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SUMMARY:Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
DESCRIPTION:Taking place in: Vancouver\, BC \nOverview \nThe Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference is tailored for arbitrators\, union and employer counsel\, and labour relations professionals focused on mastering the arbitration process. The event features engaging discussions on major case law updates\, evolving best practices\, and key policy shifts impacting arbitration. Key topics include resolving complex disputes\, navigating procedural challenges\, and addressing new workplace arbitration issues. Attendees will gain practical strategies for applying arbitration decisions and managing workplace relations effectively. This conference is also a prime opportunity to connect with leading legal professionals and arbitration experts. The B.C Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference delivers the knowledge and relationships essential for success in Western Canada’s legal landscape. \nWhat to Expect \nThis full-day conference offers more than just timely legal updates\, it’s an opportunity to connect\, learn\, and engage with leading voices in labour arbitration. \nThroughout the day\, you’ll benefit from: \n\nExpert-led discussions featuring union-side\, employer-side\, and neutral perspectives on today’s most pressing workplace issues\nOpportunities to ask questions\, either verbally or electronically\, following each panel\nNetworking with colleagues and top arbitrators from across the field in an ideal setting to exchange ideas\, build connections\, and gain new perspectives\nA comprehensive digital materials package including textbook chapters\, case summaries\, and curated legal materials prepared by Lancaster House’s legal team\n\nTo keep you energized and connected\, we’re pleased to provide: \n\nBreakfast on arrival\nA catered lunch\nRefreshments during scheduled breaks\n\nWhether you’re preparing for your next hearing or refining your workplace policies\, this conference will leave you better equipped with the knowledge\, strategies\, and connections you need to navigate today’s complex labour relations environment. \n\nWho Should Attend? \nThe Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference is designed for professionals involved in managing\, resolving\, or advising on workplace disputes in unionized environments. This event offers critical insights and practical strategies for those who need to stay on top of legal developments\, evolving policy issues\, and best practices in arbitration. \nThis conference is ideal for: \n\nUnion representatives and labour advocates\nStay current on arbitration trends\, case law\, and legislative changes that impact the rights and responsibilities of workers and unions.\nEmployer representatives and HR professionals\nGain practical tools for managing grievances\, navigating accommodation requests\, and preparing for arbitration in a legally sound and efficient manner.\nLabour and employment lawyers\nDeepen your knowledge of recent decisions\, procedural strategies\, and emerging issues to better advise your clients and strengthen your advocacy.\nArbitrators and adjudicators\nEngage with current legal and workplace issues from both union and management perspectives to inform your decision-making and stay attuned to sector developments.\n\n\nLearning Outcomes \nBy attending this conference\, you will: \n\nEnhance your understanding of key legal developments and legislative changes shaping labour arbitration and workplace policy in Canada.\nDeepen your insight by hearing from union\, management\, and neutral perspectives on emerging trends and practical challenges in arbitration.\nGrow your professional network by connecting with top arbitrators\, legal experts\, and fellow practitioners throughout the day.\n\n\nSample Materials \nClick the following link to see an excerpt from a previous year’s materials. \n\nSkills Training Workshop \nFissures and Fractures in the Workplace: Defusing interpersonal conflicts and restoring collegial relations This comprehensive skills training workshop will equip attendees with proactive strategies to identify\, address\, and defuse interpersonal tensions and restore workplace relationships. Combining expert panel discussion with small-group exercises aimed at honing practical skills\, the session will address issues such as:  \n\nWhat early warning signs may indicate that interpersonal tension or conflict is brewing? What steps should employers and unions take upon recognizing these signs?\nWhat policies\, collective bargaining provisions\, or informal measures should be in place with respect to workplace conflict? What emerging provisions\, policies\, or practices can be adopted to allow for early conflict intervention?\nAt what point do employers and supervisors become legally obligated to intervene in or investigate workplace conflict? Does it matter whether the conflict takes place in the workplace or in off-duty contexts?\nCan employees express political\, religious\, or controversial opinions in the workplace? What does recent caselaw suggest about the line between safeguarding free speech at work and an employer’s duty to ensure a safe work environment? How can employers and unions prevent these conversations from getting out of hand?\nWhen do interpersonal conflicts rise to the level of bullying or harassment? Do employers have a legal obligation to address incivility or personal conflict that does not rise to this level?