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SUMMARY:Toronto Human Rights and Accommodation Conference 2025
DESCRIPTION:Stay Ahead in Employment Law\, Workplace Accommodation & DiversityJoin Canada’s premier Human Rights and Accommodation Conference in Toronto and gain expert insights into the latest employment law updates\, workplace accommodation training\, and diversity & inclusion strategies. Hosted by Lancaster House\, the trusted leader in legal education\, this event brings together top employment lawyers\, HR professionals\, business leaders\, and policymakers to discuss the most pressing issues in workplace human rights. \nWhat You’ll LearnAt the Toronto Human Rights and Accommodation Conference 2025\, you’ll gain actionable insights on: \n\nHuman Rights Law Updates – Stay informed on recent tribunal decisions\, legislative changes\, and legal obligations for employers. \n\nWorkplace Accommodation Strategies – Learn how to effectively accommodate employees with disabilities and diverse needs while staying compliant. \n\nDiversity and Inclusion in the Workplace – Discover best practices for fostering equity\, inclusion\, and anti-discrimination policies. \n\nHR Legal Compliance & Best Practices – Understand your responsibilities in employee rights\, workplace fairness\, and accessibility requirements. \n\nReal-World Case Studies & Expert Panels – Hear directly from legal experts\, HR specialists\, and human rights advocates about emerging challenges and solutions. \nWho Should Attend?This conference is essential for: \n\nEmployment Lawyers & Legal Professionals – Stay ahead of evolving employment laws and gain insights on key case law decisions. \n\nHR Professionals & Business Leaders – Understand your obligations and responsibilities when implementing workplace accommodations and inclusion strategies. \n\nDiversity\, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Specialists – Learn best practices for fostering an inclusive\, discrimination-free workplace. \n\nUnion Representatives & Labor Advocates – Get the latest updates on human rights protections and fair labor policies. \nToronto Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Bundle: Conference + Workshop$2\,695.00Read more	\n			\n  \nToronto Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Pre-Conference Workshop$1\,095.00Read more	\n			\n  \nToronto Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Conference$2\,195.00Read more	\n			\n  \nToronto Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Day 1$1\,395.00Read more	\n			\n  \nToronto Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Day 2$1\,395.00Read more	\n			\n  \nWhy Choose Lancaster House?\nExpert-Led Sessions – Learn from Canada’s leading human rights lawyers\, policymakers\, and HR specialists. \n\nInteractive & Practical Training – Gain real-world\, applicable knowledge through case studies\, Q&A sessions\, and networking opportunities. \n\nAccredited Learning – Earn continuing legal education (CLE) credits while expanding your expertise. \n\nTrusted Legal Publisher – Lancaster House has been a leader in labor\, employment\, and human rights law education for over 40 years. \nWednesday\, April 30\, 2025Breakfast: 8:00 am – 9:00 am ET \nWorkshop*Workshop sold separately from stand-alone conference. \nWorkshop schedule: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm ET(The schedule will run concurrently for all three workshops until 4:00 pm) \nDisabilities that Elude Diagnosis: Accommodating employees with poorly understood conditions\n\n\n \nDr. Hy Bloom\nAssistant Professor\nPsychiatry\nUniversity of Toronto \n\n\n \nDiane Laranja\nEmployer Counsel\nFilion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP \n\n\n \nSara Slinn\nArbitrator/Mediator\nAssociate Professor\nOsgoode Hall Law School \n\n\n \nKen Stuebing\nUnion Counsel\nCaleywray \n\n\nChallenges often arise in accommodating employees with conditions that cannot be identified by a clear diagnostic test or that are not yet well-understood within the medical community. In this session\, panelists will examine key principles and best practices for accommodating employees with these conditions.  \nSpeakers will address: \n\nExamples of common medical conditions that elude diagnosis\, or that are considered “diagnoses of exclusion” (including “long COVID”);\nLegal limits on medical information that employers can request from employees;\nHow to formulate requests for medical information where an employee’s condition cannot be confirmed using a clinician’s diagnostic test;\nWhat to do when there are no available medical practitioners with the requisite knowledge or expertise to assess an employee’s condition;\nHow to approach\, with sensitivity\, employees/union members for needed medical information;\nDealing with stereotypes and stigmas associated with difficult-to-identify medical conditions;\nWhat types of accommodations will be of assistance to an employee suffering from persistent or chronic symptoms;\nWhether an employer can discipline or dismiss an employee who is frequently absent\, underperforming\, or exhibiting atypical workplace behaviours but who asserts that it is due to an as-yet undiagnosed disability; and\nDetermining when the duty to accommodate is at an end because undue hardship is unavoidable.\n\nDuring the workshop\, participants will engage in interactive exercises\, applying principles and practices learned throughout the day.\n \nThursday\, May 1\, 2025Breakfast: 8:00 am – 9:00 am ET \nOpening Remarks: 9:00 am – 9:05 am ET \nPanel 1 - Emerging Horizons in Human Rights: The latest cases and legislative developments - 9:05 am –10:35 am ET\n\n\n \nKristen Allen\nUnion Counsel\nUrsel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP \n\n\n \nMatthew Craig\nEmployer Counsel\nMatthews\, Dinsdale & Clark LLP \n\n\n \nNimal Dissanayake\nArbitrator \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will delve into the numerous recent and significant developments in workplace human rights\, examining key cases and legislative changes. Speakers will discuss the latest cases addressing topics such as: \n\ntrends in discipline and damages for harassment and discrimination and evidentiary challenges in cases of allegations of harassment and discrimination;\nrights and restrictions involving employee expression of personal or political views and beliefs at work;\ntrends in discipline and damages for harassment and discrimination;\naccommodating neurodiverse employees;\nprivacy\, monitoring\, and surveillance;\nsubstance use and testing; and\nconflicts between health and safety obligations and human rights concerns.\n\nThe panel will also address recent Ontario and federal legislative initiatives\, including: \n\nrecent changes enacted through Ontario’s Working for Workers series of legislation addressing pay transparency\, the use of artificial intelligence\, harassment in virtual contexts\, and more; and\nongoing obligations for employers under the Ontario and federal Pay Equity Act.\n\nFinal selection of topics will take place in the weeks leading up to the conference\, ensuring coverage of the latest and most newsworthy developments.Break: 10:35 am –10:50 am ET \nPanel 2 - Human Rights in the Hybrid Workplace: Giving effect to employee accommodations in the context of a return-to-office mandate - 10:50 am –12:05 pm ET\n\n\n \nRishi Bandhu\nArbitrator/Mediator \nRishi Bandu Arbitration and Mediation Services \n\n\n \nCassandra da Costa\nEmployer Counsel\nFilion Wakely Thorup Angeletti \n\n\n \nPatricia D’Heureux\nUnion Counsel\nCavalluzzo LLP \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will examine the response to employee requests for accommodation through remote\, hybrid\, or other flexible work arrangements. The session will address questions including: \n\nDo employers have the right to require employees to return to in-person work? What aspects of a general return-to-office are vulnerable to challenge under human rights legislation or on other grounds? How does collective agreement language affect the matter?\nIn what circumstances have arbitrators and adjudicators found that employees must be permitted to work from home as a health-related accommodation? Does an employee’s demonstrated or perceived susceptibility to contracting COVID-19 or other illnesses warrant accommodation? Will employees be entitled to work from home during pregnancy or where a spouse or dependent may have increased susceptibility to infection?\nIn what circumstances have decision-makers found that employees should be permitted to work from home or on a remote or hybrid basis in order to accommodate obligations related to their family status\, such as childcare or eldercare responsibilities? What kinds of information can employers require to support such a request?\nHow can employers and unions distinguish an employee’s personal preferences from legitimate accommodation needs?\nWhen will insisting that an employee return to in-person work amount to a bona fide occupational requirement? When will an employer be able to establish that undue hardship will arise if an employee is allowed to work from home? Is an impact on broader employee morale sufficient to establish undue hardship?\nIs it discriminatory for an employer to impose additional performance monitoring practices on an employee engaged in remote or hybrid work — such as a requirement for regular check-ins\, use of timesheets\, etc.?\nBeyond legal considerations\, what practical considerations should be taken into account when assessing whether an employee should be permitted to work from home? What flexible working options other than remote or hybrid work can be considered? What benefits and drawbacks do remote\, hybrid\, or flexible working arrangements have for employees requiring accommodation?\nWhat best practices can employers and unions implement to ensure that employees being accommodated through remote\, hybrid\, or flexible work do not become isolated from the team?\n\nLunch: 12:05 pm – 1:00 pm ET \nPanel 3 - Human Rights Investigations: Assuring investigator neutrality\, setting standards for proper training\, providing employee support\, and other pivotal issues - 1:00 pm –2:15 pm ET\n\n\n \nChris Davidson\nAssociate Lawyer and Workplace Investigator\nTurnpenney Milne LLP \n\n\n \nWilliam Goldbloom\nWG Resolutions \n\n\n \nJodi Martin\nUnion Counsel\nPaliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP \n\n\nConducting a workplace investigation into human rights-related allegations is a complex process that requires fairness and a commitment to best practices. This panel will examine recent caselaw addressing workplace investigations with a view to providing guidance in conducting “best practices” investigations. The panel will address a series of questions including: \n\nWhat lessons can be learned from recent caselaw as to what constitutes a fair and adequate investigation process?\nWhat procedural flaws have been found to render an investigation unfair or inadequate — for instance\, flaws in timeliness\, thoroughness\, confidentiality\, and reporting?\nWhat steps should an employer take to address the impact of the human rights allegations? What actions should an employer take to prevent further discrimination?\nIs a formal investigation always required when an employee raises human rights-related concerns? What guidance do the courts and human rights tribunals provide? When might other options\, such as alternative dispute resolution\, be permissible or preferable?\nWhen is retaining a third-party investigator necessary?\nWhat is the role of a union in a workplace human rights investigation? What rights and/or responsibilities do unions have? What should unions do when both the complainant and the respondent are bargaining unit members?\nCan the grounds for an investigation be expanded after the investigation has commenced — for example\, if issues of systemic discrimination arise? What are the potential pitfalls of expanding the grounds of an investigation?\nWhat are best practices for countering unconscious and implicit bias and otherwise ensuring stereotypes and discrimination do not taint the investigatory process?\nHow should employers and unions respond when an investigation reveals bad faith allegations by an employee?\nWhat can the union and employer do to restore a safe and healthy workplace for all parties following an investigation?\n\nBreak: 2:15 pm –2:30 pm ET \nPanel 4 - Deep Dive into Discrimination: Experts examine scenarios to determine when it is\, and when it isn't - 2:30 pm –3:55 pm ET\n\n\n \nNicole Biros-Bolton\nFounder and Lawyer\nBird Bolt Law \n\n\n \nAmandi Esonwanne\nSolicitor\nCity of Toronto \n\n\n \nMorgan Sim\nLawyer & Founder\nMorgan Sim Law \n\n\nIn this interactive session\, panelists will address scenarios based on real cases involving allegations of discrimination\, examining legal principles for identifying and addressing subtle and systemic forms of discrimination as well as meeting obligations such as the duty to accommodate. Panelists will address questions such as: \n\nHow have arbitrators and human rights tribunals resolved evidentiary and credibility challenges when determining whether discrimination has occurred?\nWhat contextual factors have decision-makers considered in determining whether conduct which may seem innocuous on its face is\, in fact\, a subtle form of discrimination?\nWhat factors should be considered in determining whether systemic discrimination has adversely impacted an employee?\nWhat aspects of a hiring or promotion process will render that process more or less vulnerable to challenge as discriminatory?\nHow does the test for discrimination differ depending on the ground of discrimination that is alleged? For example\, what unique considerations apply when determining whether an employee has been discriminated against on the basis of religion?\nWhen will a rule or standard that on its face appears to be discriminatory be justified as a bona fide occupational requirement? When will accommodating an employee amount to undue hardship?\nWhen will employers be held liable for the discriminatory conduct of employees toward other employees in the workplace?\n\nScenarios will be finalized in the weeks leading up to the conference\, ensuring coverage of the most relevant cases. \nClosing remarks: 3:55 pm –3:50 pm ET \nFriday\, May 2\, 2025Breakfast: 8:00 am – 9:00 am ET \nIntroduction: 9:00 am – 9:05 am ET \nPanel 5 - Beyond Repair? Examining the use of discipline and restorative solutions in response to human rights transgressions at work - 9:05 am – 10:20 am ET\n\n\n \nLorenzo Lisi\nEmployer Counsel\nAird & Berlis LLP \n\n\n \nAmer Mushtaq\nLawyer and investigator\nFormative LLP \n\n\n \nLauren Pearce\nUnion Counsel\nJones Pearce LLP \n\n\nIn this session\, expert panelists will examine legal obligations and best practices in responding effectively and appropriately to harassment and discrimination at work. Panelists will address questions including: \n\nWhat legal obligations govern an employer’s response to discrimination and harassment in the workplace? When is the duty to investigate triggered?\nAre employers obligated to impose discipline when employees have committed human rights violations at work? Where discipline is imposed\, what types of conduct may warrant more severe consequences? What considerations have arbitrators in recent cases taken into account in determining whether an employment relationship is salvageable following an employee’s human rights transgression?\nWhen can or should alternative dispute resolution (ADR) be used to address human rights violations at work? Can ADR be used in lieu of discipline? What ADR options exist\, and what are the relative advantages and disadvantages of each?\nBeyond legal considerations\, what practical considerations may impact whether use of ADR is appropriate? What power imbalances\, “invisible” barriers\, and other barriers to equity should be taken into account? What steps can parties take to address these barriers? What is a “trauma-informed approach\,” and how may it be beneficial in addressing human rights transgressions at work?\nWhat steps can or must employers and unions take that ensure a healthy and safe work environment is restored following a human rights violation? What steps should be taken where both the complainant and transgressor remain at work?\n\nBreak: 10:20 am – 10:35 am ET \nKeynote Speech by Cynthia Khoo - Of Data and Dissent: The Pursuit of Algorithmic Justice in Labour and Human Rights - 10:35 am – 11:05 am ET\n\n\n \nCynthia Khoo\nTechnology and Human Rights Lawyer\nSenior Fellow\nThe Citizen Lab \n\n\nWith every advent of a new technological phase — whether social media\, big data\, machine learning algorithms\, or generative artificial intelligence (AI) — one fundamental task among many falls to legal scholars and practitioners\, adjudicators\, and lawmakers to confront: determining what the new technology changes\, what it does not\, and where and how the differences matter (legally and otherwise). To that end\, this talk will address issues such as how algorithmic discrimination differs from “analogue” discrimination; how society and our laws should view human labour in a time when so much more of it seems instantly replicable by machines; and the connection between how automated decision-making works and proposed changes to liability frameworks when it comes to AI. \nWhat will become clear through this discussion is one thing that has never changed: technology is about power. Questions of technology thus carry particular weight in contexts built around systemic power imbalances\, whether as a matter of workplace relations or human rights law. Drawing on a panoply of work by lawyers\, academics\, researchers\, and grassroots community experts in various interdisciplinary combinations of law\, computer science\, labour\, human rights\, science and technology studies\, and algorithmic accountability scholarship\, this keynote will challenge the audience to reconceptualize AI not as a “neutral tool” or coherent technical object\, but as\, to quote anthropologist and computer scientist Ali Alkhatib\, “an ideological project to shift” power\, and consider the consequences of ignoring what that means for our legal and human rights. \nBreak: 11:05 am – 11:20 am ET \nPanel 6 - Clocking In\, Speaking Out: Squaring employee free speech and employer rights - 11:20 am – 12:15 pm ET\n\n\n \nKim Bernhardt\nArbitrator/Mediator \n\n\n \nKerri Kitchura\nSolicitor\nCity of Toronto \n\n\n \nGregory Ko\nUnion Counsel\nKastner Ko LLP \n\n\nHow can workplaces best manage the balance between an employee’s right to express themselves freely against an employer’s obligation to create\, foster\, and maintain a safe and respectful workplace for all? The panel will address: \n\nTo what extent\, if any\, can employers limit political expression in the workplace? How may this differ for public-sector employees?\nWhen will the expression of political views rise to the threshold of discrimination and/or harassment?\nWhat must employers consider when monitoring and responding to their employees’ off-work expressions\, particularly on social media? At what point does off-work employee conduct warrant discipline by the employer\, and are there limits on how an employer can discipline an employee for this conduct?\nWhat should employers consider when investigating incidents of alleged harmful or disrespectful employee expression? What are some characteristics of an effective investigation into these incidents?\nCan employers discipline employees for political expressions that are expressed outside of the workplace? For example\, can an employer discipline an employee for offensive posts made on social media?\nWhen are unions required to represent members who experience discipline for political expression? What does the union’s duty of fair representation require in these circumstances?\nHow should employers communicate expectations regarding appropriate workplace and off-work conduct? How should employers approach restoring workplace harmony after employee expression creates conflict in the workplace?\n\nLunch: 12:15 pm – 1:15 pm ET \nPanel 7 - Wellness in the Workplace: Expert guidance on proactively recognizing and responding to employee mental health concerns - 1:15 pm – 2:30 pm ET\n\n\n \nDr. Sahar Bhaloo\nClinical Psychologist\nFlourish Mental Health and Coaching Services \n\n\n \nSandy Donaldson\nLabour Relations Officer\nOntario Nurses’ Association (ONA) \n\n\n \nSimmy Sahdra\nEmployer Counsel\nDentons \n\n\nIn this panel\, experts will provide guidance on how employers and unions can proactively identify and address mental health concerns in the workplace. The following questions will be discussed: \n\nWhat are the characteristics of a workplace that is psychologically healthy and safe? What steps can employers and unions take to create a workplace culture that supports mental well-being?\nWhat are employee responsibilities to maintain a psychologically healthy and safe workplace? How can employers and unions empower their employees/members to meet those responsibilities?\nHow can employers and unions identify mental health threats in the workplace? What tools and resources are available to assist in this process?\nWhat strategies should employers and unions apply to proactively recognize and address addiction and substance abuse in the workplace?\nWhat should employers and unions consider when creating employee wellness programs? What can cause these wellness programs to fail? How can employers and unions effectively assess the success of their wellness programs?\n\nBreak: 2:30 pm – 2:45 pm ET \nPanel 8 - The Road to Return: Implementing workplace disability management while respecting human rights - 2:45 pm – 4:00 pm ET\n\n\n \nLucas Mapplebeck\nEmployer Counsel\nFilion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP \n\n\n \nAli Mohamed\nManager\, Equity\, Diversity\, Inclusion\, and Accessibility for People with Disabilities\, Canada Post \n\n\n \nLauren Sheffield\nUnion Counsel\nCavalluzzo LLP \n\n\nCreating\, implementing\, and maintaining an effective and successful workplace disability management system ensures employers are fostering a healthy\, safe\, and inclusive workplace. In this session\, the panel will discuss how best to accomplish these goals through discussion of the following questions: \n\nWhat are the essential components of a comprehensive workplace disability management system? How can employers and unions build an effective system?\nWhat tools\, resources\, and/or training can be used to assist in creating\, implementing\, and maintaining a successful workplace disability management system?\nWhat measures can workplaces institute to both prevent work disability and help employees with disabilities remain safe at work?\nHow can employers and employees with disabilities meet their responsibilities under the duty to accommodate? How should employers and unions support employees with episodic or invisible disabilities?\nWhat can employers and unions do to ensure that employees experience a successful return to work after a leave of absence due to disability?\nWhat should employers and unions consider when evaluating the effectiveness of their workplace disability management system?\n\nClosing remarks: 4:00 pm ET \nToronto Human Rights and Accommodation ConferenceConference Co-Chairs\n\n \nKathryn Bird\nEmployer Counsel\nOgletree Deakins International LLP \n\n\n \nDanielle Bisnar\nUnion Counsel\nCavalluzzo LLP \n\n\n \nMatthew Horner\nLegal Counsel\nOntario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) \n\n\nConference Advisory Committee\n  \n\n \nTricia Wilson\nNational Human Rights Representative\nUnifor \n\n\n \nRon Franklin\nUnion Counsel\nFranklin Law \n\n\n \nLaura Freitag\nEmployer Counsel\nFilion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP \n\n\n \nKumail Karimjee\nArbitrator\, Mediator\, and Investigator\nKarimjee Resolutions \n\n\n \nBrandy Ryan\nDirector\, Equity\, Diversity and Inclusion\nCanada Post \n\n\nCPDToronto Human Rights and Accommodation Conference CPD\n\n\nThis program has been approved for Continuing Professional Development 10.59 hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).\n\n\n\n\n \n\nMembers of the Law Society of Ontario may consider counting this program for 10.59 Substantive hours; 0 Professionalism hours.\n\n\n\n\nToronto Human Rights and Accommodation Conference Workshop CPD\n\n\nThis program has been approved for Continuing Professional Development 5.5 hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).\n\n\n\n\n \n\nMembers of the Law Society of Ontario may consider counting this program for 5.5 Substantive hours; 0 Professionalism hours.\n\n\n\n\nHotels nearbyHilton145 Richmond Street West\nToronto\, ON\nM5H 2L2Visit hotel websiteOne King West Hotel1 King Street West\nToronto\, ON\nM5H 1A1Visit hotel websiteHyatt Regency Toronto370 King St W\,\nToronto ON\nM5V 1J9Visit hotel website
