Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference
Breakfast and Registration: 8:00 am – 9:00 am
Introductory Remarks: 9:00 am – 9:05 am
What economic conditions will we face in 2026? In this forward-looking session, economists will examine 2026 economic and fiscal forecasts in Ontario and federally. Specifically, the panel will address:
- Provincial and federal growth forecasts;
- Inflation, interest rates, and cost-of-living expectations;
- Employment and labour market conditions;
- Provincial comparisons and impact of tariffs on trade with the United States; and
- Economic priorities in 2026 Ontario and federal budgets.
Break: 10:05 am – 10:20 am
Experienced negotiators will address challenges in the next round of bargaining in the broader public sector in light of Ontario’s economic outlook. Specifically, the panelists will address the following questions:
- What do recent communications from the Government of Ontario tell us about the provincial government’s bargaining priorities for currently and for the year ahead?
- What economic factors should employers and unions consider when determining bargaining priorities and drafting proposals? Is there anything unique to Ontario’s current economic situation that negotiators need to pay particular attention to in bargaining?
- How will the uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs and the Canadian response impact bargaining? Will any other policies of the current U.S. administration affect bargaining in the broader public sector in Canada? Is the effect of these policies different in the broader public sector than in the private sector?
- How will the current state of the economy affect the negotiation of wage increases? How will inflation and the increased cost of living affect bargaining in this area?
- How important are non-monetary items for employers and unions when negotiating in the current economic climate? What are some examples of novel non-monetary items that unions are raising at the bargaining table?
- How are the parties coping with freezes and layoffs as well as labour shortages in negotiations?
Break: 11:25 am – 11:40 am
Coming Soon.
Networking Lunch: 12:20 pm – 1:20 pm
In this session, panelists will examine the latest decisions, legislative changes, and other key developments impacting bargaining in the public sector. The session and materials will delve into topics including:
- the legality of recent government interventions pausing or prohibiting strikes in the railway, ports, postal, education, airline, and other sectors;
- trends in recent labour board and court decisions addressing issues such as secondary picketing, unfair labour practices, and the duty to bargain in good faith;
- the impact of recent interest arbitration decisions addressing inflation, staffing and retention, and changing social, political, and economic conditions; and
- the effect of recent grievance arbitration awards, including cases addressing collective agreement interpretation, discriminatory contract language, and contracting in/out.
The session will also address key legislative and policy developments, including:
- the latest changes introduced through the Working for Workers series of legislation, including new and amended leave provisions, restrictions on requesting medical notes from employees in support of sick leave, the incorporation of remote work into legislative harassment provisions, and new extended layoff provisions;
- legislation in Quebec expanding government power to restrict or end strikes and lock-outs and refer certain labour disputes to interest arbitration; and
- legislation restricting the use of strike replacement workers passed federally and in Manitoba.
Final topics will be selected in the weeks prior to the conference to ensure coverage of the latest and most important developments in a rapidly changing legal and political landscape.
Break: 2:30 pm – 2:45 pm
The future of work is here – is your collective agreement ready? Join this dynamic session to explore how technology, current events, and evolving societal, political, and workplace expectations are driving the need for modernization. Topics to be addressed include:
- The impact of artificial intelligence (“AI”) on employee hiring and management;
- New technologies related to surveillance and monitoring of employees;
- Remote, hybrid, and flexible work arrangements and back-to-work mandates;
- Mental health, staffing levels, and workload;
- Workplace violence;
- Emerging leave and benefit provisions;
- Equity, diversity, and inclusion;
- Job security and workplace restructuring, contracting in/out, and assignment of bargaining unit work; and
- Generational differences in workplace and bargaining priorities.
Topics will be finalized in the weeks prior to the conference, ensuring coverage of the latest and most pressing issues.
Closing Remarks: 4:00 pm
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
Breakfast and Registration: 8:00 am – 9:00 am
Introductory Remarks: 9:00 am – 9:05 am
Panel 1 - From Hearings to Headlines: Key developments in cases and legislation - 9:05 am – 10:20 am
In this session, panelists will examine recent significant developments in federal and provincial labour law, exploring emerging trends in a changing world of work. Panelists will address the latest decisions on topics including:
Caselaw:
- Government intervention in recent collective bargaining disputes including issues of freedom of association under the Charter
- Remedies for breach of employment standards
- class actions
- arbitration agreements
- Supreme Court hearing on Quebec’s secular dress code
- upcoming changes
- Termination
- discharge and discipline
- sexual harassment
- Labour Board decisions
- unfair labour practices
- good faith bargaining
- remedial certification
- Workplace rights and responsibilities
- privacy issues
- drug and alcohol testing
- workplace investigations
- discrimination and accommodation
- harassment and retaliation
- Legislation: The B.C. Labour Relations Code Review Panel report on recommended amendments;
- legislation dealing dealing with federal supply chain transparency;
- New restrictions on the use of strike replacement workers in federally regulated industries; and
- Quebec legislation ensuring parties’ role in arbitrator selection and expansion of government powers to pause or prohibit strikes.