\nWhat factors must be considered when dealing with conflict between an employee and supervisor\, as opposed to a conflict between two employees? What is the role of the union when conflict arises between employees who are union members?\nWhat is meant by the term “poisoned workplace” and at what point will workplace conflict create an environment meeting this threshold?\nWhat steps should employers\, unions\, supervisors\, and other employees take when individuals in the workplace are engaged in a seriously escalating conflict?\nWhen is it appropriate to consider moving an employee to a different department or location rather than attempting to resolve the issues in the current environment?\nWith many workplaces moving to a hybrid or remote model\, how can parties address workplace conflict in situations that may be more difficult to monitor\, such as online chats?\nWhen will an employee’s behaviour with respect to a workplace conflict rise to the level of disciplinable misconduct? To what degree will the fact that the impugned conflict was in keeping with the workplace culture\, or “condoned” by the employer\, impact an arbitrator’s or adjudicator’s assessment as to discipline or liability?\nWhat organizational factors contribute to a higher incidence of workplace conflict? How should employers and unions identify whether those factors are present and what steps should be taken to improve the environment?\nWhat role can a trauma-informed\, culturally competent approach play in addressing workplace conflict? How can such an approach aid employers and unions in understanding why conflict has developed and how to effectively respond?\nWhat role can mediation or other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods play in defusing conflicts and restoring workplace relationships?\nWhat does an effective workplace restoration plan entail? When should an employer consider retaining an external individual to assist with ongoing conflicts in the workplace? What is the union’s role in workplace restoration?\n\nClick here to learn more about the associated Skills Training Workshop sold separately or with conference bundle options available. \nFriday\, November 6\, 2026 \nBreakfast: 8:00 – 9:00 am \nPanel 1: Recent and Remarkable: Major caselaw and legislative updates - 9:00 – 10:15 am\n\n\n \nSabrina Anis\nEmployer Counsel\nRoper Greyell LLP \n\n\n \nSotonye Godwin-Hart\nUnion Counsel\nKoskie Glavin Gordon \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will delve into the latest arbitration decisions and significant developments in federal and provincial labour law\, exploring key principles and emerging trends in a changing world of work. Panelists and accompanying materials will address the following: \nCaselaw and Ongoing Legal Challenges \n\nDiscipline and Discharge\n\nWill workplace violence\, or threats of violence\, always result in discharge? \nCan employees be dismissed for non-compliance with vaccine policies?\n\n\nAttendance Management:\n\nAt what point can an employer discharge an employee for non-culpable absenteeism?\n\n\nBenefits Plans:\n\nIs it discriminatory or in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a benefits policy to terminate employee coverage at age 65?\n\n\nWorkplace Investigations\n\nCan an employer rely on an investigation report without interviewing witnesses in making a disciplinary or discharge decision? To what extent?\n\n\nCollective Bargaining\, the Right to Strike\, and Freedom of Association\n\nWhat lessons can be learned from recent cases addressing the legality of government intervention in strike actions? How have decision-makers balanced the competing interests and legal rights at stake?\nWhat is the status of legal challenges to the federal government’s use of s.107 of the Canada Labour Code to intervene in strike actions in the airline\, railway\, postal\, and other sectors?\nHow will the recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice affirming that the right to strike is protected under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (No. 87) impact future government action and court decisions?\n\n\nLegislation\n\n The session and materials will also cover recent and upcoming changes to legislation in British Columbia\, in the federal jurisdiction\, and in other provinces. The following questions will be addressed: \n\nWhat measures impacting workplaces were canvassed in the federal government’s “Canada Strong Budget 2025” and in the Consultation Document: Building Canada Strong for All – Powered by Canada’s Workers” papers?\nHow will the federal government’s recently introduced Bill C-36\, the Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act\, if passed\, change current privacy laws in the federal private sector? What changes does it introduce with respect to the use of artificial intelligence (AI)?\nWhat measures have been introduced at a federal\, provincial\, and interprovincial level in response to the trade conflict between Canada and the US?\nWhat new measures have been proposed under federal legislation recently introduced restricting the importation of goods created using forced labour? Which aspects of the mandate for the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) office\, slated for elimination\, are not reflected in this legislation?\nHow do the federal government’s proposed restrictions on the use of non-competition clauses in employment agreements compare to Ontario’s restrictions on the use of such provisions?\nWhat new or expanded leaves have been introduced federally and in British Columbia in the past year? In addition to British Columbia\, which jurisdictions have passed legislation restricting the right to ask for doctors’ notes in support of short-term sick leave?