarks: 9:00 – 9:05 am
Panel 1 - Today's Trends, Tomorrow's Bargaining Table: How the economy will impact the next round of bargaining - 9:05 – 10:20 am
Sarah Correia
SEIU Healthcare
Director, Labour Relations
John O’Grady
Founding Partner
Prism Economics and Analysis
Economic uncertainty, fiscal pressures, labour shortages, and shifting workforce expectations are colliding with rapid technological change and an increasingly volatile legal and political landscape, reshaping bargaining in real time and raising the stakes at the table. This panel explores how emerging economic developments are shaping 2027 bargaining strategies and priorities. Panelists will explore:
- What does the 2027 economic outlook for Ontario and Canada suggest for inflation, interest rates, and labour market conditions?
- How are global changes such as trade disruption, geopolitics, and shifting supply chains affecting Ontario’s and Canada’s economies?
- To what extent are current cost pressures driven by short-term inflation versus longer-term structural shifts in the economy?
- How are changing immigration policies and labour supply constraints affecting bargaining agendas in sectors facing persistent workforce shortages?
- Which sectors in Ontario are most affected by persistent vacancies (health care, skilled trades, education, social services, hospitality)?
- How are labour shortages, skills gaps, and changing workforce expectations shaping recruitment, retention, and bargaining priorities?
- What lessons have emerged from the repeal of Ontario Bill 124 and other public-sector compensation frameworks, and how are emerging pay transparency and pay equity requirements at the provincial and federal levels influencing compensation design, disclosure practices, and bargaining strategies?
- Has Bill C-58 (federal replacement worker ban) shifted the balance of power in disputes?
- How are unions and employers reassessing bargaining strategies in light of ongoing Charter litigation concerning back-to-work legislation and essential services frameworks?
- How are workplace modernization statutes, electronic-monitoring policies, and AI policies shaping bargaining around remote work, privacy, and managerial oversight?
- Are return-to-office mandates giving rise to accommodation, work-life balance, operational, or policy grievance issues?
- Given these developments, what issues are most likely to emerge as bargaining priorities for unions and employers in the next round?
Break: 10:20 – 10:35 am
Panel 2 - Negotiating the Modern Workplace: Technological change, hybrid and remote work, restructuring, and more - 10:35 – 11:50 am
Dave Bulmer
President
Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario
(AMAPCEO)
Nini Jones
Union Counsel
Jones Pierce
Anne Musacchio
Manager of Human Resources
City of Vaughan
In this session, panelists will explore how employers and unions are using the bargaining table to respond to new and evolving workplace realities, from AI and workplace surveillance to remote work, changing leave and benefit needs, layoffs and job security. Drawing on recent bargaining experiences and collective agreement language, panelists will consider what parties are negotiating now, what challenges they are encountering, and what issues may shape the next generation of collective agreements. Questions to be addressed include:
- What issues concerning the adoption of AI, such as technological change, have been recently addressed through collective agreement language?
- How have parties, through bargaining, addressed privacy issues arising from the use of emerging technologies (e.g. GPS tracking, video surveillance, biometric scanning) in the workplace?
- What features of remote or hybrid work arrangements have been specifically addressed in recently negotiated provisions? What options, other than remote or hybrid work, have employers and unions considered during bargaining?
- What new or modified leave and benefit provisions are beginning to appear in collective agreements?
- Must employers disclose plans for layoffs during bargaining? What measures have employers and unions negotiated in collective agreements to address job security and the possibility of future workplace reorganizations?
- What other emerging workplace issues should parties consider incorporating into collective agreements going forward?
Networking lunch: 11:50 – 12:50 pm
Fireside Chat - 12:50 – 1:20 pm
Jamie Bruno
Vice President
People and Transformation
Ontario Tech University
Lisa Mastrobuono
Deputy General Secretary
Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (EFTO)
Break: 1:20 – 1:35 pm
Panel 3 - Policy and Practice: Advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion at the bargaining table - 1:35 – 2:50 pm
Melissa Mustafa
Employer Counsel
Lakhani Campea LLP
Ritu Bhasin
CEO & Founder
Bhasin Consulting Inc
Kimiko Inouye
Director of Collective Bargaining
Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations
In this session, panelists will provide guidance on advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (“EDI”) through collective bargaining, examining best practices, emerging clauses, negotiate meaningful and enforceable provisions, and address key challenges in a shifting landscape marked by both progress and pushback. Panelists will examine:
- What steps should workplace parties take prior to commencing bargaining to assess the state of EDI issues within their organization and determine bargaining priorities? What workforce data or other information can help parties identify systemic inequities or barriers, including in hiring, promotion, scheduling, overtime, discipline, retention, and access to training? What should be done if there is strong disagreement about whether and how to prioritize EDI proposals?