Final selection of topics will take place in the weeks leading up to the conference, ensuring coverage of the latest and most newsworthy developments in a shifting economic and political landscape.
Break: 10:20 am – 10:35 am
Balancing an employer’s duty to accommodate and the privacy rights of employees is a growing challenge. This panel will explore the complex intersection of mental health disabilities, medical information, and limits on disclosure. Experts will examine recent decisions and offer practical guidance on preparing and presenting cases while protecting an employee’s sensitive personal health information. Specifically, the panel will address:
- What are the unique privacy concerns associated with employers requesting medical information related to mental health disabilities? How can employers and unions safeguard an employee’s medical information to ensure only the relevant individuals have access? Can an employee’s medical information received for the purpose of one proceeding be used in another (e.g. an employer using medical information from the WSIB claim file at arbitration)?
- What are best practices for drafting initial and follow-up letters to medical professionals regarding an employee’s mental health disability? Are employers or unions entitled to communicate directly with an employee’s medical professional?
- Is an employer ever entitled to an employee’s diagnosis? What about at the arbitration stage?
- What are some examples of requests for medical information that arbitrators or adjudicators have found to be discriminatory? Can an employer be held liable for the unlawful actions of a benefits provider?
- In what circumstances have arbitrators determined that expenses being limited to reasonable and customary limits violates a collective agreement? Is the analysis different for psychological benefits claims?
- How should employers and unions handle medical information that is based solely or largely on an employee’s subjective self-reporting of symptoms? Does the analysis differ for mental health disabilities where diagnoses are largely based on self-reported information?
- What is the difference between inquiring about health conditions and restrictions on job duties?
- When will it be appropriate for an employer to request a psychiatric or psychological Independent Medical Examination (“IME”)? What if an employee is in a safety-sensitive position or the safety of other employees may be at risk? What is the union’s role in this process?
- How should employers and unions approach an employee that has difficulty providing medical information due to a possible or confirmed mental health disability? What if an employee has difficulty accessing a medical professional due to, for example, long wait lists?
Networking Lunch: 11:45 am – 12:45 pm
Brian Knowler
Founder and Principal Coach, Leadership and Resilience Strategies
Knowler Consulting – The Change Co
Arbitration and grievance processes are designed to resolve disputes, but too often they overlook the human impact of trauma on those involved. Drawing on lived experience as both a lawyer and a police officer, Brian Knowler will explore how trauma can shape testimony, credibility, and workplace dynamics in ways that the traditional process may miss. This keynote will highlight how trauma-informed approaches help arbitrators, counsel, and workplace parties move beyond procedural outcomes to foster fairness, dignity, and resilience. Attendees will learn practical ways to recognize signs of trauma, adapt questioning and process design, and reduce re-traumatization in hearings. By connecting trauma awareness to pressing issues like mental health disclosure, return-to-work accommodations, and technology-driven surveillance, Brian will show how integrating a trauma-informed lens strengthens both justice and workplace relationships.
Break: 1:15 pm – 1:30 pm
Over five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers and unions continue to grapple with issues related to remote, hybrid, and in-person work. In this session, experts will provide insight into issues currently facing an employee’s return to the office. Specifically, the following questions will be addressed:
- As a matter of law, do employers have the unfettered right to require employees to return to in-person work on a schedule determined by the employer? If there are limits on that right, what are they? How do workplace policies and collective agreement language affect the matter?
- Can an employee insist on remote work as a form of health-related accommodation? Does an employee’s susceptibility to contracting an illness at the workplace warrant accommodation? Will an employee be entitled to work from home during pregnancy?
- Does an employer have a duty to accommodate an employee’s commute to work where the employee has a disability? If so, what is considered reasonable accommodation?
- In what circumstances have decision-makers found that employees should be permitted to work from home, on a full-time or part-time basis, in order to accommodate obligations related to family status, such as childcare or eldercare responsibilities?