\nWhat changes has the B.C. government recently made to its employment standards complaints and appeals processes?\nWhich employers are now subject to B.C.’s pay transparency legislation and what must they do to comply?\nWhat is the status of B.C.’s review of its Labour Relations Code\, commenced in 2024?\n\nFinal selection of issues will take place in the weeks prior to the conference\, ensuring coverage of the most newsworthy topics in a shifting legal landscape. \nBreak: 10:15 – 10:30 am \nPanel 2 - Pivotal Cases on Harassment and Discrimination: What is new? What is controversial? - 10:30 – 11:35 am\n\n\n \nAfifa Hashimi\nUnion Counsel\nMoore Edgar Lyster LLP \n\n\n \nLou Poskitt\nEmployer Counsel\nCooperwilliams \n\n\nWorkplace harassment and discrimination remain among the most dynamic and closely watched areas of labour arbitration. This panel will examine recent decisions that are reshaping the legal landscape\, highlighting significant developments\, emerging trends\, and areas of ongoing controversy. Panelists will explore the practical implications of these cases for unions\, employers\, and practitioners\, and consider where the law may be headed next. Specifically\, the panel will address: \n\nWhat do the latest human rights decisions in B.C. and across Canada say about whether intimate partner violence survivorship is subsumed under human rights protected grounds (such as sex\, marital status\, family status\, and/or disability)? (i.e. cases to be discussed include Metrolinx v. Amalgamated Transit Union\, Local 1587\, 2025 ONCA 415; Antony v. Yukon University [not yet reported]; KL v. Canada Post\, 2026 CHRT 5; and Ms. F. v. Translink Security Management\, 2026 BCHRT 124)\nWhere is the line between inappropriate conduct and actionable harassment? What do recent B.C. and Federal Court of Appeal decisions tell us about the threshold for establishing harassment or sexual harassment?\nWhat do recent arbitration\, tribunal\, and court decisions tell us about how adjudicators are assessing allegations of sexual harassment? Are employers and unions seeing a shift in how credibility\, context\, and workplace power dynamics are evaluated?\nWhen does bullying become legally actionable? What distinguishes harassment from personality conflicts? When is an employer obligated to investigate?\nWhen is reinstatement appropriate? What factors are arbitrators considering when balancing workplace safety\, rehabilitation\, proportionality and the employment relationship?\nWhen may an employee’s freedom of expression\, whether political\, religious\, social or personal\, be limited because it conflicts with human rights obligations or workplace safety?\nWhat investigative failures are leading to liability\, and what best practices should employers and unions adopt?\nWhat does recent caselaw tell us about damage awards trends in this area?\n\nBreak: 11:35 – 11:50 am \nFireside Chat - 11:50 – 12:20 pm\n\n\n \nJennifer Kwok\nEmployer Counsel\nOverholt Law \n\n\nNetworking Lunch: 12:20 – 1:20 pm \nPanel 3 - Seeing the Unseen: The duty to accommodate complex mental health conditions in the workplace - 1:20 – 2:30 pm\n\n\n \nEleni Kassaris\nEmployer Counsel\nDentons \n\n\n \nGurdeep Parhar\nClinical Professor\, Adult ADHD Centre-Medical Director\, Speaker/Researcher\, Occupational Physician\, Disability Medicine \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will examine key principles and best practices for accommodating employees with mental health conditions and neurodiverse employees. Speakers will provide legal and clinical perspectives on navigating complex issues that may arise during the accommodation process\, addressing questions such as: \n\nWhat signs and symptoms may indicate that an employee is struggling with a mental health condition? How\, where\, and when should an employer\, supervisor\, or union representative ask an employee if support and/or accommodation is needed?\nWhat types of medical information can employers request to support an employee’s request for accommodation due to a mental health condition? Where is the line between appropriate versus overly intrusive inquiries? What challenges are often encountered when seeking the requisite information?\nAre employers entitled to request medical information from employees on an ongoing basis (e.g. requiring updated information after an “episode” or a relapse or on a periodic basis for employees with chronic or lifelong conditions)?\nWhat types of accommodations may be of assistance to employees experiencing ongoing mental health symptoms that may impact their ability to work? When will remote work be appropriate or necessary? When should an employee take a leave of absence\, rather than continue working with accommodations? How can employers and unions address questions or concerns raised by co-workers about such accommodations without violating the accommodated employee’s privacy?\nWhen\, if ever\, is it permissible to discipline or dismiss an employee for workplace misconduct that is related to a mental health disability? How should employers and unions respond where an employee is underperforming\, frequently absent\, or exhibiting atypical workplace behaviour but asserts that it is due to an as-yet undiagnosed mental health condition? When is the threshold of undue hardship reached?\nWhat is “neurodivergence”? What cognitive and developmental conditions have been grouped under this umbrella? Given the broad acceptance of self-identification by many within the neurodiversity movement\, must employees who identify as neurodivergent provide evidence of a diagnosed condition (for example\, ADHD) to be entitled to accommodation? What are some examples of appropriate and effective accommodations to promote the inclusion and success of neurodiverse employees in the workplace?