- How can working groups or sub-committees be used effectively to set priorities and develop proposals? How can parties ensure that equity-seeking employees are meaningfully involved in the bargaining process without improperly singling out or placing undue burdens on them?
- What questions should guide employers and unions when reviewing collective agreements and bargaining proposals through an EDI lens? What common, out-of-date terminology should be revised to ensure that collective agreement language is equitable and inclusive? What lessons can be learned from recent arbitration decisions in which collective agreement language was found to be discriminatory?
- What types of clauses have recently been negotiated to promote EDI and remove barriers for employees? How can parties ensure that negotiated provisions clearly define obligations and/or are enforceable?
- How can parties ensure that collective agreement language aimed at promoting EDI does not conflict with other collective agreement rights (e.g. seniority rights)?
- How can parties integrate EDI considerations into traditional bargaining priorities such as wages, job security, scheduling, seniority, promotion, and access to overtime, rather than treating EDI as a separate issue at the bargaining table?
- When and how should EDI issues be addressed during negotiations? What “sticking points” are frequently encountered? In light of cross-border developments and recent sociopolitical opposition to EDI initiatives, is there increased reluctance to agree to such measures or efforts to “roll back” existing protections at the table?
- After a collective agreement has been reached, how should employers and unions best measure the effectiveness of negotiated provisions or programs? What mechanisms can parties build into collective agreements to monitor implementation, assess outcomes, and address gaps?
Break: 2:50 – 3:05 pm
Panel 4 - Bargaining Briefs: The latest updates on the right to strike, interest arbitration, gig work, return-to-office mandates, and more - 3:05 – 4:20 pm
Natasha Abraham
Union counsel
Cavalluzzo LLP
Daryn Jeffries
Employer Counsel
Rae Christen Jeffries LLP
What are the key legal and practical issues shaping bargaining in 2027? This panel examines recent developments and emerging trends that bargaining parties need to understand as they prepare for the next round of negotiations.
The Right to Strike
- How is section 2(d) of the Charter being interpreted? What are the consequences arising from OPSEU v. Ontario (Attorney General) and Canadian Union of Postal Workers v. Canada (Attorney General)?
- How are governments, employers and unions navigating the balance between protecting the public interest and preserving meaningful access to the right to strike?
- What is driving workers back to the picket line? What is to be learned from recent strikes?
The Changing Workforce
- What aspects of a general return-to-office mandate are subject to challenge under human rights legislation or on other grounds?
- In what circumstances have arbitrators and adjudicators found that employees must be permitted to work from home or on a hybrid basis as a health-related accommodation? Will employees be entitled to work from home during pregnancy or where a spouse or dependent may have increased susceptibility to infection?
- What information can employers require to support such an accomodation request related to family status, such as childcare or eldercare responsibilities?
- Who is considered a “gig worker”? How does Ontario compare with B.C.? Does Ontario’s Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act meaningfully address misclassification of digital platform workers (those who provide ride share, delivery or courier services for payment and are offered work assignments through an online digital platform)? Can gig workers unionize?
The Changing Economics of Public-sector Bargaining
- How has inflation changed public sector bargaining?
Closing Remarks: 4:20 pm
Food & Beverages
Breakfast and lunch to be provided, with a variety of snacks and refreshments available during breaks. Breakfast is provided prior to the workshop and will be available starting at 8:00 am. Please share any dietary requirements at the time of registration so we can best accommodate your needs.
Speaker Lineup
CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS
Employer Counsel
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Union Counsel
Ursel Phillips
Advisory Committee
Union Counsel
Koskie Minsky
Union counsel
Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP
Supervisor, Member Equity Unit
Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)
Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)
Algoma University
CPD Information
Lancaster House provides professional education programs that qualify for CPD credit for human resources professionals, lawyers, and paralegals across Canada. More details regarding specific approvals from CPD accreditors to come.
Changes and Notifications
All dates, prices, and locations are subject to change. Registrants will be notified of any changes to venues or dates. If you have any questions, please contact customerservice@lancasterhouse.com.