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/toronto-human-rights-and-accommodation-conference-2025/
LOCATION:Vantage Venues\, 150 King Street West\, Toronto\, Ontario\, M5H 1J9\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Conference,Human Rights & Accommodation
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250520
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250522
DTSTAMP:20260406T080327
CREATED:20240820T164441Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250516T173928Z
UID:14650-1747699200-1747871999@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:Atlantic Labour Law Conference 2025
DESCRIPTION:Tuesday\, May 20\, 2025Workshop*Workshop sold separately from stand-alone conference. \nWorkshop schedule: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm AT\n(The schedule will run concurrently for all three workshops until 4:00 pm) \nFrom Conflict to Calm: Experts examine proactive and restorative strategies to address workplace conflict\n\n\n \nChris Hattie\nAssociate Vice-President of People and Culture\, Mount Saint Vincent University \n\n\n \nDaniel Wilband\nCounsel\nVanBuskirk Law \n\n\n \nShelley Roach Dumouchel\nDumouchel Dispute Resolution \n\n\nIn the modern polarized world\, how can employers and unions work together to effectively resolve and minimize workplace conflict before it escalates? This interactive workshop provides practical strategies for identifying and addressing conflict. Through panel discussions and hands-on exercises\, attendees will learn to: \n\nIdentify common sources of workplace conflict\, including personality clashes\, differing beliefs\, and interpersonal communication issues.\nUnderstand the distinct roles of unions and employers in resolving disputes\, investigating complaints\, and fostering a harmonious workplace.\nComply with legal requirements for addressing workplace conflict (e.g.\, health and safety requirements\, wrongful dismissal claims\, duties to investigate\, duties of fair representation\, duties to accommodate).\nRecognize when and how employers and unions must monitor or intervene\, including in circumstances where questionable behaviour occurs outside the workplace.\nDevelop clear workplace policies that outline acceptable behavior\, detail internal complaint procedures\, and set guidelines for initiating and conducting investigations and mediation processes.\n\nWednesday\, May 21\, 2025Introduction: 9:00 am – 9:05 am AT \nPanel 1: The Latest in Labour: Significant recent cases and legislative developments - 9:05 am – 10:20 am AT\n\n\n \nGeoffrey Breen\nEmployer Counsel\nCox & Palmer \n\n\n \nDale Darling\, K.C.\nMediator and Arbitrator \n\n\n \nChristina R. Kennedy\nSenior Labour Relations Counsel\nAir Line Pilots Association\, International \n\n\nIn this session\, experts will examine recent significant developments in federal and provincial labour law. Panelists will address the latest cases on topics including: \n\nthe legality of recent federal government interventions pausing or prohibiting strikes in the railway\, postal\, and other sectors;\nimplications of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Quebec Casino case denying collective bargaining rights to front line supervisors;\nQuebec Court of Appeal decision upholding role of unions in selection of interest arbitrators;\ndiscrimination\, harassment\, and accommodation;\nemployee expression of political views and/or religious beliefs at work;\ntrends in discipline and damage awards;\nupdates on privacy\, surveillance\, and monitoring;\nremote work — employer discretion and employee entitlement;\nissues of justification for substance use testing; and\noccupational health and safety — liability and damages.\n\nPanelists will also address recent legislative and regulatory developments\, such as: \n\nupdated government guidance regarding requirements under federal supply chain transparency legislation;\nnew collaborative return-to-work obligations introduced under Nova Scotia’s workers’ compensation legislation;\nNew Brunswick’s new accessibility legislation;\nnew sick leave employee entitlements and restrictions on employers’ entitlements to medical notes for short-term sick leave; and\nNew Quebec legislation on arbitrator selection and government powers to pause or prohibit strikes.\n\nFinal 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 changing economic and political landscape. \nBreak: 10:20 am – 10:35 am AT \nPanel 2: About Time: Examining time theft\, performance\, and productivity in the age of AI and remote work - 10:35 am – 11:35 am AT\n\n\n \nLucia DeMaio\nLabour Relations Lawyer\nAssociation of University of New Brunswick Teachers (AUNBT) \n\n\n \nChris Peddigrew\nArbitrator\, Mediator and Investigator \nPeddigrew Wade Law \nVice-Chairperson\nNewfoundland and Labrador Labour Relations Board \n\n\n \nTwila Reid\nEmployer Counsel\nStewart McKelvey \n\n\n \nJake van der Laan\nProfessor\nDepartment of Computer Science\nUniversity of New Brunswick \n\n\nCan employers monitor employee activity to ensure wages correspond to hours worked? In this webinar\, experts will examine the impact of AI and remote workplaces on work habits\, provide practical guidance on the scope and limitations of workplace surveillance\, and discuss arbitrator responses to claims of employee “time theft.” Panelists will address: \n\nWhat constitutes employee “time theft”?\nHow can AI be used for workplace surveillance? What steps should workplaces take to develop policies that comply with Bill C-27\, the Digital Charter Implementation Act (which includes the introduction of the Artificial Intelligence Data Act)?\nIs the nature of the workplace relevant when implementing surveillance? Is the sensitivity of the information relevant?\nIs reasonable suspicion of “time theft” required before implementing workplace surveillance? Can surveillance originally implemented for safety or security purposes be used to monitor employee productivity?\nIs the scope of surveillance different for remote workers?\nWhat disciplinary measures do adjudicators and arbitrators consider appropriate for “time theft”?\nAre there limits to an employer’s retention and use of employee information obtained through surveillance?\n\nBreak: 11:35 am – 11:50 am AT \nKeynote Speech by Michael Marin\, K.C. - Employee Privacy in the MUSH Sector and Beyond - 11:50 am – 12:20 pm AT\n\n\n \nMichael Marin\, K.C.\nDean and Associate Professor\nFaculty of Law\nUniversity of New Brunswick \n\n\nFollowing the Supreme Court’s judgment in York Region District School Board v. Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario\, the extent to which s.8 of the Charter protects the privacy of employees in the public sector has become one of the most talked about workplace law issues in Canada. While labour arbitrators have long recognized the privacy rights of employees\, they often did so without explicit reference to the Charter. In addition\, York and other cases suggest that the Charter may soon extend to other workplaces in the “MUSH” sector\, notably universities\, which have long been considered Charter-free zones. At the same time\, the blending of personal and work-related uses of technology has resulted in a line of arbitral cases that applies Charter-like reasoning to private sector workplaces. \nThis presentation will discuss York‘s practical implications for both public and private sector workplaces. Although the Charter does not generally apply to the private sector\, the judgment’s emphasis on the employment context in assessing the reasonableness of a search is useful guidance. And the Supreme Court’s “Charter-always” approach will have implications for how counsel and arbitrators tackle cases that engage privacy concerns in the public sector. Overall\, these developments reflect a trend toward formalizing the recognition of employees’ right to privacy no matter where they work. But\, in typical Charter fashion\, this right is not absolute and may be invaded by employers for legitimate reasons and if personal information is not unduly exposed. \nLunch Break: 12:20 pm – 1:20 pm AT \nPanel 3: What's Fresh in Fact-Finding? The latest on best practices for fair and effective workplace investigations - 1:20 pm – 2:30 pm AT\n\n\n \nJudy Begley\nLawyer\, Workplace Investigator\, and Mediator\nBegley Law \n\n\n \nJoël Michaud\nUnion Counsel\nPink Larkin \n\n\n \nKathleen O’Neill\, K.C.\nEmployer Counsel\nCox & Palmer \n\n\nConducting workplace investigations is a delicate and complex process that demands fairness\, precision\, and a commitment to best practices. The panel will examine recent caselaw addressing workplace investigations and will explore key principles\, best practices\, and emerging guidance about conducting reasonable and effective investigations. The panel will address a series of questions including: \n\nWhat lessons can be learned from recent caselaw as to what constitutes a fair and adequate investigation process?\nWhat are best practices for countering unconscious and implicit bias and otherwise ensuring stereotypes and discrimination do not impact the investigatory process?\nWhat is the role of the union in an investigation? What are the limitations of union involvement?\nHow much latitude do employers have to order investigations into off-duty conduct? Can workplace investigators request access to employees’ personal devices\, such as laptops or cellphones\, used primarily or exclusively for personal purposes?\nWhat strategies can workplace parties implement to address the challenges of conducting investigations in a remote work environment? Is there any proven or perceived benefit to conducting workplace investigations in-person?\nWhat lessons can be learned from recent caselaw about what information is protected in the investigative process?\nIn what circumstances have arbitrators given remedies for an employer’s failure to investigate allegations?\nWhat should employers and unions be looking for when reviewing investigation reports?\n\nBreak: 2:30 pm – 2:45 pm AT \nPanel 4: Is it Discrimination? Or Isn’t It? An interactive panel seeks answers from actual case studies - 2:45 pm – 4:00 pm AT\n\n\n \nGreg Anthony\nEmployer Counsel\nMcInnes Cooper \n\n\n \nCarey Majid\nExecutive Director\nNewfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission \n\n\n \nKyle Rees\nUnion Counsel\nO’Dea Earle \n\n\nIn this interactive session\, panelists will address scenarios based on real cases involving allegations of discrimination\, examining legal principles for identifying and addressing subtle\, systemic\, and complex forms of discrimination as well as meeting obligations such as the duty to accommodate. Panelists will address questions such as: \n\nHow have arbitrators and human rights tribunals resolved evidentiary and credibility challenges when determining whether discrimination has occurred?\nWhat contextual factors have decision-makers considered in determining whether conduct which may seem innocuous on its face is\, in fact\, a subtle form of discrimination?\nWhat matters should be considered in determining whether systemic discrimination has adversely impacted an employee?\nHow does the test for discrimination differ depending on the ground of discrimination that is alleged? For example\, what unique considerations apply when determining whether an employee has been discriminated against on the basis of religion?\nWhen will a rule or standard that on its face appears to be discriminatory be justified as a bona fide occupational requirement? When will accommodating an employee amount to undue hardship?\nIn what circumstances will employers be held liable for the discriminatory conduct of employees toward other employees in the workplace?\n\nScenarios will be finalized in the weeks leading up to the conference\, ensuring coverage of the most relevant cases. \nClosing remarks: 4:00 pm AT \nAtlantic Labour Law Conference Bundle: Conference + Pre-Conference Workshop$1\,495.00Read more	\n			\n  \nAtlantic Labour Law Conference – Pre-Conference Workshop$895.00Read more	\n			\n  \nAtlantic Labour Law Conference$995.00Read more	\n			\n  \nAtlantic Labour Law ConferenceConference Co-Chairs\n\n \nJamie Eddy\nEmployer Counsel\nCox and Palmer \n\n\n \nSophie Landry Mockler\nLegal Counsel\nNew Brunswick Union (NBU) \n\n\n \nLynne Poirier\nArbitrator/Mediator\nVice-Chairperson\nCanada Industrial Relations Board \n\n\nConference Advisory Committee\n\n \nBrenda Comeau\nUnion Counsel\nPink Larkin \n\n\n \nMichael Keliher\nLabour Relations Lawyer\nAssociation of University of New Brunswick Teachers (AUNBT) \n\n\n \nTracy McPhee\nLegal Counsel\nLabour Relations & Compensation Analysis\nHealth Association Nova Scotia \n\n\n \nIan Pickard\nEmployer Counsel\nMcInnes Cooper \n\n\nCPDConference CPD\n\n\n \n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR Nova Scotia for 5.25 Continuing Professional Development hours.\nMembers of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society may consider counting this program for 5.25 Continuing Professional Development hours.\nMembers of CPHR Newfoundland & Labrador may consider counting this program for 5.25 Continuing Professional Development hours.\nMembers of the CPHR PEI may consider counting this program for 5.25 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\nWorkshop CPD\n\n\n \n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR Nova Scotia for 5.5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\nMembers of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society may consider counting this program for 5.3 Continuing Professional Development hours.\nMembers of CPHR Newfoundland & Labrador may consider counting this program for 5.3 Continuing Professional Development hours.\nMembers of the CPHR PEI may consider counting this program for 5.3 Continuing Professional Development hours.
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/atlantic-labour-law-conference-2025/
LOCATION:Virtual Event
CATEGORIES:Conference,Labour Law & Labour Policy
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250612
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250614
DTSTAMP:20260406T080327
CREATED:20240813T154727Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250612T134137Z
UID:14571-1749686400-1749859199@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:43rd Annual Calgary Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
DESCRIPTION:Navigating Labour Relations\, Arbitration\, and Employment Policies in AlbertaWhat is the Calgary Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference 2025?The Calgary Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference 2025 is designed to provide HR professionals\, labour relations specialists\, legal practitioners\, and union representatives with the latest insights into labour arbitration\, employment law\, and workplace policies. Hosted by Lancaster House\, this two-day conference offers a comprehensive program featuring expert-led workshops\, keynote speeches\, and interactive sessions focused on the unique challenges and developments in Alberta’s labour landscape. \nPre-Conference Workshop – Calgary Labour Arbitration and Policy ConferenceRead more	\n			\n  \nCalgary Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference & Pre-Conference WorkshopRead more	\n			\n  \nCalgary Labour Arbitration and Policy ConferenceRead more	\n			\n  \nWhat We’re CoveringThis year’s conference addresses critical topics shaping the future of labour relations and employment policies: \n\nEssentials of Advocacy in Mediation – Strategies for effective preparation and delivery in the mediation process. \n\nConducting Fair and Bias-Free Investigations – Practical approaches to ensure integrity and impartiality in workplace investigations. \n\nAccommodating Elusive Disabilities – Best practices for obtaining medical information and creating appropriate accommodations. \n\nLabour Relations in Uncertain Times – Exploring the implications of economic and political climates on the world of work. \n\nTechnological Change and Workplace Privacy – Addressing issues related to surveillance\, monitoring\, and privacy in the digital age. \n\nImplementing Equity\, Diversity\, and Inclusion (EDI) – Strategies for fostering inclusive environments within unionized workplaces. \nWho Should Attend?This conference is tailored for professionals involved in labour relations and employment law: \n\nHR Managers and Directors – Enhance your understanding of arbitration processes and policy development. \n\nLabour Relations Specialists – Stay informed on the latest arbitration cases and legislative changes. \n\nLegal Practitioners – Gain insights into emerging trends and case law in labour and employment sectors. \n\nUnion Representatives – Learn effective advocacy and negotiation strategies. \n\nCorporate Executives – Understand the impact of labour policies on organizational operations. \nKey Learning OutcomesBy attending\, you will: \n\nDevelop skills to conduct impartial and thorough workplace investigations. \n\nUnderstand legal requirements and best practices for accommodating disabilities. \n\nAnalyze the impact of economic and political factors on labour relations. \n\nNavigate challenges posed by technological advancements in workplace privacy. \n\nImplement effective EDI initiatives within unionized environments. \nWhy Choose Lancaster House?With a legacy of excellence in legal publishing and labour arbitration insights\, Lancaster House is committed to delivering high-quality educational experiences. Our conferences are curated by leading experts\, ensuring participants receive current\, relevant\, and practical information applicable to their professional roles. \n\nExpert-Led Sessions – Learn from distinguished professionals in labour law and arbitration. \n\nComprehensive Materials – Access detailed resources and case studies. \n\nNetworking Opportunities – Connect with peers and industry leaders. \n\nPractical Insights – Gain strategies ready for immediate implementation. \nThursday\, June 12\, 2025Breakfast: 8:00 am – 8:40 am MT \nIntroductory remarks: 9:00 am – 9:10 am MT \nPre-Conference Concurrent Workshops (Choice of 1 of 3)*Workshops sold separately from stand-alone conference. \nWorkshop schedule: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm MT\n(The schedule will run concurrently for all three workshops until 4:00 pm) \nWorkshop 1 - Essentials of Advocacy in the Mediation Process: Strategy\, preparation and delivery \n\n\n \nWilson Chan\nEmployer Counsel\nMathews\, Dinsdale & Clark LLP \n\n\n \nPaulette DeKelver\nMediator\nDeKelver Dispute Resolution \n\n\n \nElla Henry\nCounsel\nCanadian Union of Public Employees \n\n\n \nBruce Moffatt\nMediator\nBM consulting \n\n\nThe ability to use mediation to successfully resolve grievances is essential for labour relations practitioners and requires effective preparation\, strong negotiation and advocacy skills\, and attention to the needs and interests of each party. In this workshop\, panelists will provide expert guidance on representing workplace parties at mediation. The session will cover practical skills and key legal concepts\, equipping attendees to: \n\nRecognize how power imbalances and “invisible” barriers may impact the mediation process and take steps to address those barriers;\nDetermine when it is appropriate to use mediation to seek to resolve a grievance;\nSelect a mediation process (such as mediation-arbitration versus distinct mediation and arbitration processes) and select an appropriate mediator;\nPrepare for the mediation strategically and thoroughly;\nCommunicate effectively and use different negotiating styles to relay a position and bridge impasses;\nUnderstand and leverage opposing parties’ interests and objectives;\nApply key legal and practical considerations in crafting settlement agreements; and\nRecognize when settlement is unlikely and arbitration is necessary.\n\nAttendees will work together on an interactive exercise guided by the workshop facilitators\, allowing participants to apply principles and practice skills learned throughout the day in a supportive setting. \nWorkshop 2 - Conducting Effective\, Fair\, and Bias-Free Investigations: A practical\, hands-on workshop \n\n\n \nSylvie Lang\nLawyer and Workplace Investigator\nSouthern Butler Price \n\n\n \nJackie Laviolette\nEmployer Counsel\nMathews\, Dinsdale & Clark LLP \n\n\n \nMaryna McTague\nUnion Counsel\nSeveny Scott \n\n\nWorkplace investigations are essential for addressing harassment and discrimination\, but if mishandled\, they can cause further harm to employee well-being and lead to the loss of valuable employees. This full-day workshop offers hands-on scenarios and practical insights to ensure fair\, effective investigations that strengthen workplace culture. The panel will explore the following questions: \n\nIdentify procedural mistakes that can render investigations inadequate;\nUnderstand how adjudicators assess and award damages for an employer’s failure to investigate;\nEvaluate when to conduct an internal investigation versus retaining an external investigator;\nRecognize signs of trauma in complainants and witnesses and adapt investigative approaches accordingly;\nApply interview techniques that encourage participation while minimizing re-traumatization;\nEnsure investigations accommodate employees with disabilities\, language barriers\, and other diverse needs;\nImplement practical steps to protect involved parties during an ongoing investigation;\nEnhance transparency in investigative decision-making processes; and\nExplore ways unions and management can support workplace positive workplace relations after an investigation.\n\nWorkshop 3 - Disabilities that Elude Diagnosis: Obtaining medical information\, creating appropriate accommodations \n\n\n \nGreg Francis\nArbitrator and Mediator \n\n\n \nApril Kosten\nEmployer Counsel\nDentons LLP \n\n\n \nDr. Maryana Kravtsenyuk\nAssistant Clinical Professor Department of Psychiatry\nUniversity of Alberta \n\n\n \nCherie Langlois-Klassen\nUnion Counsel\nBlair Chahley Klassen \n\n\nAn employer’s duty to accommodate an employee’s disability can apply even without a formal diagnosis. This session explores the challenges of complex disabilities\, offering guidance on appropriate inquiries\, effective accommodations\, and when undue hardship has been established. Participants will engage in practical scenarios and leave this session with an understanding of key issues\, including: \n\nWhat it means to have a medical condition that eludes diagnosis;\nRequirements for establishing a disability and how this applies to disabilities that are difficult to diagnose;\nWhat information an employer is entitled to in the accommodation process for difficult-to-diagnose disabilities and how employers can approach asking for this information;\nWhat information an employee must and/or should provide in the accommodation process for these disabilities;\nHow employers and unions can approach accommodation where information and expertise may be scarce\, the disability difficult to diagnose\, and/or more information than provided is needed;\nHow employers can distinguish between difficult-to-diagnose disabilities and sick leave abuse;\nThe role of the employer\, employee\, and union in accommodating disabilities that are difficult to diagnose;\nHow employers should respond to requests for accommodation prior to an official diagnosis and colleague complaints regarding these accommodations;\nSuggested accommodations for common difficult-to-diagnose conditions; and\nWhen undue hardship has been established.