- What kinds of information can employers require to support a request related to family status? How can employers and unions distinguish an employee’s personal preferences from legitimate accommodation needs?
- How have decision-makers determined whether employers have accommodated employees to the point of undue hardship in recent COVID-19 vaccination refusal decisions? More broadly, what lessons can employers and unions learn from these decisions as it relates to discrimination on the basis of religion or creed and the duty to accommodate?
- What aspects of work-from-home or hybrid work arrangements should be specifically addressed in policies or collective agreement provisions? What best practices should employers and unions implement to ensure they meet the duty to accommodate?
Break: 2:30 pm – 2:45 pm
This interactive session will provide employers and unions with the best available insights into AI-driven management decisions, monitoring and surveillance tools, and employee social media use. Experienced management and union counsel will join an arbitrator to examine three hypothetical scenarios, exploring legal principles and best practices when addressing the use of modern technologies both at work and off-duty.
Specific issues to be addressed include:
- In what circumstances can an employer dismiss an employee for inappropriate social media posts? Where is the line drawn between free speech and offensive speech justifying discipline?
- What arguments have arbitrators accepted or rejected regarding the use of employee surveillance and monitoring tools? How have arbitrators resolved conflicts between an employer’s interest in ensuring productivity through such tools and employees’ right to privacy?
- What is the current role of AI-driven tools in management decision-making, and how is that role expected to evolve in the future?
- What legal concerns arise when an employer uses AI to assess candidates’ suitability for positions?
- What arguments for and against the use of algorithmic management will arbitrators find most compelling?
- How are employers and unions addressing the use of algorithmic management in collective agreements?
Closing Remarks: 4:00 pm
Register
Toronto Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference & Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference
$2,295.00Add to cart
Monday, December 8, 2025
Workshops*
(The schedule will run concurrently for all workshops)
Bargaining In The Broader Public Sector Conference Workshop
Nora Hindy
Director
Centre for Global Citizenship Education
Centennial College
Member Board of Directors
Urban Alliance on Race Relations
In this interactive workshop, participants will learn legal principles and best practices in negotiating and drafting collective agreements that meet human rights obligations and promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (“EDI”).
Participants will hear from leading experts and work in small groups on skill-building exercises, learning how to apply an EDI lens to bargaining from start to finish. Attendees will learn how to:
- Prepare to address EDI effectively in bargaining by evaluating areas for improvement and identifying key issues to be addressed at the table;
- Review collective agreements for problematic language and update commonly-used but exclusionary terminology;
- Apply lessons learned from recent arbitration decisions in which collective agreement language was proved to be discriminatory;
- Craft new collective agreement clauses to remove barriers and promote EDI, incorporating emerging language addressing topics such as cultural and religious diversity, anti-racism, decolonization and Indigenization, disability and mental health, and gender equity and diversity; and
- Navigate potential conflicts between language aimed at promoting EDI and other collective agreement rights, such as seniority provisions.
All participants also receive a comprehensive set of digital materials, including textbook chapters, case summaries, and additional resources compiled by Lancaster House program lawyers for continued learning and reference.
Labour Arbitration And Policy Conference Workshop
In this interactive workshop, participants will learn key legal principles and best practices in advancing and responding to grievances and resolving grievances through mediation.
Through a facilitated discussion and interactive exercises, attendees will learn how to:
- Assess the merits of a grievance and progress through key steps in the grievance process, in accordance with collective agreement requirements;
- Work with grievors who may present as “difficult to work with,” recognizing underlying disabilities, trauma, and other factors which may be impacting communication;
- Determine when mediation is appropriate or required;
- Select a mediator and prepare for the mediation;
- Advocate effectively during the mediation process;
- Overcome barriers to settlement and apply key legal principles and best practices when drafting a settlement agreement; and
- Recognize when settlement is unlikely and arbitration is necessary.
Attendees will be encouraged to ask questions and engage with other participants. All participants also receive a comprehensive set of digital materials, including textbook chapters, case summaries, and additional resources compiled by Lancaster House program lawyers for continued learning and reference.
Register
Toronto Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference & Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference
$2,295.00Add to cart
Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference
Conference Co-chairs
Advisory Committee
David Brook
Vice President, Labour Relations & Chief Negotiations Officer
Ontario Hospital Association
Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
Conference Co-chairs
Conference Advisory Committee
CPD