\n\nBreak: 2:30 – 2:45 pm \nPanel 4 - Social Media\, Surveillance\, and AI-Driven Management Decisions: An interactive\, scenario-based session on uses and abuses of modern technology - 2:45 – 4:00 pm\n\n\n \nCarolyn Janusz\nUnion Counsel\nGoodwin Law \n\n\n \nSuzanne Kennedy\nEmployer Counsel\nHarris & Company LLP \n\n\n \nJitesh Mistry\nLabour Arbitrator/Mediator\nMistry ADR \n\n\nThis interactive session will provide employers and unions with the best available insights into AI-driven management decisions\, electronic monitoring and surveillance tools\, and employee social media use. Experienced management and union counsel will join an arbitrator to examine 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: \n\nIn what circumstances can an employer discipline or dismiss an employee for inappropriate social media posts? How do arbitrators weigh freedom of expression (especially when commenting on a matter of public interest) against potential reputational damage to the employer?\nWhat 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 managing and monitoring productivity through such tools and an employee’s right to privacy?\nWhat role do AI-driven tools currently play in management decision-making and how is that role expected to evolve? What obligations do employers have to validate the reliability and fairness of AI performance tools?\nWhat factors determine whether electronic monitoring or AI-driven evaluation crosses the line into unreasonable surveillance or discrimination?\nWhat role should collective agreements and joint union-management committees play in regulating electronic monitoring and algorithmic management?\n\nClosing Remarks: 4:00 pm \nFood and Beverages \nBreakfast 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. \n\nChanges and NotificationsAll 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. \n\nPricing \nLabour Arbitration and Policy Conference \n$1\,455.00Add to cart	\n			\n \nBargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference + Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference \n$2\,295.00Add to cart	\n			\n \nLabour Arbitration and Policy Conference + Labour Arbitration and Policy Skills Training Workshop \n$2\,355.00Add to cart	\n			\n \nBargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference + Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference + Labour Arbitration and Policy Skills Training Workshop or Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Skills Training Workshop \n$2\,995.00Add to cart	\n			\n \nPublic Sector Bargaining ConferenceAttend Lancaster House’s Public Sector Bargaining Conference\, taking place at the same venue on November 4\, 2026. \nThe Public Sector Bargaining Conference brings together top union leaders\, employer representatives\, negotiators\, HR professionals\, legal experts\, and government officials to examine the latest factors shaping public sector labour negotiations. Ideal for those gearing up for bargaining\, the conference highlights recent legislative changes\, wage settlements\, and economic and arbitral trends. More than just an educational event\, this conference offers meaningful networking opportunities with seasoned negotiators and industry experts. Equip yourself with practical knowledge and professional connections to navigate the complexities of public sector bargaining successfully. \nFeatured Workshops \nAttendees 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. \nIn 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. \nBargaining in the Broader Public Sector Skills Training Workshop \nLabour Arbitration and Policy Conference Skills Training Workshop \nConference Co-Chairs \n\n\n \nWill Clements\nUnion Counsel\nKoskie Glavin Gordon \n\n\n \nValerie Dixon\nLegal Counsel – Labour\, Employment and Human Rights\nCity of Vancouver \n\n\n \nStefanie Ratjen\nStaff Representative\nBritish Columbia General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) \n\n\n \nGurleen S. Sahota\nVice-Chair\nBritish Columbia Labour Relations Board \n\n\nAdvisory Committee \n\n\n \nDorothy Gregson\nHuman Resources & Labour Relations Consultant\nLantern HR & Leadership \n\n\n \nMatthew Larsen\nLegal Counsel\nBC Public School Employers’ Association \n\n\n \nKieran Meehan\nLegal Counsel\nBC Teachers’ Federation \n\n\n \nStefanie Ratjen\nStaff Representative\nBritish Columbia General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) \n\n\nPan Pacific Vancouver - Discounted Room\nGroup rates are now available with limited space availability: \n\n\n\nCheck-in\nCheck-out\nGroup rate\n\n\nTuesday\, November 3\nSaturday\, November 7\n$299.99/night\n\n\n\nCut-Off Date \nReservations made by attendees must be received on or before Monday\, October 5\, 2026\, after which any reservations made will be based on a space-and rate-available basis. \nReservations ID \nLANC1126 (Please quote to the Reservations Agent) \nOnline reservations \nClick here to book online. \nE-mail \nReservations@PanPacificVancouver.com \nPhone \n(604) 662-8111 \nCPD \nConference CPD\n\nLancaster 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.
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/b-c-labour-arbitration-and-policy-conference/
LOCATION:Pan Pacific Hotel Vancouver\, 999 Canada Pl #300\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6C 3B5\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Conference,Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
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