\n\nConferenceSponsored by:Conference registration includes access to an evening networking reception and plenary on June 12\, as well as three plenary sessions and your choice of two concurrent sessions on June 13. \nCocktail networking reception: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm MT \nIntroductory remarks by co-chairs: 7:00 pm – 7:05 pm MT \nKeynote Speech by The Honourable Justice Michele H. Hollins - Lessons from my Breakdown - 7:05 pm – 7:35 pm MT\n\n\n \nThe Honourable Justice Michele H. Hollins\n\n\nLessons from my Breakdown \nBreak: 7:35 pm – 7:45 pm MT \nEvening Plenary - Labour Relations in Uncertain Times: Exploring the implications of the economic and political climate for the world of work - 7:45 pm – 9:00 pm MT\n\n\n \nTricia Gibbs\nLabour Relations Officer\nUnited Nurses of Alberta (UNA) \n\n\n \nChantel Kassongo\nEmployer Counsel\nNeuman Thompson \n\n\n \nCharles St-Arnaud\nChief Economist\nCredit Union Central Alberta \n\n\n \nTrevor Tombe\nProfessor\nDepartment of Economics\nUniversity of Calgary \n\n\nIn an era of economic uncertainty and political change\, unions and employers must address evolving labour policies\, geopolitical pressures\, and shifting worker expectations. The panel will examine key economic and political trends shaping collective bargaining and workplace relations in 2025\, specifically addressing: \n\nWhat short- and long-term economic and political trends are predicted in 2025 in Alberta? In Canada?\nHow are broader geopolitical events\, including global economic instability\, supply chain disruptions\, rail strikes\, and international trade agreements\, affecting labour relations and economic security for workers in Alberta and across Canada?\nHow will U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and services impact workplace stability and collective bargaining in Alberta\, and what ongoing effects can be expected? What strategies can unions and employers implement to navigate these challenges?\nWhat changes can be expected to employment standards and regulations on strike activity\, and how will they influence bargaining strategies?\nWhat key demands are emerging at the bargaining table in the current climate? How are debates on workplace rights\, AI\, remote work\, EDI\, gig work\, job security\, and social justice influencing priorities at the bargaining table?\nHow can unions and employers address the growing political polarization in workplaces\, especially when employees have diverging views on economic policy\, government intervention\, and labour rights?\n\nFriday\, June 13\, 2025Breakfast: 8:00 am – 8:40 am MT \nIntroductory remarks by co-chairs: 8:40 am – 8:45 am MT \nPlenary 2 - The Latest in Labour Law: Significant recent cases and legislative developments - 8:45 am – 10:00 am MT\n\n\n \nBob Blakely\nUnion Counsel\nBlakely + Dushenski Legal Counsel \n\n\n \nKaren Scott\nArbitrator/Mediator \n\n\n \nJean Torrens\nEmployer Counsel\nMLT Aikins LLP \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will delve into recent significant developments in federal and provincial labour law\, exploring guiding principles and emerging trends in a changing world of work. Panelists will address the latest cases on topics including: \n\nthe legality of recent federal government interventions pausing or prohibiting strikes in the railway\, postal\, and other sectors;\nimplications of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Quebec Casinos\, case denying collective bargaining rights to front line supervisors;\na recent Quebec Court of Appeal decision upholding the role of unions in the selection of interest arbitrators;\ndiscrimination\, harassment\, and accommodation;\nemployee social media use and expression of political views and/or religious beliefs at work;\ntrends in discipline and damages awards;\nremote work – employer discretion and employee entitlement; and\nissues of justification for substance use testing.\n\nPanelists will also address recent legislative and regulatory developments\, such as: \n\nupdated government guidance regarding requirements under federal supply chain transparency legislation;\nupdates to Alberta’s access to information and privacy legislation\, including new obligations regarding reporting privacy breaches\, notice requirements regarding the use of automated decision-making\, and new powers to disregard access to information requests in certain circumstances;\nlegislation restricting the use of strike replacement workers passed federally and in Manitoba; and\nnewly proposed legislation in Quebec on arbitrator selection and government powers to pause or prohibit strikes.\n\nFinal 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 socioeconomic and political landscape. \nMorning break: 10:00 am – 10:15 am MT \nPlenary 3 - Bargaining Chips and Microchips: Addressing technological change\, surveillance\, monitoring\, and privacy in the workplace - 10:15 am – 11:20 am MT\n\n\n \nMark Asbell\nArbitrator\, Mediator\, and Adjudicator\nAsbell Dispute Resolutions \n\n\n \nDr. Gideon Christian\nUniversity Excellence Research Chair (AI and Law)\nFaculty of Law\nUniversity of Calgary \n\n\n \nClayton Cook\nUnion Counsel\nMcGown Cook \n\n\n \nVicki Giles\nEmployer Counsel\nMcLennan Ross LLP \n\n\nHow can workplaces ensure that their use of technology complies with existing employee privacy and human rights laws while also navigating emerging legal and technological uncertainties? The panel will explore the potential impact of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) and surveillance technologies on employee privacy and productivity\, and how workplaces can address these challenges in collective agreements. Specifically\, the panel will address: \n\nHow have arbitrators treated the use of emerging monitoring and surveillance technologies intended to measure employee productivity? What lessons can be learned from these decisions when negotiating collective agreement language?\nWhat current issues related to using technology in the workplace\, particularly the use of AI\, should employers and unions address through collective bargaining?\nAre employees entitled to information about how their employer is using AI\, monitoring\, and surveillance technologies? What role do unions have in what employee information employers collect and how it is used?\nHow can collective bargaining be used to protect against the risks of emerging technologies such as “algorithmic management” and address the relevant concerns of both employers and unions?\nDoes the use of emerging surveillance technology make it more difficult for employers to ensure they are avoiding employee privacy breaches\, particularly in terms of the limits on off-duty surveillance? How should the limits on off-duty surveillance be addressed through collective agreement language?\nWhat language should be included in collective agreement provisions addressing AI\, technology\, and employee privacy?\n\nBreak: 11:20 am – 11:35 am MT \nConcurrent Sessions (Choice of 2 of 3) Concurrent 1 - What’s Fresh in Fact-Finding? The latest on best practices in workplace investigations\n\n\n \nDana Christianson\nUnion Lawyer\nSeveny Scott \n\n\n \nSarah Coderre\nCounsel\nBow River Law \n\n\n \nJennifer Hawkins\nPartner\nSouthern Butler Price LLP \n\n\nIn this panel\, experts will examine recent cases addressing workplace investigations and explore key principles and best practices towards conducting fair\, adequate\, and effective investigations into human rights related allegations. The panel will address: \n\nWhat lessons can be learned from recent cases as to what constitutes a fair and adequate investigation process? What procedural flaws have been found to render an investigation unfair or inadequate?\nTo what extent are investigations privileged? How should employers navigate issues of privilege and confidentiality when conducting workplace investigations? How can investigators protect an employee’s privacy rights during a workplace investigation?\nHow can employers best determine who should lead an investigation? How much should independence factor into who should investigate workplace incidents and harassment? When should an external investigator be retained?\nHow can investigators address systemic inequalities and unconscious biases in the workplace during the fact-finding process? How does adopting a trauma-informed approach to conducting witness interviews affect an investigation?\nWhat measures should an employer take when an allegation is not substantiated? Does the union have a role in restoring workplace harmony following an unsubstantiated investigation?\n\nConcurrent 2 - Compliance and Compassion: Providing representation while accommodating disabilities and meeting professional obligations\n\n\n \nKara O’Halloran\nUnion Counsel\nChivers Carpenter \n\n\n \nJeremy Schick\nVice-Chair\nAlberta Labour Relations Board \n\n\n \nJill Wilkie\nEmployer Counsel\nMiller Thomson LLP \n\n\nNavigating the complexities of representing employees who may seem “difficult to work with” (e.g. combative\, non-responsive\, or invested in their matter to an above-average degree) requires a balance of compassionate representation and adherence to legal obligations. Panelists will provide practical guidance for labour relations professionals in handling these sensitive situations. Topics to be addressed include: \n\nWhat key rules of professional conduct establish obligations when representing grievors? What legal duties apply to union representatives?\nWhat signs may indicate that an employee has a mental health condition or other disability impacting their conduct while being represented? How can parties distinguish a “vexatious” grievor from an individual who simply needs additional support?\nHow should representatives respond when the employee being represented is exhibiting behavior such as being hostile or non-responsive\, and/or exhibiting diminished capacity? What legal duties do representatives have in this context?\nHow might trauma\, cultural factors\, or previous experiences of discrimination impact the way an individual acts throughout a complaint? How can representatives approach helping grievors navigate through these issues?\nHow can representatives ensure that their own biases do not impact their representation? Are there circumstances where a representative should refuse or step away from representing a grievor?\n\nConcurrent 3 - From Resolution to Results: Implementing EDI in the unionized workplace\n\n\n \nSania Chaudhry\nInvestigator\nUBC Investigations Office \n\n\n \nSteve Durrell\nRegional Executive Officer – Alberta\nUnited Steelworkers Local 1944 \n\n\n \nJames Demers\nSenior Strategist and Trainer\nCanadian Equality Consulting \n\n\nCanadian workplaces are increasingly recognizing the need to apply the principles of equity\, diversity\, and inclusion (EDI) in their policies and practices. In this panel\, experts will provide practical guidance on how employers and unions can foster a work environment that ensures the full and fair participation of employees. Questions discussed will include: \n\nIn what ways does systemic racism manifest in the workplace? What factors should be considered in determining whether systemic discrimination has adversely impacted an employee?\nHow have arbitrators and human rights tribunals resolved evidentiary and credibility challenges when determining whether discrimination has occurred?\nWhen will a rule or standard that on its face appears to be discriminatory be justified as a bona fide occupational requirement? When will accommodating an employee amount to undue hardship?\nWhen will employers be held liable for the discriminatory conduct of employees toward other employees in the workplace?\nAre changing social contexts affecting how workplace parties approach the task of preventing and responding to discrimination and harassment? What is the role of diversity and inclusion training?\nWhat are the required features of an effective workplace policy on discrimination? How can employers ensure their violence and harassment policies are compliant with upcoming amendments to Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Code?\n\nConcurrent Session: 11:35 am – 12:35 pm MT \nLunch: 12:35 pm – 1:45 pm MT \nConcurrent Session: 1:45 pm – 2:45 pm MT \nAfternoon break: 2:45 pm – 3:00 pm MT \nPlenary 4 - Discrimination and Harassment at Arbitration: Experts examine key cases\, evolving arbitral perspectives\, evidentiary considerations\, and more - 3:00 pm – 4:15 pm MT\n\n\n \nDamon Bailey\, K.C.\nPartner\nMcLennan Ross LLP \n\n\n \nLeanne Chahley\nUnion Counsel\nBlair Chahley Klassen \n\n\n \nAndrew C.L. Sims K.C.\nArbitration & Mediation \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will explore evolving arbitral perspectives with respect to discrimination and harassment and examine systemic barriers in grievance and arbitration processes. Specifically\, panelists will discuss: \n\nHow does systemic discrimination influence decisions about how grievances are handled\, including which should proceed to arbitration?\nWhat do recent decisions suggest about how arbitral approaches are evolving with respect to discrimination and harassment claims? Are damage awards increasing? Is there a greater willingness to impose discipline?\nHow have arbitrators and other decision-makers resolved evidentiary and credibility challenges when determining whether discrimination or harassment has occurred? What evidence must be presented at arbitration to such claims? When is it necessary or appropriate to present expert evidence?\nHow can trauma\, cultural factors\, or experiences of discrimination impact the way in which a witness delivers evidence? How can bias and stereotypes impact a decision-maker’s assessment as to credibility?\nShould parties use non-disclosure agreements or clauses when settling discrimination- or harassment-related grievances? Is legislative prohibition of NDAs a likely prospect?\nWhat policy updates should employers and unions implement to address discrimination and harassment claims and ensure that such grievances are not improperly prevented from reaching arbitration?\n\nCalgary Labour Arbitration and Policy ConferenceConference Co-Chairs\n\n \nDavid Lardner\nUnion Representative\, Disputes and Arbitration\nAlberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) \n\n\n \nErin Ludwig\nAssociate General Counsel Labour and Employment\nAlberta Health Services (AHS) \n\n\n \nJames Casey\nArbitrator and Mediation\nLabour Arbitration+Mediation \n\n\nConference Advisory Committee\n\n \nCheryl Yingst Bartel\nArbitrator/Mediator\nYingst Bartel ADR Inc. \n\n\n \nMaurice Dransfeld\nEmployer Counsel\nMcLennan Ross \n\n\n \nTom Hesse\nPresident\nUFCW Local 401 \n\n\n \nJacqueline Lacasse\nGeneral Counsel and VP People & Culture\nUniversity of Calgary \n\n\n \nNatalia Makuch\nUnion Counsel\nChivers Carpenter Lawyers \n\n\n \nJeremy Schick\nVice-Chair with the Labour Relations Board \n\n\nCPDConference CPD\n\n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR Alberta for 7.3 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\nWorkshop CPD\n\n\nEach Pre-Conference Workshop has been approved by CPHR Alberta for 5.5 Continuing Professional Development hours.
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/calgary-labour-arbitration-and-policy-conference-2025/
LOCATION:Sheraton Suites Calgary Eau Claire\, 255 Barclay Parade Southwest\, Calgary\, Alberta\, T2P 5C2\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Conference,Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Halifax:20250910T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Halifax:20250910T163000
DTSTAMP:20260406T080328
CREATED:20241205T192411Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250905T184451Z
UID:15432-1757507400-1757521800@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:National Health & Safety Conference 2025
DESCRIPTION:Advancing Workplace Health\, Safety\, and Compliance Across CanadaWhat is the National Health & Safety Conference 2025?The National Health & Safety Conference 2025 is a premier virtual event designed to equip HR professionals\, industrial relations specialists\, executives\, union representatives\, health and safety experts\, workers’ compensation specialists\, and labour and employment lawyers with the latest insights and strategies in workplace health and safety. Hosted by Lancaster House\, this half-day conference on September 10\, 2025\, offers a dynamic platform for industry leaders and practitioners to engage in insightful discussions and collaborative exchanges. \n$699.00Read more	\n			\n \nWhat We’re CoveringThis year’s conference delves into critical topics shaping the future of workplace health and safety: \n\nAnnual Check-Up: Key Cases and Legislative Developments – Experts dissect significant legal cases and legislative updates\, providing participants with a comprehensive understanding of the evolving legal landscape. \n\nFrom Insult to Injury: Addressing psychological and physical harm in the workplace \nEach session is led by renowned experts\, ensuring participants gain actionable insights and up-to-date knowledge. \nWho Should Attend?This conference is tailored for professionals dedicated to enhancing workplace health and safety: \nHuman Resources Managers and Directors – Stay informed on the latest health and safety regulations and best practices.Industrial Relations Specialists – Navigate the complexities of workplace safety in unionized environments.Executives and Business Leaders – Understand the strategic implications of health and safety compliance.\nUnion Officers and Representatives – Advocate effectively for worker safety and well-being. \n\nHealth and Safety/Workers’ Compensation Specialists – Deepen your expertise in risk assessment and injury prevention. \n\nLabour and Employment Lawyers/Consultants – Provide informed counsel on health and safety legal matters. \nKey Learning OutcomesBy attending\, you will: \nGain a comprehensive understanding of recent legal cases and legislative changes affecting workplace health and safety.Develop effective strategies for monitoring productivity while respecting employee privacy in a digitalized work environment.Learn to identify and address various causes of workplace impairment\, implementing appropriate risk mitigation and accommodation measures.Engage with leading experts through interactive panels and discussions\, enhancing your professional practice.Network with peers across industries\, fostering collaborative approaches to common health and safety challenges.Why Choose Lancaster House?With a legacy of excellence in legal publishing and labour arbitration insights\, Lancaster House is committed to delivering high-quality educational experiences. Our conferences are curated by leading experts\, ensuring that participants receive current\, relevant\, and practical information applicable to their professional roles. \n\nExpert-Led Content – Learn from Canada’s foremost authorities in workplace health and safety. \n\nEngaging Virtual Platform – Participate in an interactive and user-friendly virtual environment. \n\nComprehensive Resources – Access meticulously crafted materials designed to support your ongoing professional development. \n\nNetworking Opportunities – Connect with a diverse group of professionals dedicated to advancing workplace health and safety. \nWednesday\, September 10\, 2025Introductory remarks: 12:30 pm – 12:35 pm ET \nKeynote Speech by Kevin Hedges - Learning the lessons from COVID-19 for worker protection\, accessibility\, and inclusion - 12:35 pm – 1:05 pm ET\n\n\n \nKevin Hedges\nOccupational Hygienist at Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers Inc (OHCOW) \n\n\nBreak: 1:05 pm – 1:20 pm ET \nPanel 1 - Your Annual Check-Up: The latest caselaw and legislative developments - 1:20 pm – 2:50 pm ET\n\n\n \nColin Gusikoski\nUnion Counsel\nVictory Square Law \n\n\n \nShaheen Hirani\nUnion Counsel\nUnited Steelworkers \n\n\n \nDavid Myrol\, K.C. \nCEO\nNational Safety Services Inc. \n\n\n \nThelma Zindoga\nEmployment Lawyer \n\n\nThis panel will highlight recent and significant developments in health and safety law across the country. Experts will discuss the latest decisions with a focus on the following topics: \n\nLiability:\n\ntrends in prosecutions and enforcement actions\, including employer and supervisor liability; and\ndamage awards.\n\n\nInvestigations and compliance:\n\norganizing workplace harassment investigations; and\nemployment standards.\n\n\nMedical information and workplace health:\n\nrequesting and relying on medical information;\nemployee sickness and provision of medical notes;\nconsequences of non-compliance with COVID-19 vaccination policies; and\ndrug and alcohol policies and justification for testing.\n\n\n\nExperts will also review developments impacting workplace health and safety\, such as: \n\nemployment standards under the federal Accessible Canada Act (CAN/ASC-1.1:2024 – Employment);\nworkplace health barriers for migrant workers and newcomers to Canada; and\nmandatory minimum fines and defining workplace harassment (Ontario’s Working for Workers Act series).\n\nFinal 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 political landscape. \nBreak: 2:50 pm – 3:05 pm ET \nPanel 2 - From Insult to Injury: Addressing psychological and physical harm in the workplace - 3:05 pm – 4:30 pm ET\n\n\n \nTony Hart\nCertified Health and Safety Consultant\nPublic Services Health and Safety Association \n\n\n \nPaul Macchione\nPartner\nNorton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP \n\n\n \nNancy MacLean\nRegional Health & Safety Representative\nPublic Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Atlantic \n\n\nThis panel will explore the expanding definitions of workplace violence\, encompassing both physical and psychological harm\, and the legal\, organizational\, and human responses needed to prevent harm\, promote employee well-being\, and strengthen workplaces overall. Specifically\, panelists will address: \n\nIs violence limited to actions that cause physical harm to a person\, or does it include threats\, verbal abuse\, or property damage?\nWhat must be done to ensure that policies are effectively drafted\, implemented\, reviewed\, and improved?\nHow should workplace parties assess the general risk of workplace violence from clients\, patients\, or other third parties?\nWhat legal obligations do employers have to assess and control workplace risk factors that may contribute to poor mental health?\nWhat role\, if any\, should the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace play in protecting and promoting workers’ mental health?\nHow can conflict management strategies mitigate the risk of harassment or violence in the workplace?\nWhat obligations do unions have to support members who are facing violence and/or harassment from third parties?\nWhen can employees refuse work due to the belief in the risk of violence from members of the public? Can workers excluded from the general right to refuse unsafe work under occupational health and safety legislation (i.e. police officers\, firefighters\, correctional officers\, health care workers)\, refuse work on the basis that a patient or client poses a danger?\nIn light of recent changes to Alberta’s OHS Code (Part 27)\, Ontario’s Working for Workers Act\, and other provincial legislative changes\, what must employers do to ensure their policies remain compliant and up to date?\nWhat workplace practices promote physical and mental wellness? What resources\, both in terms of guidance and data\, are available?\n\nClosing Remarks: 4:30 pm ET \nConference Co-Chairs\n  \n\n \nChris Bryden\nUnion Counsel\nRyder Wright Holmes Bryden Nam LLP \n\n\n \nMichelle Jones\nEmployer Counsel\nLawson Lundell LLP \n\n\nConference Advisory Committee\n\n \nLori Harreman\nLegal Coordinator \nOntario Nurses’ Association (ONA) \n\n\n \nArif Jetha\nAssociate Scientific Director \nInstitute for Work and Health \nAssociate Professor \nUniversity of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health \n\n\n \nLindsay Mullen\nEmployer Counsel\nNorton Rose Fulbright LLP \n\n\nCPDConference CPD\n\n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR Alberta for 3.5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR BC & Yukon for 3.5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\nThis program has been approved for Continuing Professional Development 3.5 hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).\n\n\n\n\n \n\nThis program has been approved by the Law Society of British Columbia for 3.5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\nMembers of the Law Society of Ontario may consider counting this program for 3.5 Substantive hours; 0 Professionalism hours.\nMembers of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society may consider counting this program for 3.5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\nMembers of the Law Society of New Brunswick may consider this program for 3.5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\nThis event contains 3.5 technical hours and may be eligible for BCRSP CPD points. See the BCRSP website at www.bcrsp.ca for CPD point criteria.\n\n\n\n\nSupportThis conference is supported by the Institute for Work & Health.
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/national-health-safety-conference-2025/
LOCATION:Virtual Event
CATEGORIES:Conference,Gender Equity
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251007
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251009
DTSTAMP:20260406T080328
CREATED:20250204T184709Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T181846Z
UID:15873-1759795200-1759967999@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:Ottawa Labour Law Conference 2025
DESCRIPTION:Wednesday\, October 8\, 2025 \nBreakfast and Registration: 8:00 am – 9:00 am \n\nOpening Remarks: 9:00 am – 9:05 am \n\nOpening Plenary by Alan Arcand - From Trade Shocks to Job Losses: Weathering the New Economic Landscape - 9:05 am – 9:35 am\n\n\n \nAlan Arcand\nChief Economist\, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) \n\n\nThis address will provide an overview of Canada’s economic outlook\, focusing on the impact of U.S. tariffs and the country’s ongoing competitiveness challenges. We will then examine how these forces\, together with structural factors such as population aging and rising retirement rates\, are reshaping the labour market \, particularly their effects on different demographic groups and what they mean for workers and employers across Canada. \n\nPanel 1: From Hearings to Headlines: Key developments in cases and legislation - 9:35 am – 11:05 am\n\n\n \nKatherine Cotton\nLawyer and Workplace Investigator \n\n\n \nSean Kelly\nDirector and Senior Counsel\nTreasury Board Secretariat – Legal Services \n\n\n \nAmanda Montague-Reinholdt\nUnion Counsel\nRaven Law LLP \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will delve into recent significant developments in federal and Ontario labour law\, exploring guiding principles and emerging trends in a changing world of work. Panelists will address the latest cases on topics including: \n\nGovernment intervention in collective bargaining disputes raising issues of freedom of association under the Charter of Rights\nEmployment standards and termination\n\ndischarge and discipline\noff-duty conduct\n\n\nEconomic issues\n\nTariffs and economic uncertainty\n\n\nWorkplace rights and responsibilities\n\ndiscrimination\, harassment\, and accommodation\nprivacy\ndrug and alcohol testing\nworkplace investigations\n\n\nFreedom of expression\n\nPanelists will also address recent federal and Ontario legislative and regulatory developments\, such as: \n\nThe Working for Workers’ Act series;\nupdated government guidance regarding requirements under federal supply chain transparency legislation;\nlegislation restricting the use of strike replacement workers passed federally; and\nQuebec legislation on arbitrator selection and government powers to pause or prohibit strikes.\n\nBreak: 11:05 am – 11:20 am \n\nKeynote Speech by Sheila James - DEI and the Political Pendulum - 11:20 am – 11:50 am\n\n\n \nSheila James\nDirectorOffice of I-IDEAS Indigeneity- Inclusion\, Diversity\, Equity\, Access and Social justiceChildren’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) \n\n\nFrom the global reckoning sparked by COVID-19\, the murder of George Floyd\, and findings of unmarked graves of children at former residential schools to the polarizing rhetoric of the present moment and escalating global conflict\, equity\, diversity\, and inclusion (EDI) professionals are navigating workplaces that are increasingly divisive or silenced. This keynote explores the impact of policy changes in the U.S. on Canadian organizations. Which organizations have dropped their EDI programs\, and which have retained them. How has the EDI conversation evolved — and how are professionals moving through these turbulent times. \nLunch: 11:50 am – 1:00 pm \n\nPanel 2: Out of Sight\, Out of Line? Managing Absenteeism\, Undue Hardship and RTO Compliance in Remote Work Arrangements - 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm\n\n\n \nChristine Johnson\nUnion Counsel\nChamp & Associates \n\n\n \nRussell MacCrimmon\nEmployer Counsel\nBird Richard \n\n\nOver 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 (“RTO”)\, including: absenteeism\, presenteeism\,  and the employer’s duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship. Specifically\, the following questions will be addressed: \n\nAs 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?\nCan an employee insist on remote work as a form of health-related accommodation? Will an employee be entitled to work from home during pregnancy? Does an employee’s susceptibility to contracting an illness at the workplace warrant accommodation? What is the type and scope of medical information that is required to support these requests?\nIn 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 their family status\, such as childcare or eldercare responsibilities? What kinds of information can employers require to support such a request? How can employers and unions distinguish an employee’s personal preferences from legitimate accommodation needs?\nHow have arbitrators dealt with employees’ requests to work from home because of difficulty commuting to the workplace due to a disability? 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?\nWhen will the return of an employee to in-person work amount to a bona fide occupational requirement (BFOR)? When will an employer be able to establish that undue hardship will arise if an employee is allowed to work remotely?\nHow should employers and unions address increased absenteeism due to RTO? Are there working options that help improve attendance?\nHow should employers and unions address presenteeism\, i.e. when employees attend work knowing that they are ill and maybe contagious?\nWhat aspects of work-from-home or hybrid work arrangements should be specifically addressed in policies or collective agreement provisions. e.g. cost of equipment\, availability for virtual meetings\, office communications?\n\nBreak: 2:15 pm – 2:30 pm \n\nPanel 3: Social Media\, Surveillance\, & AI-Driven Management Decisions: Where are we now? Where are we headed? An interactive session - 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm\n\n\n \nJustin Amaral\nLegal Counsel\nNational Police Federation \n\n\n \nMarie-Pier Dupont\nEmployer counsel\nEmond Harnden \n\n\n \nSteven Gaon\nMediator\, Arbitrator\, Investigator\nADR Ottawa Inc. \n\n\nThis session will provide employers and unions with the best available insight into AI-driven management decisions\, employee surveillance\, and social media. Experienced management and union counsel will join an arbitrator to discuss three hypothetical scenerios relating to AI management\, social media use\, and surveillance. \nSpecific issues to be addressed include: \n\nWhat is the current role of AI-driven tools in management decision-making\, and how is that role expected to evolve in the future?\nIn what circumstances can an employer dismiss an employee for inappropriate social media posts? Where is the line between free speech and offensive speech?\nHow are employers and unions addressing the use of algorithmic management in collective agreements?\nWhat arguments for and against the use of algorithmic management will  arbitrators find most compelling?\nWhat arguments for and against the use of employee surveillance have arbitrators accepted or rejected?\nWhat legal concerns arise when an employer uses AI to assess candidates’ suitability for positions?\n\nConference End: 4:00 pm \n\nTuesday\, October 7\, 2025 \nWorkshop \n*Workshop sold separately from stand-alone conference. \nWorkshop schedule: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm ET \nDesigning for Inclusivity: Supporting and accommodating mental health and neurodivergence at work\n\n\n \nDavid Bennett\nMediator\, Arbitrator\, and Investigator \n\n\n \nOdessa O’Dell\nEmployer Counsel\nBorden Ladner Gervais LLP \n\n\n \nMorgan Rowe\nUnion Counsel\nRavenLaw LLP \n\n\n \nDr. Julia Ryan\nRegistered Psychologist \n\n\nAs awareness of mental health and neurodiversity grows\, workplaces are adapting to create inclusive environments where neurodivergent employees can thrive. This includes understanding their unique strengths\, providing necessary accommodations\, and fostering a culture of acceptance and understanding. This interactive workshop will explore how employers\, unions\, and employees can work together to build inclusive environments that support neurodivergent individuals and those experiencing mental health challenges. Through panel discussion and practical scenarios\, participants will address key questions\, including: \n\nWhat does the term “neurodivergent” include? What are similarities and differences between learning disabilities\, ADHD\, and Autistic Spectrum Disorders (“ASD”)? What can be done to combat stereotypes affecting the inclusion and accommodation of neurodivergent employees and those with mental health issues in the workplace?\nWhat can employers and unions do to reduce the barriers faced by neurodivergent job seekers in the hiring and onboarding processes?\nWhat type of medical information can employers request from neurodivergent employees seeking accommodation\, g. a neuropsychological or psychoeducational evaluation?\nHow can employers\, unions\, and employees address systemic barriers at work throughout the employment relationship?\nWhat accommodations would be most helpful for employees with the following:\n\nLearning disabilities\nASD\nMental health disorders and conditions (i.e. bipolar disorder\, depression\, anxiety)\n\n\nHave legal obligations evolved to include a duty to promote workplace mental health and prevent workplace mental harms such as stress and burnout?\nWhat proactive steps can employers\, unions\, and employees take now to address organizational and individual factors contributing to stress and burnout?\nHow can employers and unions measure efforts and progress toward workplace equity?\nWhat role are unions playing in setting workplace equity policies and programs\, implementing them\, and measuring their progress as it relates to neurodiversity initiatives?\nIs a ‘right to disconnect’ necessary to promote psychological health and safety? If so\, how should this right be defined? Do amendments to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act\, 2000 provide adequate guidance?\nWhat signs may indicate that an employee has a mental health condition or other condition that may require accommodation or support?\nHow can employers and unions identify threats to mental well-being specific to their workplace?\n\nPricing \nOttawa Labour Law Conference$1\,395.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nOttawa Labour Law Conference – Workshop$1\,195.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nOttawa Labour Law Conference & Workshop$2\,195.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nConference Co-Chairs \n\n\n \nSophie Arseneault\nEmployer Counsel\nFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP \n\n\n \nPaul Champ\nUnion Counsel\nChamp & Associates \n\n\n \nDavid Jewitt\nPrincipal\nJewitt Arbitration & Mediation Services Inc. \n\n\n\nAdvisory Committee \n\n\n \nLauren Brecher\nEmployer Counsel\nEmond Harnden LLP \n\n\n \nSasha Hart\nFounder\nSasha Hart Law \n\n\n \nHenry Huang\nCrown Counsel\nTreasury Board Secretariat\, Legal Services Branch\nOntario Ministry of the Attorney General \n\n\n \nJordan Levis-Leduc\nGeneral Counsel\nNational Police Federation \n\n\n\nCPD \nConference CPD\n\n\nThis program (CPD Code) has been approved for 5 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).\n\n\n\n\n \n\nMembers of the Law Society of Ontario may consider counting this program for 5 Substantive hours; 0 Professionalism hours.\n\n\n\nWorkshop CPD\n\n\nThis program (CPD Code) has been approved for 5.5 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).\n\n\n\n\n \n\nMembers of the Law Society of Ontario may consider counting this program for 5.5 Substantive hours; 0 Professionalism hours.\n\n\n\nDoubleTree by Hilton Ottawa Downtown\nReserve By:\nSaturday\, September 15\, 2025. After this date\, the special group rate will no longer be available and reservation requests will be based on availability that is subject to the hotel’s rates. \n\n\n\nStart Date\nEnd Date\nRoom Type\nSingle\n\n\nOctober 6\, 2025\nOctober 9\, 2025\nStandard 1 Kg Bed\n$299\n\n\n\nIf any attendees wish to extend their stay by 3 days before the event (October 6\, 2025) or 3 days after the event ends (October 7\, October 9\, 2025)\, they can easily modify their reservation by calling our front desk at 613-230-3033 or emailing us at doubletree@doubletreeottawa.com mentioning the group name example: Lancaster Individual. \nReserve Online
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/ottawa-labour-law-conference-2025/
LOCATION:Rogers Centre Ottawa\, 55 Colonel By Drive\, Ottawa\, Ontario\, K1N 9J2\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Conference,Labour Law & Labour Policy
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251106
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251108
DTSTAMP:20260406T080328
CREATED:20250218T164628Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251030T165836Z
UID:15946-1762387200-1762559999@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:Edmonton Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference 2025
DESCRIPTION:Friday\, November 7\, 2025 \nBreakfast and Registration: 8:00 am – 9:00 am \n\nIntroductory remarks: 9:00 am – 9:05 am \n\nPanel 1: Dollars and Sense of Public Bargaining: Evaluating Alberta's economic and fiscal outlook - 9:05 am – 9:50 am\n\n\n \nRichard E. Mueller\nProfessor\nDepartment of Economics\nUniversity of Lethbridge \n\n\n \nCatherine Rothrock\nChief Economist\nAlberta Treasury Board and Finance \n\n\nWhat economic conditions will we face in 2026? In this forward-looking session\, economists will examine 2026 economic and fiscal forecasts in Alberta and federally. Specifically\, the panel will address: \n\nProvincial and federal growth forecasts;\nInflation\, interest rates\, and cost-of-living expectations;\nEmployment and labour market conditions;\nProvincial comparisons and impact of trade with the United States; and\nEconomic priorities in 2026 Alberta and federal budgets.\n\nBreak: 9:50 am – 10:05 am \n\nPanel 2: From Statistics to Strategies: Navigating public sector negotiations in the current economic climate - 10:05 am – 11:05 am\n\n\n \nSteve Bradshaw\nPresident\nAmalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 569 \n\n\n \nGabriel Joshee-Arnal\nEmployer Counsel\nNeuman Thompson \n\n\n \nDeborah Schaan\nGeneral VP North\, CUPE Alberta Division \nCUPE Local 417\, President \n\n\n \nAnna Turcza-Karhut\nSupervisor of the City of Edmonton Labour and Employment Lawyers \n\n\nExperienced negotiators will address challenges in the next round of bargaining in the broader public sector in light of Alberta’s economic outlook. Specifically\, the panelists will address the following questions: \n\nWhat do the recent fiscal update and economic statement\, fiscal plan\, and other communications from the Government of Alberta tell us about the provincial government’s bargaining priorities for the end of 2025 and beyond?\nWhat economic factors should employers and unions consider when determining bargaining priorities and drafting proposals? Is there anything unique to Alberta’s current economic situation that negotiators need to pay particular attention to in bargaining? How is the approach to bargaining affected by uncertain times?\nHow will the uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs and the Canadian response\, such as retaliatory tariffs\, 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?\nHow will the current state of the economy affect negotiating wage increases? How will inflation and the increased cost of living affect bargaining in this area? Does Alberta’s stagnant minimum wage play a role?\nHow 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? Can an employer meeting a union’s non-monetary demands make up for not meeting monetary demands?\nHow do hiring freezes and layoffs\, resulting in increased job complexity and workloads\, affect bargaining?\n\n\nBreak: 11:05 am – 11:20 am \n\nKeynote Speech by Leanne Young - The Human Dynamics of Alberta’s Unique Bargaining Framework - 11:20 am – 11:50 am\n\n\n \nLeanne Young\, K.C.\nChartered Arbitrator\, Mediator and Adjudicator\nResolve ADR \n\n\nExploring Alberta’s bargaining framework as a living system that is driven by people and not a set of laws or fiscal policies. Alberta’s specific framework demonstrates this using trust\, transparency\, and the invisible influence that government mandates create.Networking Lunch: 11:50 am – 12:50 pm \n\nPanel 3: Current and Critical: Exploring recent caselaw and legislative developments - 12:50 pm – 1:50 pm\n\n\n \nDan Bokenfohr\nEmployer Counsel\nMcLennan Ross \n\n\n \nElla Henry\nCounsel\nCanadian Union of Public Employees \n\n\n \nNancy Schlesinger\nChair and Essential Services Commissioner\nAlberta Labour Relations Board \n\n\nIn 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: \n\nthe legality of recent government interventions pausing or prohibiting strikes in the railway\, ports\, postal\, airline\, education\, and other sectors;\na recent Quebec Court of Appeal decision limiting the role of governments in the selection of impartial interest arbitrators;\nthe trends in recent labour board decisions addressing issues such as unfair labour practices\, good faith bargaining\, statutory freeze violations\, contracting out\, bargaining unit scope\, essential services agreements\, and delineating “core” and “non-core” union activities;\nthe impact of recent interest arbitration decisions addressing inflation\, morale\, staffing and retention\, and changing social\, political\, and economic conditions; and\nthe effectof recent grievance arbitration awards addressing collective agreement interpretation\, including the assessment of employees’ contractual entitlements during lay-offs and restructuring.\n\nThe session will also address key legislative changes\, including: \n\nthe implications for protest activity of Alberta’s Justice Statutes Amendment Act\, adding certain healthcare facilities to the province’s Critical Infrastructure Defence Act;\nchanges to Alberta’s healthcare system introduced through Alberta’s latest Health Statutes Amendment Acts and related concerns with respect to privatization and working conditions;\nthe “Common Front Solidarity Pact” recently reached between the Alberta Federation of Labour and other unions within the province.\nlegislation in Quebec expanding government power to restrict or end strikes and lock-outs and refer certain labour disputes to interest arbitration; and\nlegislation restricting the use of strike replacement workers passed federally and in Manitoba.\n\nFinal topics will be selected in the weeks prior to the conference to ensure coverage of the latest and most important developments in a changing legal and political landscape. \nBreak: 1:50 pm – 2:05 pm \n\nFireside Chat - The Multigenerational Advantage - Building Stronger Teams\, Now and for the Future - 2:05 pm – 2:35 pm\n\n\n \nEvangeline Berube\nAssociate Director\nRobert Half \n\n\nThe diverse age range of today’s workforce can often leave employers struggling to balance hiring strategies\, compensation and benefit decisions\, and workplace cultures based on how they support and resonate differently with employees across generations. The good news is the gap between generations frequently isn’t as wide as you might think\, and the differences that exist aren’t necessarily the ones you’d expect. From emerging opportunities to generational insights\, this session will explore the influence of baby boomers\, Gen X\, millennials\, and Gen Z on today’s workforce\, along with the impacts of various policies on their productivity and well-being.\nJoin Adam Cembrowski\, a partner with Nugent Law Office as he discusses the multigenerational workforce with Evangeline Berube\, Vice President and Associate Director with Robert Half.Break:  2:35 pm – 2:45 pm \n\nPanel 4: Modernizing Collective Agreements: AI\, EDI\, remote work\, restructuring\, outsourcing\, scope of benefits and leaves\, new technologies\, and more - 2:45 pm – 4:00 pm\n\n\n \nRohit Gill\nLabour Relations Officer at United Nurses of Alberta \n\n\n \nAdam Norget\nDirector of HR Legal Services & Legal Counsel\nEdmonton Police Service \n\n\n \nRyan K. Smith\nEmployer counsel\nNeuman Thomson \n\n\nThe future of work is here – is your collective agreement ready? Join this dynamic session to explore how technology\, evolving workplace expectations\, and legal developments are driving the need for modernization. Topics to be addressed include: \n\nThe impact of artificial intelligence (“AI”) on employee hiring and management\nNew technologies relating to surveillance and monitoring of employees at work\nRemote work and flexible workplace arrangements\nEquity\, Diversion and Inclusion (“EDI”) in the workplace\nThe right to disconnect\nScope of benefits and leaves of absence\nOutsourcing work\nRestructuring\nSocial media during bargaining\n\nClosing Remarks: 4:00 pm \n\nRegisterThursday\, November 6\, 2025 \nWorkshop \n*Workshop sold separately from stand-alone conference. \n\nBargaining Beyond the Basics: Advanced skills in public sector bargaining\n\n\n \nPaulette Dekelver\nArbitrator/Mediator \n\n\n \nTeresa Haykowsky\nEmployer Counsel\nMcLennan Ross \n\n\n \nLisa Mason\nRegional Director \nCUPE Alberta \n\n\nIn this full-day workshop\, experts will help participants improve their bargaining skills beyond the basics\, with a focus on overcoming negotiating roadblocks\, communicating during bargaining\, and crafting appropriate collective agreement language. Participants will engage in interactive exercises relevant to the principles and practices discussed throughout the day. Topics include: \n\nApplying negotiation strategies to preserve relationships during bargaining and improve outcomes;\nCommunicating with members or employees and the media during bargaining;\nCounteracting bad faith bargaining;\nAddressing confidential mandates under Alberta’s Public Sector Employers Act;\nDetermining the cost of benefits under a collective agreement;\nInterpreting collective agreement language; and\nCrafting clear and compelling collective agreement language.\n\nRegister \nEdmonton Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference – Single day$1\,395.00Select options	\n		This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page	\n  \nEdmonton Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference – Workshop$1\,295.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nEdmonton Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference & Workshop$2\,195.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nConference Co-Chairs\n\n \nAdam Cembrowski\nUnion Counsel\nNugent Law Office \n\n\n \nMaurice Dransfeld\nEmployer Counsel\nMcLennan Ross \n\n\n\nConference Advisory Committee \n\n\n \nAlison Adam\nEmployer Counsel\nMcLennan Ross \n\n\n \nHeather Smith\nPresident\nUnited Nurses of Alberta \n\n\n \nSteve Stringfellow\nAssistant Deputy Minister\, Labour Relations Policy & Programs \nPublic Service Commission \nGovernment of Alberta \n\n\n \nTerry Sway\nAssociate Director of Operations \nNon-Academic Staff Association (NASA)  \nUniversity of Edmonton \n\n\n \nRuth Strong\, Retired\nSenior Lead\, Disputes and Advisory Services\nCity of Edmonton \n\n\n\nCPD \nConference CPD\n\n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR Alberta for 5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\nWorkshop CPD\n\n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR Alberta for 5.33 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\nRegister
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/edmonton-bargaining-in-the-broader-public-sector-conference-2025/
LOCATION:Westin Edmonton\, 10135 100th Street\, Edmonton\, Alberta\, T5J 0N7\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference,Conference
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lancasterhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Edmonton-Bargaining-in-the-Broader-Public-Sector-Conference-2025-banner.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251119
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251122
DTSTAMP:20260406T080328
CREATED:20250218T171753Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251118T173922Z
UID:16027-1763510400-1763769599@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:Vancouver Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector and Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference 2025
DESCRIPTION:Thursday\, November 20\, 2025 \nBargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference \nBreakfast and Registration: 8:00 am – 9:00 am \n\nIntroductory remarks: 9:00 am – 9:05 am \n\nPanel 1 - Scanning the Economic Horizon: Expert insights into B.C.'s financial outlook - 9:05 am – 10:05 am\n\n\n \nAlex Hemingway\nSenior Economist and Public Finance\nBC Society for Policy Solutions \n\n\n \nSusan Mowbray\nPartner\nEconomics and Research\nMNP \n\n\nWhat economic conditions will we face in 2026? In this forward-looking session\, economists will examine 2026 economic and fiscal forecasts in B.C. and federally. Specifically\, the panel will address: \n\nProvincial and federal growth forecasts;\nInflation\, interest rates\, and cost-of-living expectations;\nEmployment and labour market conditions;\nProvincial comparisons and impact of tariffs on trade with the United States; and\nEconomic priorities in 2026 B.C and federal budgets.\n\nBreak: 10:05 am – 10:20 am \n\nPanel 2 - From Numbers to Negotiations: Translating economic forecasts into bargaining strategies - 10:20 am – 11:35 am\n\n\n \nNorah Miner\nDirector of Bargaining\nHealth Sciences Association of BC (HSABC) \n\n\n \nMike Vizsolyi\nExecutive Director\, Employee and Labour Relations\nUniversity of British Columbia (UBC) \n\n\nExperienced negotiators will address challenges in the next round of bargaining in the broader public sector in light of British Columbia’s economic outlook. Specifically\, the panelists will address the following questions: \n\nWhat do recent communications from the Government of British Columbia tell us about the provincial government’s bargaining priorities for currently and for the year ahead?\nWhat economic factors should employers and unions consider when determining bargaining priorities and drafting proposals? Is there anything unique to British Columbia’s current economic situation that negotiators need to pay particular attention to in bargaining?\nHow 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?\nHow 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?\nHow 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?\nHow are the parties coping with freezes and layoffs as well as labour shortages in negotiations?\n\nBreak: 11:35 am – 11:50 am \n\nFireside Chat with Krista James - Meeting the Needs of our Intergenerational Workplaces - 11:50 am – 12:20 pm\n\n\n \nKrista James\nPolicy Director and Senior Legal Counsel\nVancouver Coastal Health \n\n\nNetworking Lunch: 12:20 pm – 1:20 pm \n\nPanel 3 - Coping with Current Legislation: Highlighting the top recent cases and legislative developments impacting bargaining in B.C. and nationwide - 1:20 pm – 2:30 pm\n\n\n \nJeremy Bryant\nUnion Counsel\nBanister & Company \n\n\n \nTamara Ramusovic\nUnion Counsel\nMoore Edgar Lyster LLP \n\n\n \nDelayne Sartison\nEmployer Counsel\nRoper Greyell LLP \n\n\n \nJessica Thomson\nEmployer Counsel\nPulver Crawford Munroe \n\n\nIn 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: \n\nthe legality of recent federal government interventions pausing or prohibiting strikes in the railway\, ports\, postal\, education\, airline\, and other sectors;\n\n\nrecent labour board decisions addressing issues such as secondary picketing\, unfair labour practices and the duty to bargain in good faith\, and the use of out-of-province workers to perform struck work;\nthe impact of recent interest arbitration decisions addressing inflation\, staffing and retention\, and changing social\, political\, and economic conditions;\nthe effect of recent grievance arbitration awards\, including cases addressing discriminatory collective agreement language\, the use of hiring incentives\, and the application of the Charter to B.C. employers in the broader public sector; and\nnavigating potential conflicts between collective agreement language and changing requirements in employment standards legislation; and\naftermath of the Quebec Casinos \n\nThe session will also address key legislative and policy updates\, including: \n\nthe latest developments in the ongoing review of the B.C. Labour Relations Code;\nmeasures introduced by the federal and B.C. government to avoid or cushion the impacts of ongoing trade conflict;\nlegislation in Quebec expanding government power to restrict or end strikes and lock-outs and refer certain labour disputes to interest arbitration; and\nlegislation restricting the use of strike replacement workers passed federally and in Manitoba.\n\nFinal 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. \nBreak: 2:30 pm – 2:45 pm \n\nPanel 4 - Bargaining Emerging Issues: Climate change\, disaster leaves\, gig and remote work\, new leaves and innovative benefits\, new technologies\, generational differences and more - 2:45 pm – 4:00 pm\n\n\n \nChris Beneteau\nExecutive Director\, Labour Relations\nBC Public School Employers’ Association \n\n\n \nErin Cutler\nSenior Legal Director and General Counsel\nHealth Employers Association of BC (HEABC) \n\n\n \nRichard Tones\nDirector of Negotiations\nBC General Employees Union (BCGEU) \n\n\n \nThom Yachnin\nUnion Counsel\nVictory Square Law Office \n\n\nThe future of work is here – is your collective agreement ready? Join this dynamic session to explore how technology\, current events\, and evolving societal and workplace expectations are driving the need for modernization. Topics to be addressed include: \n\nThe impact of artificial intelligence (“AI”) on employee hiring and management;\nNew technologies related to surveillance and monitoring of employees;\nRemote work\, flexible work arrangements\, and gig work;\nMental health\, staffing levels\, and workload;\nWorkplace violence;\nEmerging leave and benefit provisions;\nClimate change and disaster preparedness;\nEquity\, diversity\, and inclusion; and\nGenerational differences in workplace and bargaining priorities.\n\nTopics will be finalized in the weeks prior to the conference\, ensuring coverage of the latest and most pressing issues. \nClosing Remarks: 4:00 pm \n\nRegisterFriday\, November 21\, 2025 \nLabour Arbitration and Policy Conference \nBreakfast and Registration: 8:00 am – 9:00 am \n\nIntroductory remarks: 9:00 am – 9:05 am \n\nPanel 1 - From Hearings to Headlines: Key developments in cases and legislation - 9:05 am – 10:20 am\n\n\n \nValerie Dixon\nLegal Counsel – Labour\, Employment and Human Rights\nCity of Vancouver \n\n\n \nJitesh Mistry\nLabour Arbitrator and Mediator\nMistry ADR \n\n\n \nErica Sandhu\nUnion Counsel\nHastings Labour Law Office \n\n\nIn 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: \nCaselaw: \n\nGovernment intervention in recent collective bargaining disputes including issues of freedom of association under the Charter\nRemedies for breach of employment standards\n\nclass actions\narbitration agreements\nSupreme Court hearing on Quebec’s secular dress code\nupcoming changes\n\n\nTermination\n\ndischarge and discipline\nsexual harassment\n\n\nLabour Board decisions\n\nunfair labour practices\ngood faith bargaining\nremedial certification\n\n\nWorkplace rights and responsibilities\n\nprivacy issues\ndrug and alcohol testing\nworkplace investigations\n\n\n\n\ndiscrimination and accommodation\nharassment and retaliation\n\n\nLegislation: The B.C. Labour Relations Code Review Panel report on recommended amendments;\nlegislation dealing dealing with federal supply chain transparency;\nNew restrictions on the use of strike replacement workers in federally regulated industries; and\nQuebec legislation ensuring parties’ role in arbitrator selection and expansion of government powers to pause or prohibit strikes.\n\nFinal 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. \nBreak: 10:20 am – 10:35 am \n\nKeynote by Stephen Kelleher - Perspectives of a Supreme Court Judge returning to Labour Arbitration and Mediation - 10:35 am – 11:05 am\n\n\n \nStephen Kelleher\, K.C.\nArbitrator and Mediator \n\n\nArbitrator Kelleher will discuss how labour arbitration has evolved from its original purpose and how it has continued to change with the times. He will compare and contrast litigation in court and labour arbitration. Finally\, he will ask whether some court procedures should be considered for the labour arbitration context.Break: 11:05 am – 11:20 am \n\nPanel 2 - Hidden Needs\, Hard Questions: Navigating complex workplace accommodations - 11:20 am – 12:30 pm\n\n\n \nBrad Cocke\nEmployer counsel\nCooperwilliams Truman & Ito LLP \n\n\n \nJodie Gauthier\nUnion Counsel\nBlack Burke Mayor \n\n\n \nLesley Maisey\nOccupational Health Nurse\nSpecialist For Disability Case Management\nSharezen Group \n\n\nAs workplaces reopen\, accommodation requests are becoming more varied and complex. This panel will address health-related accommodations in the context of return-to-work mandates. Specifically\, the following questions will be addressed: \n\nWhat are common medical conditions that elude diagnosis\, or that are considered “diagnoses of exclusion”? How do the stereotypes and stigma associated with these conditions contribute to the challenge of providing accommodation?\nWhat are best practices for drafting initial and follow-up letters to medical professionals? Are employers or unions entitled to communicate directly with an employee’s medical professional?\nHow 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?\nWhen will it be appropriate for an employer to request an 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?\nCan 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? What is the type and scope of medical information that is required to support these requests?\nDoes 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?\nHow should collective agreements and workplace policies be updated to comply with British Columbia’s new restrictions on sick notes for short-term absences? How do these restrictions affect other responsibilities\, such as the duty to accommodate?\n\n\nNetworking Lunch: 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm \n\nFireside chat - AI and the Labour Relations Problem-Solver: Building Towards Your Irreplaceable Edge - 1:30 pm – 2:15 pm\n\n\n \nCarolyn Janusz\nUnion Counsel\nGoodwin Law \n\n\n \nJohn McConchie\nArbitrator and Mediator \n\n\n\nBreak: 2:15 pm – 2:30 pm \n\nPanel 3 - Pre-hearing Primer: Handling procedural delays\, preliminary objections\, requests for particulars\, and more - 2:30 pm – 3:45 pm\n\n\n \nJulia Bell\nEmployer Counsel\nRoper Greyell LLP \n\n\n \nWill Clements\nUnion Counsel\nKoskie Glavin Gordon \n\n\n \nRyan Goldvine\nMediator and Arbitrator\nGoldvine Dispute Resolution Services \nPart-Time Member\nBC Employment Standards Tribunal \n\n\nEffective pre-hearing procedures are critical to the smooth and timely resolution of labour arbitration cases. This panel will offer practical insights on minimizing delays\, leveraging emerging technologies\, managing preliminary objections\, and responding to requests for particulars and production. Panelists will share strategies for addressing common procedural challenges and ensuring hearings proceed efficiently. Specifically\, panelists will address: \nDelay: \n\nWhat are the most common pre-hearing bottlenecks and how can they be avoided?\nWhen does delay cross the line into abuse of process? What remedies (such as costs or adjournments) are available?\n\nNew Formats: \n\nHow do virtual and hybrid formats contribute to pre-hearing efficiency\, and what procedural or practical challenges might they create?\n\n\nDoes any guidance exist on permissible uses of Generative AI in pre-hearing stages (g. for document review\, timeline automation\, etcetera)?\n\nRequest for Particulars: \n\nWhat are best practices for responding to and drafting effective requests for particulars?\n\n\nWhat types of statements\, information\, or documents are protected by privilege\, confidentiality agreements\, or privacy laws?\n\nPreliminary Objections: \n\nWhat are the most common types of preliminary objections (e.g. jurisdiction\, timeliness\, standing)\, and when should they be raised?\n\n\nShould parties always raise preliminary objections early\, or are there risks in doing so prematurely?\n\nEvidence: \n\nHow do arbitrators deal with attempts to introduce evidence regarding exchanges during negotiations\, estoppel notices\, counterproposals in bargaining\, etcetera?\n\nGeneral: \n\nAs prehearing processes grow more complex with expanded preliminary issues and interim orders\, are they strengthening procedural fairness or complicating efficiency and proportionality?\n\n\nClosing remarks: 3:45 pm – 4:00 pm \n\nRegisterRegister Vancouver Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference$1\,395.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nVancouver Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference$1\,395.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nVancouver Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Workshop$1\,395.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nVancouver Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference Workshop$1\,295.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nVancouver Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference & Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference$2\,295.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nVancouver Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference & Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference – Bundle$2\,995.00Select options	\n		This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page	\n  \n\nWednesday\, November 19\, 2025Workshops \n(The schedule will run concurrently for all workshops) \n\nBargaining In The Broader Public Sector Conference Workshop \nBargaining for Change: Advancing Equity\, Diversity\, and Inclusion (EDI) at the table\n\n\n \nHasan Alam\nStaff LawyerBC Government and Service Employees’ Union(BCGEU) \n\n\n \nNatasha Aruliah\nConsultantJEDDI (Justice\, Equity\, Decolonising\, Diversity and Inclusion) Specialist \n\n\n \nCarolyn MacEachern\nEmployer CounselYoung Anderson \n\n\n \nShelina Neallani\nLawyer\, Mediator\,  and Workplace Assessor \n\n\n\n\nSpecial opening session led by: \n \nEmily Ohler\nChair British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal \n\n\nIn 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”). \nParticipants 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: \n\nPrepare to address EDI effectively in bargaining by evaluating areas for improvement and identifying key issues to be addressed at the table;\nReview collective agreements for problematic language and update commonly-used but exclusionary terminology;\nApply lessons learned from recent arbitration decisions in which collective agreement language was proved to be discriminatory;\nCraft 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\nNavigate potential conflicts between language aimed at promoting EDI and other collective agreement rights\, such as seniority provisions.\n\nAll 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. \nLabour Arbitration And Policy Conference Workshop \nHoning Your Grievance and Arbitration Skills: Tools and tactics for success\n\n\n \nSusanna Allevato Quail\nCounsel\nAllevato Quail & Associates \n\n\n \nMike Hamata\nEmployer Counsel\nRoper Greyell \n\n\n \nGabriel Somjen\nArbitrator and Mediator \n\n\nBuild your skills in grievance handling and arbitration advocacy through this interactive workshop. Speakers will bring deep insight into the real-world dynamics of grievance resolution\, explore how to build a persuasive case\, and discuss what matters most in the hearing room. \nThrough a facilitated discussion and interactive exercises\, attendees will learn how to: \n\nAssess the merits of a grievance and progress through key steps in the grievance process in accordance with collective agreement requirements;\nWork with grievors who may present as “difficult to work with\,” recognizing underlying disabilities\, trauma\, and other factors which may be impacting communication;\nIdentify when settlement or mediation is appropriate;\nRecognize when a matter is unlikely to settle\, assess the appropriate forum\, and determine when arbitration is necessary;\nPrepare for arbitration and make the most of pre-hearing processes\, laying the groundwork to succeed at the hearing;\nNavigate key rules of evidence\, ensuring a case is presented in full and countering efforts by opposing parties to introduce out-of-bounds evidence; and\nAdvocate effectively in the hearing\, advancing the interests of your member\, organization\, or client.\n\nAttendees will be encouraged to ask questions and engage with other participants. All other 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. \nRegister Vancouver Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference$1\,395.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nVancouver Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference$1\,395.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nVancouver Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Workshop$1\,295.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nVancouver Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference Workshop$1\,295.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nVancouver Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference & Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference$2\,295.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nVancouver Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference & Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference – Bundle (Conference + Workshop)$2\,995.00Select options	\n		This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page	\n  \n\nBargaining in the Broader Public Sector ConferenceConference Co-chairs\n\n \nLeanne Bowes\nChief Executive Officer\nPost-Secondary Employers’ Association \n\n\n \nElisabeth Finney\nUnion Counsel\nBlack Burke Mayor \n\n\n\nConference Advisory Committee \n\n\n \nJeremy Bryant\nUnion Counsel\nBanister & Company \n\n\n \nAndrea Mears\nLabour Relations Officer Professional Employees Association \n\n\n \nAlissa Perry\nDirector\, Employee Relations\nBC Public School Employers’ Association \n\n\n \nPaul Reniers\nDivison Manager\, Collective Bargaining\nMetro Vancouver \n\n\n\nLabour Arbitration and Policy Conference \nConference Co-chairs\n\n \nCarolyn Janusz\nUnion Counsel\nGoodwin Law \n\n\n \nJames Kondopulos\nEmployer Counsel\nRoper Greyell LLP \n\n\n \nJohn McConchie\nArbitrator/Mediator \n\n\n\nConference Advisory Committee \n\n\n \nGretchen Brown\nUnion Counsel\nBritish Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) \n\n\n \nStephanie Mayor\nUnion Counsel\nBlack Burke Mayor \n\n\n \nCarolynn Ryan\nSenior VP People & Chief Human Resources Officer\nBC Hydro \n\n\n \nMarino Sveinson\nEmployer Counsel\nPulver Crawford Munroe \n\n\n\nCPD \nBargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference CPD\n\n\n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR BC & Yukon for 5.25 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\n \n\nThis program has been approved by the Law Society of British Columbia for 5.25 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\n\nVancouver Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference CPD\n\n\n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR BC & Yukon for 5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\n \n\nThis program has been approved by the Law Society of British Columbia for 5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\n\nVancouver Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Pre-Conference Workshop CPD\n\n\n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR BC & Yukon for 5.5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\n \n\nThis program has been approved by the Law Society of British Columbia for 5.5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\n\nVancouver Labour Arbitration And Policy Pre-Conference Workshop CPD\n\n\n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR BC & Yukon for 5.5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\n \n\nThis program has been approved by the Law Society of British Columbia for 5.5 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\n\nRegister
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/vancouver-bargaining-in-the-broader-public-sector-and-labour-arbitration-and-policy-conference-2025/
LOCATION:Pan Pacific Hotel Vancouver\, 999 Canada Pl #300\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6C 3B5\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference,Conference,Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lancasterhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Vancouver-Bargaining-in-the-Broader-Public-Sector-and-Labour-Arbitration-and-Policy-Conference-2025-banner-2.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251208
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251211
DTSTAMP:20260406T080329
CREATED:20250319T191035Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251204T191322Z
UID:16289-1765152000-1765411199@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:Toronto Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector and Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference 2025
DESCRIPTION:Tuesday\, December 9\, 2025 \nBargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference \nBreakfast and Registration: 8:00 am – 9:00 am \n\nIntroductory Remarks: 9:00 am – 9:05 am \n\nPanel 1 - Scanning the Economic Horizon: Expert insights into Ontario’s financial outlook - 9:05 am – 10:05 am\n\n\n \nRafael Gomez\nProfessor\nDirector of the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources \n\n\n \nDoug Porter\nChief Economist and Managing Director\, Economics\nBMO \n\n\nWhat 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: \n\nProvincial and federal growth forecasts;\nInflation\, interest rates\, and cost-of-living expectations;\nEmployment and labour market conditions;\nProvincial comparisons and impact of tariffs on trade with the United States; and\nEconomic priorities in 2026 Ontario and federal budgets.\n\nBreak: 10:05 am – 10:20 am \n\nPanel 2 - From Numbers to Negotiations: Translating economic forecasts into bargaining strategies - 10:20 am – 11:25 am\n\n\n \nRobert Bass\nPrincipal\nBass Associates \n\n\n \nKat Leonard\nNational Representative\nUnifor \n\n\nExperienced 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: \n\nWhat do recent communications from the Government of Ontario tell us about the provincial government’s bargaining priorities for currently and for the year ahead?\nWhat 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?\nHow 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?\nHow 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?\nHow 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?\nHow are the parties coping with freezes and layoffs as well as labour shortages in negotiations?\n\nBreak: 11:25 am – 11:40 am \n\nFireside Chat - Using AI in Bargaining - 11:40 am – 12:20 pm\n\n\n \nNicole Gauthier\nExecutive Officer and Chief Negotiator\nOSSTF Toronto \n\n\n \nAl Hounsell\nNational Director of AI\, Innovation & Knowledge\nGowling WLG \n\n\n \nAlison Warrian\nSenior Manager\, Labour Relations\, Ontario Public School Boards’ Association \n\n\nComing Soon. \nNetworking Lunch: 12:20 pm – 1:20 pm \n\nPanel 3 - Coping with Current Legislation: Highlighting the top recent cases and legislative developments impacting bargaining in Ontario - 1:20 pm – 2:30 pm\n\n\n \nCarla Black\nEmployer Counsel\nRae Christen Jeffries LLP \n\n\n \nMichael McFadden\nArbitrator and Mediator\nVice-chair\nOntario Labour Relations Board \n\n\n \nLauren Pearce\nUnion Counsel\nJones Pearce \n\n\nIn 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: \n\nthe legality of recent government interventions pausing or prohibiting strikes in the railway\, ports\, postal\, education\, airline\, and other sectors;\ntrends in recent labour board and court decisions addressing issues such as secondary picketing\, unfair labour practices\, and the duty to bargain in good faith;\nthe impact of recent interest arbitration decisions addressing inflation\, staffing and retention\, and changing social\, political\, and economic conditions; and\nthe effect of recent grievance arbitration awards\, including cases addressing collective agreement interpretation\, discriminatory contract language\, and contracting in/out.\n\nThe session will also address key legislative and policy developments\, including: \n\nthe 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;\nlegislation in Quebec expanding government power to restrict or end strikes and lock-outs and refer certain labour disputes to interest arbitration; and\nlegislation restricting the use of strike replacement workers passed federally and in Manitoba.\n\nFinal 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. \nBreak: 2:30 pm – 2:45 pm \n\nPanel 4 - Bargaining Emerging Issues: AI\, gig and remote work\, new leaves and innovative benefits\, modern technologies\, aging workforces\, and more - 2:45 pm – 4:00 pm\n\n\n \nMatt Hopkins\nExecutive Director PeopleToronto Transit Commission \n\n\n \nKirsty Niglas-Collins\nUnion counselCollins & Metcalfe LLP \n\n\n \nJeffrey Stewart\nEmployer CounselSherrard Kuzz \n\n\n \nCynthia Watt\nVice President \nAMAPCEO \n\n\nThe 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: \n\nThe impact of artificial intelligence (“AI”) on employee hiring and management;\nNew technologies related to surveillance and monitoring of employees;\nRemote\, hybrid\, and flexible work arrangements and back-to-work mandates;\nMental health\, staffing levels\, and workload;\nWorkplace violence;\nEmerging leave and benefit provisions;\nEquity\, diversity\, and inclusion;\nJob security and workplace restructuring\, contracting in/out\, and assignment of bargaining unit work; and\nGenerational differences in workplace and bargaining priorities.\n\nTopics will be finalized in the weeks prior to the conference\, ensuring coverage of the latest and most pressing issues. \n  \nClosing Remarks: 4:00 pm \n\nRegisterWednesday\, December 10\, 2025 \nLabour Arbitration and Policy Conference \nBreakfast and Registration: 8:00 am – 9:00 am \n\nIntroductory Remarks: 9:00 am – 9:05 am \n\nPanel 1 - From Hearings to Headlines: Key developments in cases and legislation - 9:05 am – 10:20 am\n\n\n \nTyler Boggs\nUnion Counsel\nCavalluzzo LLP \n\n\n \nMort Mitchnick\nArbitrator/Mediator \n\n\n \nErin Porter\nEmployer Counsel\nFasken \n\n\nIn 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: \nCaselaw: \n\nGovernment intervention in recent collective bargaining disputes including issues of freedom of association under the Charter\nRemedies for breach of employment standards\n\nclass actions\nSupreme Court hearing on Quebec’s secular dress code\nupcoming changes\n\n\nTermination\n\ndischarge and discipline\nsexual harassment\n\n\nWorkplace rights and responsibilities\n\nprivacy issues\ndrug and alcohol testing\nworkplace investigations\n\n\ndiscrimination and accommodation\nharassment and retaliation\nLegislation: The B.C. Labour Relations Code Review Panel report on recommended amendments;\nlegislation dealing with federal supply chain transparency;\nNew restrictions on the use of strike replacement workers in federally regulated industries; and\nQuebec legislation ensuring parties’ role in arbitrator selection and expansion of government powers to pause or prohibit strikes.\n\nFinal 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. \nBreak: 10:20 am – 10:35 am \n\nPanel 2 - Mental Health and Medical Privacy at Arbitration: Disclosure obligations\, WSIB claims\, reasonable and customary limits\, and more - 10:35 am – 11:45 am\n\n\n \nShiran Brener\nCounsel\nOntario Treasury Board Secretariat \n\n\n \nBrendan McCutchen\nUnion Counsel\nWright Henry LLP \n\n\n \nDr. Michael Schweigert\nOccupational Medicine Specialist \n\n\nBalancing 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: \n\nWhat 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)?\nWhat 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?\nIs an employer ever entitled to an employee’s diagnosis? What about at the arbitration stage?\nWhat 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?\nIn 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?\nHow 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?\nWhat is the difference between inquiring about health conditions and restrictions on job duties?\nWhen 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?\nHow 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?\n\nNetworking Lunch: 11:45 am – 12:45 pm \n\nKeynote - Beyond the Evidence: Trauma-Informed Approaches to Arbitration and Grievances - 12:45 pm – 1:15 pm\n\n\n \nBrian Knowler\nFounder and Principal Coach\, Leadership and Resilience Strategies\nKnowler Consulting – The Change Co \n\n\nArbitration 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 \n\nPanel 3 - Emerging Accommodation Issues: Return-to-work mandates and alternate work arrangements\, family status and religious accommodations\, and more - 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm\n\n\n \nNatasha Zervoudakis\nEmployer counsel\nSherrard Kuzz \n\n\n \nDavid Wright\nUnion Counsel\nRyder Wright Blair & Holmes \n\n\nOver 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: \n\nAs 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?\nCan 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?\nDoes 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?\nIn 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?\nWhat 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?\nHow 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?\nWhat 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?\n\n\nBreak: 2:30 pm – 2:45 pm \n\nPanel 4 - Social Media\, Surveillance\, and AI-Driven Management Decisions: An interactive\, scenario-based session on uses and abuses of modern technology - 2:45 pm – 4:00 pm\n\n\n \nMichael McCreary\nArbitrator and Mediator\nMichael McCreary Arbitration Mediation \n\n\n \nMelissa Mustafa\nEmployer Counsel\nLakhani Campea LLP \n\n\n \nKatie Rowen\nUnion Counsel\nUrsel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson \n\n\nThis 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. \nSpecific issues to be addressed include: \n\nIn 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?\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 ensuring productivity through such tools and employees’ right to privacy?\nWhat is the current role of AI-driven tools in management decision-making\, and how is that role expected to evolve in the future?\nWhat legal concerns arise when an employer uses AI to assess candidates’ suitability for positions?\nWhat arguments for and against the use of algorithmic management will arbitrators find most compelling?\nHow are employers and unions addressing the use of algorithmic management in collective agreements?\n\nClosing Remarks: 4:00 pm \n\nRegister \nToronto Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference$1\,395.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nToronto Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference$1\,395.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nToronto Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Workshop$1\,295.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nToronto Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference & Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference \n$2\,295.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nToronto Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference & Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference – Bundle (Conference + Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference Workshop) \n\n$2\,995.00Select options	\n		This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page	\n  \n\nMonday\, December 8\, 2025 \nWorkshop*Workshop sold separately from stand-alone conference. \nWorkshop schedule: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm ET (The schedule will run concurrently for both workshops until 4:00 pm.) \nAdditional Details: 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. Our Networking Lunch is from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Between sessions\, during refreshment breaks and lunch\, you’ll have the chance to connect with peers\, share strategies\, and engage directly with speakers and fellow attendees. \n\nBargaining In The Broader Public Sector Conference Workshop \nBargaining for Change: Advancing Equity\, Diversity\, and Inclusion (EDI) at the table\n\n\n \nNatasha Abraham\nUnion counsel\nCavalluzzo LLP \n\n\n \nMaureen Doyle\nArbitrator and Mediator\nMaureen Doyle Dispute Resolution Services \n\n\n \nNora Hindy\nDirector\nCentre for Global Citizenship Education\nCentennial College\nMember Board of Directors\nUrban Alliance on Race Relations \n\n\n \nLennie Lejasisaks\nEmployer counsel\nFasken \n\n\nIn 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”). \nParticipants 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: \n\nPrepare to address EDI effectively in bargaining by evaluating areas for improvement and identifying key issues to be addressed at the table;\nReview collective agreements for problematic language and update commonly-used but exclusionary terminology;\nApply lessons learned from recent arbitration decisions in which collective agreement language was proved to be discriminatory;\nCraft 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\nNavigate potential conflicts between language aimed at promoting EDI and other collective agreement rights\, such as seniority provisions.\n\nAll 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. \nRegister \nToronto Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference$1\,395.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nToronto Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference$1\,395.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nToronto Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Workshop$1\,295.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nToronto Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference & Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference \n$2\,295.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nToronto Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference & Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference – Bundle (Conference + Workshop) \n$2\,995.00Select options	\n		This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page	\n  \n\nBargaining in the Broader Public Sector ConferenceConference Co-chairs\n  \n\n \nJorge Hurtado\nLawyer\nMorrison Watts Hurtado Labour & Employment Lawyers \n\n\n \nDonna Walrond\nLawyer\nBass Associates \n\n\n\nAdvisory Committee \n\n\n \nSamara Barak\nSenior Advisor\nEmployee Relations\nYork University \n\n\n \nDavid Brook\nVice President\, Labour Relations & Chief Negotiations Officer\nOntario Hospital Association \n\n\n \nKevin Giddings\nDistrict Director\, GTA North\nAMAPCEO \n\n\n \nColeen Houlder\nRegional Vice-President (Toronto)\nOPSEU \n\n\n\nLabour Arbitration and Policy Conference \nConference Co-chairs\n\n \nBlaine Donais\nArbitrator/Mediator \nPresident\nWorkplace Fairness International \n\n\n \nKatherine Ferreira\nUnion Counsel\nKoskie Minsky LLP \n\n\n \nMichael Horvat\nEmployer Counsel\nAird & Berlis LLP \n\n\n\nConference Advisory Committee \n\n\n \nBrett Christen\nEmployer Counsel\nRae Christen Jeffries LLP \n\n\n \nKaren Ensslen\nPartner\nUrsel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP \n\n\n \nJawara Gairey\nDirector – Regional Offices Branch\nPublic Service Alliance of Canada \n\n\n \nNick E. Milanovic\nArbitrator/Mediator\nProfessor Carleton University \n\n\n \nJennifer Richards\nDeputy Legal Director\nOntario Treasury Board Secretariat \n\n\n\nCPD \nBargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference CPD\n\n\n• This program has been approved for 5.5 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).\n\n\n\n\n \n\nMembers of the Law Society of Ontario may consider counting this program for 5.5 Substantive hours; 0 Professionalism hours.\n\n\n\nBargaining in the Broader Public Sector Workshop CPD\n\n\n• This program has been approved for 5.17 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).\n\n\n\n\n \n\nMembers of the Law Society of Ontario may consider counting this program for 5.17 Substantive hours; 0 Professionalism hours.\n\n\n\nLabour Arbitration and Policy Conference CPD\n\n  \n\n• This program has been approved for 5.5 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).\n\n\n\n\n \n\nMembers of the Law Society of Ontario may consider counting this program for 5.5 Substantive hours; 0 Professionalism hours.\n\n\n\n\nRegister
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/toronto-bargaining-in-the-broader-public-sector-and-labour-arbitration-and-policy-conference-2025/
LOCATION:Hilton Toronto\, 145 Richmond Street West\, Toronto\, Ontario\, M5H 2L2\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference,Conference,Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lancasterhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/iStock-1903061976-scaled-e1755282613919.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260415
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260417
DTSTAMP:20260406T080329
CREATED:20251001T183305Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T183447Z
UID:17907-1776211200-1776383999@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:B.C. Human Rights and Accommodation Conference
DESCRIPTION:What to Expect \nIn this conference\, leading labour relations\, lawyers\, and human rights professionals will explore recent legal developments and emerging workplace human rights challenges in B.C. and federally. \nThroughout the event\, panelists from union-side\, employer-side\, and neutral perspectives will share their insights through moderated discussions. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions verbally or electronically at the end of each panel. \nParticipants will also be provided with a comprehensive set of digital materials including textbook chapters\, case summaries\, and other online resources relevant to panel discussions These resources\, developed through hours of research by Lancaster House program lawyers\, will prove invaluable for future reference. \nAttendees also have the option to attend our featured expert-led workshop offered by our Centre for Labour Relations Training & Development\, taking place the day after the conference\, where attendees will engage in panel hands-on scenarios tailored to address real workplace human rights challenges. \n\nWho Should Attend? \nThis conference will provide invaluable learning and networking opportunities for: \nThis event is designed for professionals across multiple industries\, including: \n\nHuman Resources Leaders – HR managers\, directors\, and disability management specialists navigating accommodations and compliance.\nEmployment & Labour Lawyers – Legal professionals seeking updates on human rights and workplace accommodation case law.\nUnion Representatives & Labour Relations Experts – Advocates ensuring fair treatment of employees in collective bargaining.\nCorporate Executives & Compliance Officers – Business leaders responsible for implementing workplace policies aligned with human rights law.\nGovernment & Public Sector Professionals – HR and legal representatives working in municipal\, provincial\, and federal agencies.\n\n\nLearning Outcomes \nBy attending this conference\, you will: \n✔ Understand the latest human rights law updates and their impact on workplace policies. \n✔ Gain best practices for accommodation requests related to disability\, religion\, and family status. \n✔ Develop strategies for fostering an inclusive workplace and preventing discrimination. \n✔ Learn from top legal and HR experts through engaging panel discussions and real-world case studies. \n✔ Network with industry peers and build valuable professional connections. \n\nWednesday\, April 15\, 2026 \nBreakfast: 8:00 – 9:00 am \n\nIntroductory Remarks: 9:00 – 9:05 am \nKeynote - Indigenizing/Decolonizing the Workplace - 9:05 – 9:35 am\n\n  \n\n \nPatricia Barkaskas\nAssociate Professor\nAllard School of Law\nThe University of British Columbia \n\n\nWhether Gramsci did actually utter the exact words of the currently oft-quoted phrase\, “The old world is dying\, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters”\, or not\, this statement is clearly a portent of our present moment. The persistent attack in this time on the values of equity\, diversity\, and inclusion is evident and pervasive. These values\, central to Canadian human rights law and those whose work involves protecting human rights\, are important and yet\, they fail to include decolonization or meaningfully consider Indigenous human rights – this is particularly true in the context of human rights in workplaces. However\, given the upheaval of the old\, perhaps this moment provides an opportunity to imagine a new world that does not simply re-entrench previous systems that support equity\, diversity\, and inclusion\, although these remain significant\, but dares to instead reimagine a transformative approach to human rights that leads from a place of decolonization and Indigenous human rights.Panel 1 - New and Noteworthy: Major recent caselaw\, legislation\, and policy developments - 9:35 – 10:50 am\n\n\n \nJodie Gauthier\nUnion Counsel\nBlack Burke Mayor \n\n\n \nAmanda Rogers\nArbitrator/Mediator/Lawyer \n\n\n \nLauren Soubolsky\nEmployer Counsel\nMcCarthy Tetrault \n\n\nThis session provides a focused review of significant developments in British Columbia labour\, employment\, and human rights law. Specifically\, panelists will address: \nCaselaw: \n\nIn what circumstances will ‘unconscious bias’ amount to discrimination in hiring or recruitment?\nHow do recent decisions affect employers’ obligations to investigate allegations of discrimination and harassment?\nWhen will an employee’s controversial views\, whether expressed online or in the workplace\, justify discipline\, discharge\, or damages?\nWhat forms of disability accommodation do courts and tribunals expect employers to implement? When do accommodations cross the line from what is reasonable to undue hardship?\nWhen does interference with a family obligation constitute discrimination? How does one distinguish between family responsibilities deserving of protection and personal preferences?\nWhat limits are courts and arbitrators placing on employer surveillance and monitoring of employees?\nWhen does the Charter apply to decisions by employers or quasi-governmental bodies\, particularly those involving vaccination policies\, political expression\, or collective bargaining?\nWhat trends are emerging in damage awards for discrimination\, failure to accommodate\, and reprisal?\n\nLegislation: \nThis session will also cover recent and upcoming changes to BC and federal legislation\, including: \n\nC. Employment Standards Amendment Act\, Bill 11 – 2025: new rules governing sick notes;\nC. Pay Transparency Act: new pay reporting requirements; and\nC. Employment Standards Act: new leaves for serious personal illness or injury.\nCanada Labour Code amendments:\n\nleaves for pregnancy and bereavement;\nreplacement workers during strikes and lockouts; and\nand non-compete agreements.\n\n\n\nFinal selection of topics will take place in the weeks leading up to the conference\, ensuring coverage of the latest and most newsworthy developments. \nBreak: 10:50 – 11:05 am \nPanel 2 - Human Rights in the Hybrid Workplace: Giving effect to employee accommodations in the context of a return-to-office mandate - 11:05 – 12:15 pm\n\n\n \nKai Ying Chieh\nEmployer Counsel\nOverholt Law LLP \n\n\n \nPeter Eastwood\nUnion Counsel\nHamilton Howell Bain & Gould \n\n\n \nDr. Hajera Rostam\nRegistered Psychologist \nPrivate Practice \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will examine return-to-office mandates through a human rights lens. The panel will address questions such as: \n\nWhat features of a general return-to-office mandate will violate human rights? How will collective agreement language affect the matter?\nHow do such requirements impact mental health? Does remote or hybrid work mitigate or exacerbate mental health? Inequity?\nIn what circumstances have arbitrators or adjudicators found that employees must be accommodated through work-from-home arrangements for health-related reasons or to accommodate child- or elder-care responsibilities? What information can employers require to support such a request?\nWhen will an order that an employee return to in-person work amount to a bona fide occupational requirement? When will an employer be able to establish that it would amount to undue hardship to allow an employee to work on a remote\, hybrid\, or flexible basis?\nHow can one distinguish personal preferences from legitimate accommodation needs? How can parties work effectively with medical and mental health professionals to identify and support accommodation needs?\nWhat practical considerations should be taken into account when assessing whether employees should be permitted to work from home? What flexible working options are available other than remote or hybrid work?\nWhat practices help reduce conflict\, resentment\, or disengagement when accommodations are being considered\, implemented\, or denied?\n\n\nNetworking lunch: 12:15 – 1:00 pm \nFireside Chat - Navigating resistance to EDI initiatives - 1:00 – 1:45 pm\n\n\n \nHasan Alam\nStaff Lawyer\nB.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) \n\n\n \nKasari Govender\nCommissioner\nBC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner \n\n\nJoin the B.C. Human Rights Commissioner and experienced labour relations practitioners in a candid conversation about the shifting landscape of EDI initiatives in Canada as they examine evolving pushback to this work\, the implications for equity-deserving individuals\, and what is and is not working in current approaches. Participants will leave better equipped to navigate EDI fatigue and opposition while upholding human rights and furthering the collective pursuit of safe\, equitable workplaces for all.Break: 1:45 – 2:05 pm \n\nPanel 3 - Repairing Harm: Exploring restorative solutions following human rights transgressions - 2:05 – 3:35 pm\n\n\n \nStarleigh Grass\nAssistant Director\nField Services Division\nBritish Columbia Teachers Federation (BCTF) \n\n\n \nChristianne Paras\nExecutive Director of Restorative Justice Association of BC \n\n\nWhen human rights violations occur in the workplace\, traditional labour relations tools alone – such as discipline – may fall short in addressing the needs of the complainant\, repairing relationships\, and preventing future harm. In this session\, panelists will explore the use of restorative approaches\, addressing questions such as: \n\nWhat does it mean to adopt a “restorative approach” to conflict and human rights violations? What unique benefits can such approaches provide?\nWhen can or should alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) be used to address human rights transgressions at work? What ADR options exist\, and what are the relevant advantages and disadvantages of each?\nWhat steps can parties take to address barriers to equity when implementing restorative approaches?\nWhat factors have arbitrators considered in recent cases in determining whether an employment relationship is salvageable following an employee’s human rights breaches? What room exists for education and reintegration rather than discipline?\nWhat “early warning signs” indicate that a workplace is in need of restoration? How can restorative approaches\, implemented early\, assist in preventing future harm?\nWhat steps can employers and unions take to ensure that a healthy and safe work environment is restored following a human rights violation? How can restorative approaches address systemic or collective harm?\nWhat changes can be made to workplace policies or collective agreements to incorporate restorative approaches? What are the respective roles of employers\, unions\, and employees in implementing these approaches?\n\nClosing remarks: 3:35 – 3:45 pm \n\nThursday\, April 16\, 2026 \nBreakfast and registration: 8:00 – 9:00 am \n\nOpening remarks: 9:00 – 9:05 am \n\nPanel 4 - Respecting Rights\, Achieving Closure: Strategies for successful mediation of human rights disputes - 9:05 – 10:20 am\n\n\n \nMenachem Freedman\nUnion Counsel\nHamilton Howell Bain & Gould \n\n\n \nEric Ito\nEmployer Counsel\nCooperwilliams Truman & Ito LLP \n\n\n \nKoml Kandola\nArbitrator and Mediator\nKandola Arbitration Services Ltd. \n\n\nMediation is a vital tool used to successfully resolve human rights disputes in the workplace. This panel will address common challenges surrounding the mediation process and provide attendees with practical takeaways. Specifically\, the panel will answer the following questions: \n\nWhat are the advantages and disadvantages of mediation in human rights disputes? When will it be beneficial to participate in mediation-adjudication or mediation-arbitration?\nHow should the parties assess the merits of a case and determine if a settlement is feasible? What types of files are not appropriate for mediation?\nHow can the parties efficiently prepare for mediation? What information must be gathered?\nHow can the parties determine if power imbalances\, accessibility barriers\, or other barriers to equity will affect the mediation process? What measures can the parties implement to address these barriers?\nIs a “win-win” outcome possible in human rights disputes? What are examples of negotiation strategies and communication techniques that can lead to better outcomes during mediation?\nWhat information should be included in a settlement agreement?\nWhat factors should parties consider before suggesting or entering into a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”) as part of a settlement? Are NDAs appropriate for human rights disputes?\n\nBreak: 10:20 – 10:40 am \n\nPanel 5 - Complex Accommodations: Neurodiversity\, substance use\, chronic absenteeism\, and more - 10:40 – 11:40 am\n\n\n \nJessica Fairbairn\nEmployer Counsel\nHarris & Co. \n\n\n \nRyan Goldvine\nArbitrator and Mediator\nGoldvine Dispute Resolution Services\nMember\nBC Human Rights Tribunal \n\n\n \nCaitlin Meggs\nUnion Counsel\nVictory Square Law Office LLP \n\n\nThis panel will explore how employers can identify and respond to accommodation needs in complex situations\, manage attendance and performance concerns fairly and consistently\, and determine the scope and limits of accommodation over time. Panelists will address key questions\, including: \nNeurodivergence: \n\nWhat does the term “neurodivergent” include? What are similarities and differences between learning disabilities\, ADHD\, and Autistic Spectrum Disorders (“ASD”)? What can be done to combat stereotypes affecting the inclusion and accommodation of neurodivergent employees and those with mental health issues in the workplace?\nWhat type of medical information can employers request from neurodivergent employees seeking accommodation\, g. a neuropsychological or psychoeducational evaluation?\n\nMental Health: \n\nWhat accommodations would be most helpful for employees with the following:\n\nLearning disabilities\nASD\nMental health disorders and conditions (i.e. bipolar disorder\, depression\, anxiety)\n\n\nWhat signs may indicate that an employee has a mental health condition or other condition that requires accommodation or support? What are more acute signs of immediate distress versus more subtle signs that an employee may be struggling?\nWhen does the employer have a ‘duty to inquire’ whether an employee is affected by a mental health condition or disability that is causing misconduct in the workplace?\n\nSubstance Use: \n\nWhat guidance does recent case law provide on accommodating substance use disorders in the workplace?\n\nAbsenteeism: \n\nWhat are the components of an Attendance Management Program that addresses the accommodation of an employee’s disability-related absenteeism?\nCan 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? What is the type and scope of medical information that is required to support these requests?\nHow should employers and unions address increased absenteeism due to RTO? Are there working options that help improve attendance?\nWhat guidance does recent case law offer on when absenteeism moves beyond reasonable accommodation and into undue hardship?\nHow does the test for ‘undue hardship’ vary in different safety sensitive industries with respect to substance addiction issues or other issues that may pose safety risks in the workplace?\n\nNetworking lunch: 11:40 – 12:40 pm \n\nPanel 6 - Shining a Light on Investigations: Expert guidance\, best practices\, recent caselaw - 12:40 – 1:55 pm\n\n\n \nShelley Ball\nLawyer and InvestigatorShelsu Pacific Law \n\n\n \nSandra Guarascio\nEmployer CounselRoper Greyell LLP \n\n\n \nDr. Nicole Legg\nLicensed PsychologistCo-Founder of WellIntel Inc. \n\n\n \nDavid Tarasoff\nUnion CounselHospital Employees Union \n\n\nInvestigating allegations of human rights violations in the workplace requires a commitment to understanding best practices\, including adopting a trauma-informed approach. Drawing on recent caselaw and best practices\, experts will offer insights into conducting or overseeing workplace investigations in the human rights context. Panelists will address the following questions: \n\nWhat is a trauma-informed approach? What steps can investigators take to ensure workplace human rights investigations are trauma informed?\nWhat measures should employers and investigators implement to support the mental well-being of participants during a workplace investigation and protect them from reprisal? Does the union play a role in supporting mental well-being?\nHow should employers\, unions\, and investigators proactively identify and remove accessibility barriers\, as well as provide accommodations\, during workplace investigations?\nIn what circumstances is hiring an external investigator preferred over an internal investigation? How can the parties strike a balance between thoroughness and urgency during investigations?\nWhat information can be shared with a complainant or respondent once an investigation is complete? How can employers communicate investigation results to complainants in a way that does not harm their mental health?\nMust an employer investigate a human rights allegation even in the absence of a formal complaint? How should anonymous complaints be investigated?\nWhat risks arise from failing to investigate an allegation? In what situations have damages been awarded for an employer’s failure to investigate a human rights allegation?\nWhat obligations do investigators have to disclose their report to the parties? What entitlement do the parties have to disclosure?\nWhat comes next after a workplace investigation? What does an effective workplace restoration process entail?\n\n  \nBreak: 1:55 – 2:15 pm \n\nPanel 7 - Uses and Abuses of Modern Technology: A scenario-based session on social media\, employee monitoring\, and AI - 2:15 – 3:45 pm\n\n\n \nJessica Gregory\nArbitrator\, Mediator and Investigator \n\n\n \nPreston Parsons\nEmployer Counsel\nOverholt LLP \n\n\n \nKaren Segal\nAllevato Quail & Associates \n\n\nThis session will provide employers and unions with the best available insight into AI-driven management decisions\, employee surveillance\, and social media. Experienced management and union counsel will join an arbitrator to discuss three hypothetical scenerios relating to AI management\, social media use\, and surveillance. \nSpecific issues to be addressed include: \n\nWhat is the current role of AI-driven tools in management decision-making\, and how is that role expected to evolve in the future?\nIn what circumstances can an employer dismiss an employee for inappropriate social media posts? Where is the line between free speech and offensive speech?\nHow are employers and unions addressing the use of algorithmic management in collective agreements?\nDo employees have to disclose usage of AI?\nWhat arguments for and against the use of algorithmic management will arbitrators find most compelling?\nWhat arguments for and against the use of employee surveillance have arbitrators accepted or rejected?\nWhat legal concerns arise when an employer uses AI to assess candidates’ suitability for positions?\n\nClosing remarks: 3:45 – 3:55 pm \n\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\nPricing \nB.C. Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Both Days \n$1\,995.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nB.C. Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Day 1 \n$1\,195.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nB.C. Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Day 2 \n$1\,195.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nAttendees can also register for a skills training workshop offered by our Centre for Labour Relations Training & Development\, taking place the day after the conference. The workshop includes panel discussions and hands-on scenarios addressing real workplace human rights challenges and is designed to complement the BC Human Rights and Accommodation Conference. The conference and workshop may be attended separately or as a bundled registration: \n\nB.C. Human Rights and Accommodation Conference & Workshop – Bundle (Conference + Workshop) $2\,690.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nConference Co-Chairs \n\n\n \nJonathan Chapnick\nMember\nBC Human Rights Tribunal \n\n\n \nSara Hanson\nUnion Counsel\nMoore Edgar Lyster LLP \n\n\n \nKristen Woo\nLegal Counsel\nBC Public School Employers’ Association \n\n\n\nAdvisory Committee \n\n\n \nKaity Cooper\nGeneral Counsel\nHealth Employees’ Union (HEU) \n\n\n \nPeter Eastwood\nUnion Counsel\nHamilton Howell Bain & Gould \n\n\n \nJaime Hoopes\nEmployer Counsel\nRoper Greyell LLP \n\n\n \nLaura Track\nDirector of Human Rights Clinic\nDirector of Public Legal Education\nCommunity Legal Assistance Society (CLAS) \n\n\n \nMegan Tweedie\nDirector\nHuman Rights Office\nSimon Fraser University \n\n\n\nCPD \nConference Day 1\n\n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR BC & Yukon for 5.42 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\n \n\nThis program has been approved by the Law Society of British Columbia for 5.42 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\nConference Day 2\n\n\nThis program has been approved by CPHR BC & Yukon for 5.25 Continuing Professional Development hours.\n\n\n\n\n \n\nThis program has been approved by the Law Society of British Columbia for 5.25 Continuing Professional Development hours.
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/b-c-human-rights-and-accommodation-conference/
LOCATION:Pan Pacific Hotel Vancouver\, 999 Canada Pl #300\, Vancouver\, British Columbia\, V6C 3B5\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Conference,Labour Law & Labour Policy
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lancasterhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/B.C.-Human-Rights-and-Accommodation-Conference-a.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260430
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260502
DTSTAMP:20260406T080329
CREATED:20251002T162612Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T192441Z
UID:17933-1777507200-1777679999@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:Ontario Human Rights and Accommodation Conference
DESCRIPTION:Overview Lancaster House’s Ontario Human Rights and Accommodation Conference brings together top legal experts\, labour relations professionals\, and union representatives to examine the latest developments and emerging trends in workplace human rights and accommodation. Attendees will gain valuable insights on key topics\, including recent legislative and policy changes and practical strategies for addressing workplace human rights matters. \nAttendees also have the option to attend our featured expert-led workshop offered by our Centre for Labour Relations Training & Development\, taking place the day before the conference\, where attendees will engage in panel hands-on scenarios tailored to address real workplace human rights challenges. \nWhat to Expect \nIn this conference\, leading labour relations\, lawyers\, and human rights professionals will explore recent legal developments and emerging workplace human rights challenges in Ontario and federally. \nThroughout the event\, panelists from union-side\, employer-side\, and neutral perspectives will share their insights through moderated discussions. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions verbally or electronically at the end of each panel. \nParticipants will also be provided with a comprehensive set of digital materials including textbook chapters\, case summaries\, and other online resources relevant to panel discussions These resources\, developed through hours of research by Lancaster House program lawyers\, will prove invaluable for future reference. \nWho Should Attend? \nThis conference is essential for:  \n\nEmployment Lawyers & Legal Professionals – Stay ahead of evolving employment laws and gain insights on key case law decisions.\n\n\nHR Professionals & Business Leaders – Understand your obligations and responsibilities when implementing workplace accommodations and inclusion strategies.\n\n\nDiversity\, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Specialists – Learn best practices for fostering an inclusive\, discrimination-free workplace.\nUnion Representatives & Labor Advocates – Get the latest updates on human rights protections and fair labor policies.\n\nLearning Outcomes \nAt the Toronto Human Rights and Accommodation Conference 2026\, you’ll gain actionable insights on: \n\nHuman Rights Law Updates – Stay informed on recent tribunal decisions\, legislative changes\, and legal obligations for employers.\nWorkplace Accommodation Strategies – Learn how to effectively accommodate employees with disabilities and diverse needs while staying compliant.\nDiversity and Inclusion in the Workplace – Discover best practices for fostering equity\, inclusion\, and anti-discrimination policies.\nHR Legal Compliance & Best Practices – Understand your responsibilities in employee rights\, workplace fairness\, and accessibility requirements. Real-World Case Studies & Expert Panels – Hear directly from legal experts\, HR specialists\, and human rights advocates about emerging challenges and solutions.\n\nThursday\, April 30\, 2026 Breakfast: 8:00 – 9:00 am \nIntroductory Remarks: 9:00 – 9:05 am \nPanel 1 - New and Noteworthy: Major recent caselaw\, legislation\, and policy developments - 9:05 – 10:35 am\n\n\n \nShreya Patel\nEmployer Counsel\nTorkin Manes \n\n\n \nJames Craig\nUnion Counsel\nMorrison Watts LLP \n\n\nThis session provides a focused review of significant recent and emerging developments in Ontario labour\, employment\, and human rights law. Specifically\, panelists will address: \nCaselaw: \n\nIn what circumstances will ‘unconscious bias’ amount to discrimination in hiring or recruitment?\nHow do recent decisions affect employers’ obligations to investigate allegations of discrimination and harassment? What trends are emerging in damage awards for discrimination\, failure to accommodate\, and reprisal?\nWhen will an employee’s controversial views\, whether expressed online or in the workplace\, justify discipline\, discharge\, or damages?\nWhat forms of disability accommodation do courts and tribunals expect employers to implement? When do requested accommodations cross the line from what is reasonable to undue hardship?\nWhat limits are courts and arbitrators placing on employer surveillance and monitoring of employees?\nWhen does the Charter apply to decisions by employers or quasi-governmental bodies\, particularly those involving vaccination policies\, political expression\, return-to-work\, or collective bargaining?\n\nLegislation: \nThis session will also cover recent and upcoming changes to Ontario and federal legislation\, including: \n\nBill 30\, Working for Workers Seven Act\, 2025 amendments:\n\nprocedures for fraudulent job postings;\nunpaid leaves for job searches;\nextended layoffs;\nhealth and safety systems under the Occupational Health and Safety Act; and\nprohibitions on false or misleading statements to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.\n\n\nCanada Labour Code amendments:\n\nleaves for pregnancy and bereavement;\nreplacement workers during strikes and lockouts; and\nnon-compete agreements.\n\n\nAlberta legislation prohibiting regulatory bodies from disciplining professionals for off-duty conduct\nAlberta legislation prohibiting unions from making contributions to non-collective bargaining clauses without membership approval\nQuebec legislation expanding government power to end lawful strikes\n\nFinal selection of topics will take place in the weeks leading up to the conference\, ensuring coverage of the latest and most newsworthy developments. \nBreak: 10:35 – 10:55 am \nPanel 2 - Shining a Light on Investigations: Expert guidance\, best practices\, recent caselaw - 10:55 – 12:15 pm\n\n\n \nDr. Elizabeth Aram\nClinical Psychologist \n\n\n \nNathaniel Marshall\nEmployer Counsel and\nWorkplace Investigator\nMarshall Workplace Law \n\n\n \nShibil Siddiqi\nEmployer Counsel\nProgressive Barristers \n\n\n \nAleisha Stevens\nUnion Counsel\nCaleyWray \n\n\nInvestigating allegations of human rights violations in the workplace requires a commitment to understanding best practices\, including adopting a trauma-informed approach. Drawing on recent caselaw and best practices\, experts will offer insights into conducting or overseeing workplace investigations in the human rights context. Panelists will address the following questions: \n\nWhat is a trauma-informed approach? What steps can investigators take to ensure workplace human rights investigations are trauma informed?\nWhat measures should employers and investigators implement to safeguard the mental well-being of participants during a workplace investigation and protect them from reprisal? Does the union play a role?\nHow should employers\, unions\, and investigators proactively identify and remove accessibility barriers\, as well as provide accommodations\, during workplace investigations?\nIn what circumstances is hiring an external investigator to be preferred over an internal investigation? How can the parties strike a balance between thoroughness and urgency during investigations?\nWhat information can be shared with a complainant or respondent once an investigation is complete? How should employers communicate investigation results to complainants?\nWhat obligations do investigators have to disclose their findingsto the parties? What entitlement do the parties have to disclosure?\nMust an employer investigate a human rights allegation even in the absence of a formal complaint? How should anonymous complaints be investigated?\nWhat risks arise from failing to investigate an allegation? In what situations have damages been awarded for an employer’s failure to investigate a human rights allegation?\nWhat comes next after a workplace investigation? What does an effective workplace restoration process entail?\n\nNetworking lunch: 12:15 – 1:15 pm \nFireside Chat - The EDI Challenge - Meeting Human Rights Obligation in the Workplace - 1:15 – 2:00 pm\n\n\n \nPatricia DeGuire\nChief Commissioner\nOntario Human Rights Commission \n\n\nAcross Ontario\, organizations are grappling with equity\, diversity and inclusion\, and how it fits into their human rights obligations under the Code\, while also facing growing skepticism and\, at times\, backlash. This conversation with Patricia DeGuire\, the Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission\, seeks to explore how workplaces can navigate oppositions while still upholding their duty under the Code.Break: 2:00 – 2:20 pm \nPanel 3 - Uses and Abuses of Modern Technology: A scenario-based session on social media\, employee monitoring\, and AI - 2:20 – 3:50 pm\n\n\n \nJames Kosa\nEmployer Counsel\nWeirFoulds LLP \n\n\n \nLauren Pearce\nUnion Counsel\nJones Pearce LLP \n\n\n \nJagtaran Singh\nLegal Counsel\nOntario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will examine the complex human rights challenges – and potential opportunities – arising from the use of emerging technologies in the workplace. Speakers will analyze three scenarios relating to social media use\, employee monitoring\, and artificial intelligence (“AI”)\, addressing questions such as: \n\nWhen can employers discipline or dismiss employees for inappropriate social media posts or activities? How have arbitrators and adjudicators in recent cases balanced an employee’s freedom to express themselves on social media against the employer’s interest in protecting its reputation and preventing harm to other employees?\nHow can employers and unions navigate conflicts between competing human rights that may arise in the context of social media use? For example\, how should employers and unions respond when an employee makes an online post that another employee asserts is discriminatory\, but which the posting employee claims is protected speech under the Human Rights Code or the Charter?\nWhat limits do federal and provincial privacy laws place on employee monitoring and surveillance? How have arbitrators and adjudicators balanced employee privacy rights against the employer’s interest in managing productivity? What factors determine whether electronic monitoring crosses the line into unreasonable oversight?\nWhat potential human rights issues are raised by the use of AI in hiring\, promoting\, and managing employees? Can AI be used to reduce discrimination and promote equitable\, diverse\, and inclusive workplaces?\nCan employers and unions be held liable for flaws in AI systems that result in discriminatory hiring and management processes? Will establishment of a human rights review process or reliance on a bias testing be sufficient to shield an organization from liability? What information are unions and employees entitled to when they suspect that use of an AI system is resulting in discrimination at work?\n\nScenarios will be finalized in the weeks prior to the conference\, ensuring coverage of the latest and most pressing issues.Friday\, May 1\, 2026 Breakfast: 8:00 – 9:00 am \nIntroductory Remarks: 9:00 – 9:05 am \nPanel 4 - Complex Accommodations: Neurodiversity\, chronic absenteeism\, and more - 9:05 – 10:20 am\n\n\n \nMeg Atkinson\nUnion Counsel\nKastner Ko LLP \n\n\n \nLiz Horvath\nPresident and Management Consultant\nHale Health and Safety Solutions \n\n\n \nJames Jennings\nEmployer Counsel\nFilion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP \n\n\n \nSharon Naipaul\nMediator\, Trainer\, Coach and Consultant\nStrategic Workplace Equity and Conflict Resolution Solutions \n\n\nEmployers are required to balance evolving accommodation obligations with operational demands\, performance expectations\, and workplace standards. \nThis panel will explore how employers can identify and respond to accommodation needs in complex situations\, manage attendance and performance concerns fairly and consistently\, and determine the scope and limits of accommodation over time. Panelists will address key questions\, including: \nNeurodivergence: \n\nWhat does the term “neurodivergent” include? What are similarities and differences between learning disabilities\, ADHD\, and Autistic Spectrum Disorders (“ASD”)? What can be done to combat stereotypes affecting the inclusion and accommodation of neurodivergent employees and those with mental health issues in the workplace?\nWhat type of medical information can employers request from neurodivergent employees seeking accommodation\, e.g. a neuropsychological or psychoeducational evaluation?\n\nMental Health: \n\nWhat accommodations would be most helpful for employees with the following:\n\nLearning disabilities\nASD\nMental health disorders and conditions (i.e. bipolar disorder\, depression\, anxiety)\n\n\nWhat signs may indicate that an employee has a mental health condition or other condition that may require accommodation or support? What are more acute signs of immediate distress versus more subtle signs that an employee may be struggling?\nWhen is a ‘duty to inquire’ about a potential mental health condition or disability triggered?\n\nSubstance Use: \n\nWhat guidance does recent case law provide on accommodating substance use disorders in the workplace?\n\nAbsenteeism: \n\nWhat are the components of a successful Attendance Management Program related to the accommodation of an employee’s disability-related absenteeism?\nCan 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? What is the type and scope of medical information that is required to support these requests?\nWhen will the return of an employee to in-person work amount to a bona fide occupational requirement (BFOR)? When will an employer be able to establish that undue hardship will arise if an employee is allowed to work remotely?\nHow should employers and unions address increased absenteeism due to RTO? Are there options that help improve attendance?\nWhat guidance does recent case law offer on when absenteeism moves beyond reasonable accommodation and into undue hardship?\nHow does the test for ‘undue hardship’ vary in different safety sensitive industries where substance addiction or other issues that pose safety risks in the workplace?\n\nBreak: 10:20 – 10:40 am \nPanel 5 - The Hidden Toll: Preventing and managing burnout of human rights and labour relations practitioners - 10:40 – 11:50 am\n\n\n \nSandy Donaldson\nLabour Relations Officer\nOntario Nurses’ Association (ONA) \n\n\n \nNaomi Midanick\nRegistered Psychotherapist & Founder\nBright Balance Psychotherapy \n\n\n \nJenny Neiman\nDirector\, Human Rights Office\nPeople & Equity Division\nCity of Toronto \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will examine the hidden realities of burnout and compassion fatigue for human rights and labour relations practitioners\, addressing questions such as: \n\nWhat is burnout? How does it differ from stress\, fatigue\, or anxiety? What factors have been shown to contribute to burnout?\nWhat is meant by the terms compassion fatigue and vicarious or secondary trauma? Why are human rights and labour relations practitioners at risk?\nWhat are the signs and symptoms of burnout and compassion fatigue? How can employers\, managers\, and employees recognize these conditions? What are the early warning signs?\nHave legal obligations evolved to include a duty for employers to promote mental health and prevent psychosocial harms?\nWhat tools are available to assist employers and unions to identify organizational issues which may be contributing to burnout or compassion fatigue? What policies and practices should be implemented to address these factors?\nHow can leaders within organizations contribute to a culture of wellbeing and support employees who are burned out\, overwhelmed\, or emotionally exhausted?\nHow long does it typically take to recover from burnout and compassion fatigue? How can employers and unions rebuild trust\, engagement\, and capacity in workplaces where these conditions have been prevalent?\nAre overall systemic changes in the field of labour relations necessary to prevent or ameliorate stress\, burnout\, and compassion fatigue? If so\, what changes need to be made?\nWhat realistic\, sustainable practices can employees and union representatives adopt to maintain their individual health and wellbeing? How can individuals effectively set boundaries\, foster self-care\, and navigate challenging and emotional files? What is “compassion satisfaction”\, and how can employees best sustain healthy and fulfilling careers in human rights and labour relations?\n\nNetworking lunch: 11:50 – 12:50 pm \nPanel 6 - Respecting Rights\, Achieving Closure: Strategies for successful mediation of human rights disputes- 12:50 – 2:05 pm\n\n\n \nMark Hart\nArbitrator & Mediator \n\n\n \nJodi Martin\nUnion Counsel\nPaliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP \n\n\n \nOzlem Yucel\nEmployer Counsel\nTurnpenney Milne LLP \n\n\nMediation is a vital tool used to successfully resolve human rights disputes in the workplace. With mediation now mandatory at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”) for applications received on or after June 1\, 2025\, developing a strong understanding of the mediation process is crucial. This panel will address common challenges surrounding the mediation process and provide attendees with practical takeaways. Specifically\, the panel will answer the following questions: \n\nWhat are the advantages and disadvantages of mediation in human rights disputes? When will it be beneficial to participate in mediation-adjudication or mediation-arbitration?\nHow should the parties approach mandatory mediation at the HRTO? Should the approach to mandatory mediation differ from the approach to voluntary mediation?\nHow should the parties assess the merits of a case and determine if a settlement is feasible? What types of files are not appropriate for voluntary mediation?\nHow can the parties efficiently prepare for mediation? What information must be gathered?\nHow can the parties determine if power imbalances\, accessibility barriers\, or other barriers to equity will affect the mediation process? What measures can the parties implement to address these barriers?\nIs a “win-win” outcome possible in human rights disputes? What are examples of negotiation strategies and communication techniques that can lead to better outcomes during mediation?\nWhat information should be included in a settlement agreement?\nWhat factors should parties consider before suggesting or entering into a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”) as part of a settlement? Are NDAs appropriate for human rights disputes? Are they prohibited by law?\n\nBreak: 2:05 – 2:25 pm \nPanel 7 - Sexual Harassment\, From Annoyance to Assault: A scenario-based panel on identifying and addressing the spectrum of unlawful behaviours in the workplace- 2:25 – 3:50 pm\n\n\n \nMarcus McCann\nEmployer Counsel\nMarcus McCann Law \n\n\n \nSheilagh Turkington\nArbitrator & Mediator\nTurkington Dispute Resolution \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will provide expert insight into identifying and responding to sexual harassment in the workplace\, using real cases to shed light on the application of these principles in practice. The panel will address questions such as: \n\nHow is sexual harassment defined under human rights and occupational health and safety legislation in Ontario and federally? What legal test have adjudicators and arbitrators typically applied when determining whether sexual harassment has occurred? How will collective agreements and workplace policies impact the determination?\nWhen will off-duty sexual harassment be sufficiently connected to the workplace to bring it under the purview of human rights and occupational health and safety legislation\, the collective agreement\, and/or the employer’s authority to impose discipline?\nWhat myths and stereotypes about sexual harassment\, in particular with respect to witness credibility\, have adjudicators and arbitrators recognized in recent years?\nWhen does conduct cross the line from sexual harassment into violence under occupational health and safety legislation?\nHow have arbitral attitudes changed in terms of appropriate disciplinary responses to sexual harassment? What factors will arbitrators consider? For example\, how are factors such as power imbalances\, workplace culture\, and the impact on the employee who has been harassed taken into account? When will a single instance of sexual harassment be serious enough to warrant dismissal?\nWhat trends in damage awards are evident in recent sexual harassment cases?\nIs a formal complaint required to trigger an employer’s duty to investigate allegations of sexual harassment? When can an employer be held liable for the actions of an employee? When will sexual harassment be found to have created a poisoned work environment?\nHow should employers and unions respond when they receive a sexual harassment complaint? With more employees in remote and hybrid work arrangements\, how can employers and unions ensure that sexual harassment does not go unnoticed?\n\nClosing remarks: 3:50 – 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\nPricing \nOntario Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Both Days $1\,995.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nOntario Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Day 1 $1\,195.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nOntario Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Day 2 $1\,195.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nAttendees can also register for a skills training workshop offered by our Centre for Labour Relations Training & Development\, taking place the day after the conference. The workshop includes panel discussions and hands-on scenarios addressing real workplace human rights challenges and is designed to complement the ON Human Rights and Accommodation Conference. The conference and workshop may be attended separately or as a bundled registration: \nOntario Human Rights and Accommodation Conference & Workshop – Bundle (Conference + Workshop) $2\,690.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nConference Co-Chairs \n\n\n \nEsi Codjoe\nEmployer Counsel\nTurnpenney Milne LLP \n\n\n \nArchana Mathew\nArbitrator and Mediator \n\n\n \nWade Poziomka\nUnion Counsel\nRoss & McBride LLP \n\n\nAdvisory Committee \n\n\n \nRoger Love\nLegal Counsel\nOntario Human Rights Commission \n\n\n \nMarcus McCann\nEmployer Counsel\nMarcus McCann Law \n\n\n \nKimalee Phillip\nDirector of Human Rights\nCUPE National \n\n\n \nShyama Talukdar\nUnion Counsel\nPaliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP \n\n\n \nWinslow Taylor\nDirector of Human Rights and Investigations\nToronto Transit Commission (TTC) \n\n\nCPD \nDay 1\n\n\nThis program has been approved for Continuing Professional Development 5.17 hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).\n\n\n\n\n \n\nMembers of the Law Society of Ontario may consider counting this program for 5.17 Substantive hours; 0 Professionalism hours.\n\n\n\n\nDay 2\n\n\nThis program has been approved for Continuing Professional Development 5.33 hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).\n\n\n\n\n \n\nMembers of the Law Society of Ontario may consider counting this program for 5.33 Substantive hours; 0 Professionalism hours.
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/ontario-human-rights-and-accommodation-conference/
LOCATION:The Conference Center at the University of Toronto\, Terrace 3rd Floor\, 89 Chestnut St\, Toronto\, ON\, M5G 1R1\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Conference,Human Rights & Accommodation
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lancasterhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Ontario-Human-Rights-and-Accommodation-Conference.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260525
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260527
DTSTAMP:20260406T080329
CREATED:20251002T174459Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T170126Z
UID:17935-1779667200-1779839999@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:Atlantic Labour Law Conference
DESCRIPTION:Sponsored by:Overview \nThe Atlantic Labour Law Conference is the must-attend event for legal practitioners\, arbitrators\, HR professionals\, and labour relations experts in Nova Scotia\, Newfoundland and Labrador\, New Brunswick\, and Prince Edward Island. This conference delivers in-depth analysis of the latest legislative changes\, key case law developments\, and emerging workplace issues specific to the Atlantic region. Featuring leading speakers from across the provinces\, the program offers practical insights into how recent legal decisions are shaping labour relations strategies and compliance in Atlantic Canada. Designed for professionals seeking to stay current in a dynamic legal landscape\, the conference also offers valuable opportunities to connect with experts and peers across the region. Strengthen your understanding of Atlantic labour law\, refine your approach to workplace challenges\, and expand your professional network. \n\nWhat to Expect \nIn this conference\, leading labour relations\, lawyers\, and human rights professionals will explore recent labour law developments\, policies\, and emerging workplace human rights challenges in Atlantic Canada (including content and expert speakers specific to Newfoundland and Labrador\, Nova Scotia\, PEI\, and New Brunswick). Throughout the event\, panelists from union-side\, employer-side\, and neutral perspectives from the Atlantic region will share their insights through moderated discussions. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions verbally or electronically at the end of each panel.  Participants will also be provided with a comprehensive set of digital materials including textbook chapters\, case summaries\, and other online resources relevant to panel discussions These resources\, developed through hours of research by Lancaster House program lawyers\, will prove invaluable for future reference. \n\nWho Should Attend? \nThis event is designed for professionals across multiple industries\, including: \n\nHuman Resources Leaders – HR managers\, directors\, and disability management specialists navigating accommodations and compliance.\nEmployment & Labour Lawyers – Legal professionals seeking updates on human rights and workplace accommodation case law.\nUnion Representatives & Labour Relations Experts – Advocates ensuring fair treatment of employees in collective bargaining.\nCorporate Executives & Compliance Officers – Business leaders responsible for implementing workplace policies aligned with human rights law.\nGovernment & Public Sector Professionals – HR and legal representatives working in municipal\, provincial\, and federal agencies.\n\n\nMonday\, May 25\, 2026 \nNetworking Breakfast and Registration: 8:00 – 9:00 am \n\nIntroductory Remarks: 9:00 – 9:05 am \n\nPanel 1 - New and Noteworthy: Major recent caselaw\, legislation\, and policy developments - 9:05 – 10:20 am\n\n\n \nFrank E. DeMont\, K.C.\nArbitrator and Mediator\nResolve Arbitration & Mediation Services \n\n\n \nJames Farrell\nSolicitor and Director\nIndustrial/Retail/Offshore Division\nFFAW-Unifor \n\n\n \nAnnie Gray\nEmployer Counsel\nStewart McKelvey \n\n\nStay up to date on the latest developments in federal and provincial labour law through this comprehensive session exploring key principles and emerging trends in a changing world of work. Panelists and accompanying materials will address topics such as: \nCaselaw \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 ongoing 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?\nWhen can an employer discipline or dismiss an employee for offensive off-duty conduct including posting abusive messages on social media?\nWill expressing personal or political beliefs at work warrant discipline?\nWhat factors will carry weight when arbitrators determinewhen whether dismissal is justified for an employee’s dishonesty?\nWhen will specifying an age “cut-off” for benefits constitute discrimination?\nIs an employer obliged to investigate incidents involving harassment if there is no formal complaint?\nHow have arbitrators balanced privacy rights and workplace safety when determining whether substance use testing and policies are appropriate? Is a blanket off-duty ban on cannabis use in safety-sensitive positions likely to be considered reasonable?\nIn what circumstances may an employer or supervisor be found criminally liable for a workplace injury?\nCan employees be dismissed for non-compliance with vaccine policies?\n\nLegislation \nThe session and materials will also cover recent and upcoming changes to legislation in the federal jurisdiction and in Atlantic provinces\, such as: \n\nWhat new or expanded leaves have been introduced in Atlantic provinces in the past year?\nWhat steps must workplace parties take to comply with Nova Scotia’s new “duty to cooperate” under occupational health and safety legislation?\nWhat changes have been introduced through P.E.I.’s new Employment Standards Act?\nWhat measures have been introduced at a federal and provincial level in response to the trade conflict between Canada and the US?\nWhich provinces have recently passed legislation restricting employers’ rights to ask for doctors’ notes in support of short-term sick leave?\nWhat measures impacting workplaces were proposed in the federal government’s recent “Canada Strong Budget 2025”? What amendments have recently been made to the Canada Labour Code?\nHow far does recent Quebec legislation expand government authority to restrict or end lawful strikes and lockouts and refer labour disputes to interest arbitration?\nAre other provinces likely to follow the lead of Alberta and Quebec in introducing legislation restricting the use of union dues for non-core union activities?\nWhat new limits have been introduced in Alberta with respect to the authority of regulatory bodies to discipline professionals for off-duty speech or to impose EDI training?\n\nFinal selection of topics will take place in the weeks leading up to the conference\, ensuring coverage of the latest and most newsworthy topics in a shifting legal landscape. \nBreak: 10:20 – 10:35 am \n\nPanel 2 - Many Happy Returns? Navigating return-to-office mandates\, hybrid and flex work\, and the duty to accommodate - 10:35 – 11:35 am\n\n\n \nDale Darling\nMediator and Arbitrator \n\n\n \nGillian Lush\nSenior Consultant and Lawyer\nHR Atlantic \n\n\n \nKyle Rees\nUnion Counsel\nO’Dea Earle \n\n\nSix 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 arising fromemployees return to the office. Specifically\, the following questions will be addressed: \n\nAs 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?\nWhen will an employee be allowed to work from home as a form of health-related accommodation? Does an employee’s susceptibility to contracting an illness in the workplace warrant accommodation?\na) 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?\nb) 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?\nWhat flexible working options other than remote or hybrid work can be considered? Can these options help reduce increased absenteeism or presenteeism due to a return to the office?\nWhat aspects of remote\, hybrid\, or flexible work arrangements have been specifically addressed in workplace policies or collective agreement provisions?\n\nNetworking Lunch: 11:35 – 12:30 pm \n\nPanel 3 - Workplaces that Work: Preventing discrimination\, harassment\, and psychological harm - 12:35 – 1:45 pm\n\n\n \nAshley Hamp-Gonsalves\nBurchell Wickwire Bryson LLP \n\n\n \nLeah Kutcher\nIn-House Counsel\nNova Scotia Teachers Union \n\n\n \nCarey Majid\nExecutive Director\nNewfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission \n\n\nIgnoring workplace discrimination\, harassment\, psychological harm\, and toxic cultures can be extremely costly financially\, legally\, and for employee wellbeing. This session will examine legal and practical approaches for prevention\, policy development\, investigations\, and discipline. Specifically\, panelists will address: \n\nHow do occupational health and safety requirements related to workplace harassment differ across Atlantic provinces? Across Canada? What does Nova Scotia’s new Stronger Workplaces for Nova Scotia Act require?\nWhat must be included in a harassment prevention policy?\nWhat tests and standards do adjudicators apply when determining whether discrimination\, harassment\, or workplace-related psychological harm has occurred? What factors do arbitrators consider\, including power imbalances\, workplace culture\, the severity of psychological harm\, and the impact on affected employees? When might a single incident justify dismissal?\nHow have recent decisions shaped employers’ duties to investigate allegations of discrimination\, harassment\, psychological harm\, and other alleged toxic workplace behaviours? What triggers an employer’s responsibility to act\, even without a formal complaint?\nWhat steps should employers take to proactively recognize and address signs of a potentially toxic workplace culture?\nWhat steps should employers and unions take when discrimination or harassment occurs between employees? Between an employee and a manager?\nHow should employers and unions address discrimination\, harassment\, and psychological harm in remote and hybrid workplaces?\nWhen does off-duty conduct fall within the employer’s authority under human rights legislation? Occupational health and safety legislation? Collective agreements and disciplinary policies?\nWhat trends are emerging in damage awards for discrimination\, harassment\, failure to accommodate\, reprisal\, psychological harm\, and toxic workplace claims?\n\nBreak: 1:45 – 2:00 pm \n\nPanel 4 - Investigating Investigations: Expert guidance\, best practices and recent caselaw - 2:00 – 3:15 pm\n\n\n \nChris King\, KC\nEmployer CounselMcInnes Cooper \n\n\n \nRosellen Sullivan\nSexual Harassment InvestigationSullivan Investigative Insights \n\n\n \nPaula Theriault\nLabour Relations OfficerNew Brunswick Union of Public Employees (NBU) \n\n\nInvestigating allegations in the workplace requires a compliance with best practices and keeping up with recent caselaw. In this panel\, experts will offer insights into conducting or overseeing fair and appropriate workplace investigations. Specifically\, panelists will address: \n\nWhat guidance can be gleaned from recent caselaw on the requirements of a fair and appropriate workplace investigation and procedural flaws to be avoided during an investigation?\nIn what circumstances is hiring an external investigator to be preferred over an internal investigation? How can the parties strike a balance between thoroughness and urgency during investigations?\nMust an employer investigate allegations even in the absence of a formal complaint? How should anonymous complaints be investigated?\nWhat risks arise from failing to investigate an allegation? In what situations have damages been awarded for an employer’s failure to investigate?\nWhat are best practices for interviewing complainants\, respondents\, and witnesses in a trauma-informed manner?\nWhat information can be shared with a complainant or respondent once an investigation is complete? How should employers communicate investigation results to complainants? What entitlement do the parties have to a copy of the investigator’s report or notes? What right do the parties have to respond?\nWhat comes next after a workplace investigation? What does an effective workplace restoration process entail?\n\nBreak: 3:15 – 3:30 pm \n\nFireside Chat - Incivility\, Aging Workforces\, & the New Realities of Workplace Culture - 3:30 – 4:00 pm\n\n\n \nSally Wells\nRespectful Workplace and Workplace Harassment\nSally J. Wells Inc. \n\n\nWorkplace dynamics are shifting as organizations navigate increasing concerns about incivility\, intergenerational tensions\, and evolving expectations around respectful conduct. In this fireside chat\, Sally Wells will explore how aging workforces and changing workplace norms are reshaping conversations about respect\, communication\, and accountability. Attendees will gain practical insights into recognizing and addressing incivility while fostering healthier\, more respectful workplace cultures.Tuesday\, May 26\, 2026 \nNetworking Breakfast and Registration: 8:00 – 9:00 am \nOpening remarks: 9:00 – 9:05 am \n\nPanel 5 - Terminations and Transformations: Navigating restructuring\, layoffs\, economic pressures - 9:05 – 10:20 am\n\n\n \nMichael Bourgeois\nLabour & Employment Lawyer\nCUPE \n\n\n \nIsabelle Keeler\nDirector of Faculty Relations\nUniversity of Prince Edward Island \n\n\n \nSheilagh Murphy\nArbitrator/Mediator/Investigator\nMacNab Fagan and Murphy \n\n\nAs the country navigates turbulent sociopolitical and economic times\, it is critical for employers and unions to understand legal principles and best practices regarding workplace restructuring. In this session\, panelists will address key considerations for organizations facing economic strain\, including: \n\nWhat options\, short of large-scale restructuring\, are available to employers and unions seeking to mitigate economic pressures?\nWhen is it lawful for an employer to “outsource” work? What factors will an arbitrator consider in determining whether outsourcing constitutes a genuine “contracting out” or an impermissible “contracting in”?\nCan employers reassign duties to supervisors or employees outside the bargaining unit as part of restructuring?\nWill a unilateral reduction in an employee’s working hours or changes to an employee’s shift time\, position\, job classification\, or job location constitute a layoff? Can management unilaterally schedule vacations to achieve a temporary shutdown without engaging layoff provisions?\nHow does collective agreement language impact the order in which employees must be laid off and their recall and bumping rights?\nWhen will a “layoff” in fact amount to a termination? How do employees’ entitlements on termination change when they are let go as part of a large-scale restructuring?\nMust employers consult with unions when considering workplace restructuring or disclose plans to restructure during collective bargaining?\nWhat steps should be taken to preserve the morale\, health\, and safety of employees following a workplace reorganization?\nWhat legislative changes and government programs have recently been introduced to avoid or cushion the impact of large-scale downsizing or loss of employment through restructuring?\nWhat measures have parties negotiated in collective agreements toaddress the possibility of future workplace reorganizations?\n\nBreak: 10:20 – 10:35 am \n\nPanel 6 - Building an Inclusive Workplace: Supporting and accommodating mental health and neurodivergence at work - 10:35 – 11:50 am\n\n\n \nDr. Abraham Rudnick\nProfessor\nDepartment of Psychiatry\nDalhousie University \n\n\n \nCaroline Spindler\nEmployer Counsel\nMathews Dinsdale & Clarke LLP \n\n\n \nKelly VanBuskirk\nKelly VanBuskirk\, KC\, PhD C. Arb. \n\n\nNeurodiversity and mental health are playing an increasingly prominent role in discussions on workplace accommodation\, human rights\, and equity obligations. For employers and unions\, these matters raise complex legal and practical questions about risk management and appropriate day-to-day workplace responses. Through moderated discussions and practical examples\, speakers will unpack key questions\, including: \n\nHow are legal and human rights obligations evolving around mental health\, neurodivergence\, stress\, and burnout?\nWhat indicators have adjudicators found sufficient to trigger a duty to accommodate and how have employers reasonably been expected to respond?\nWhen is a ‘duty to inquire’ triggered? What steps are employers expected to take to identify and address risks before they escalate?\nWhen do recruitment and onboarding processes unintentionally exclude certain candidates\, and what practical improvements can be made without compromising operational needs?\nWhat limits have courts and tribunals placed on medical information requests\, and when have formal assessments been found a) necessary b) excessive?\nHow should employers evaluate accommodation requests related to remote work? What medical information can be obtained?\nWhat guidance does recent case law provide regarding the threshold at which absenteeism exceeds reasonable accommodation and constitutes undue hardship?\n\nNetworking Lunch: 11:50 – 12:50 pm \n\nPanel 7 - Pursuing the Road to Resolution: The future of arbitration\, ADR\, Med-Arb\, and other strategies to resolve disputes - 12:50 – 2:05 pm\n\n\n \nAndrea MacNevin\nLawyer\, Mediator and Investigator\nMacNevin Law & Mediation Inc. \n\n\n \nMichelle McCann\nLegal Counsel\nHealth Association Nova Scotia \n\n\n \nAlyssa Rahey\nLegal Counsel and Business Agent\nService Employees International Union\, Local 2 \n\n\nEmployers and unions can choose between various strategies to efficiently and effectively resolve disputes. In this panel\, speakers will explore these strategies and look forward to how they may evolve in the coming years. Specifically\, the panel will address: \n\nDoes the growing “judicialization” of arbitration undermine its unique advantages or is it necessary to ensure procedural protections for parties?\nWhat options exist outside of the conventional arbitration process? In what circumstances should parties consider these alternatives? Are any of these alternatives gaining popularity?\nHow is artificial intelligence (“AI”) being used to prepare for mediation\, arbitration\, or other events? How will the use of AI develop going forward?\nWhat are the advantages and disadvantages of virtual mediation\, mediation-arbitration\, or arbitration? Will virtual formats become the default option?\nWhat factors should be considered when selecting a third party neutral?\n\nBreak: 2:05 – 2:20 pm \n\nPanel 8 - Uses and Abuses of Modern Technology: A scenario-based session on social media\, employee monitoring\, and AI - 2:20 – 3:45 pm\n\n\n \nDavid Mombourquette\nChairperson\nNew Brunswick Labour and Employment Board \n\n\n \nIan Pickard\nEmployer counsel\nMcInnes Cooper \n\n\n \nPaula Schumph\nGeneral Counsel\nNewfoundland & Labrador Association of Public & Private Employees (NAPE) \n\n\nThis interactive session will provide employers and unions with the best available insights into privacy\, AI-driven management decisions\, 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 privacy and the use of modern technologies both at work and off-duty. \nSpecific issues to be addressed include: \n\nIn 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?\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 ensuring productivity through such tools and employees’ right to privacy?\nWhat is the current role of AI-driven tools in management decision-making\, and how is that role expected to evolve in the future?\nWhat privacy and human rights concerns arise when an employer uses AI to assess candidates’ suitability for positions?\nWhat arguments for and against the use of algorithmic management will arbitrators find most compelling?\nHow should employers and unions address AI\, privacy\, and human rights in collective agreements?\n\nClosing remarks: 3:45 pm \n\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\nPricing \nAtlantic Labour Law Conference – Both Days $1\,455.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nAtlantic Labour Law Conference – Day 1 $1\,045.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nAtlantic Labour Law Conference – Day 2 $1\,045.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nAttendees can also register for a skills training workshop offered by our Centre for Labour Relations Training & Development\, taking place the day after the conference. The workshop includes panel discussions and hands-on scenarios addressing real labour relations challenges and is designed to complement the Atlantic Labour Law Conference. The conference and workshop may be attended separately or as a bundled registration: \n\nAtlantic Labour Law Conference & Workshop – Bundle (Conference + Workshop) $2\,095.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nConference Co-Chairs \n\n\n \nKiersten Amos\nEmployer Counsel\nMcInnes Cooper \n\n\n \nChantelle MacDonald Newhook\, KC\nArbitrator\, Mediator and Investigator\nDispute Winners \nVice-Chair\nNewfoundland and Labrador Labour Relations Board \n\n\n \nDaniel Wilband\nLabour and Employment\, Human Rights and Administrative Lawyer\nVanBuskirk Law \n\n\n\nAdvisory Committee \n\n\n \nBrian Johnston\nEmployer Counsel\nStewart McKelvey \n\n\n \nKaren Milligan\nHR Manager\nHealth PEI \n\n\n \nChris Montigny\nEmployer Counsel\nHR Atlantic \n\n\n \nSandra Mullen\nPresident\nNova Scotia Government & General Employees Union \n\n\n \nSusie Proulx-Daigle\nPresident\nNew Brunswick Union (NBU) \n\n\n \nMary Rolf\nUnion Counsel\nPink Larkin \n\n\n\nCPD \nCPDLancaster 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. \nHalifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel - Discounted Room\nReserve By: Thursday\, April 23\, 2026. \nAfter this date\, the special group rate will no longer be available and reservation requests will be based on availability that is subject to the hotel’s rates. \n\n\n\nStart Date\nEnd Date\nRoom Rate\n\n\nMay 24\, 2026\nMay 27\, 2026\n$289 per night\n\n\n\nReservations Direct Phone: 1-800-943-6760 \nURL booking link: Reservation Link
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/atlantic-labour-law-conference-2/
LOCATION:Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel\, 1919 Upper Water Street\, Halifax\, Nova Scotia\, B3J 3J5\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Conference,Labour Law & Labour Policy
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260618
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260620
DTSTAMP:20260406T080330
CREATED:20251028T171445Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T194142Z
UID:18337-1781740800-1781913599@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:44th Annual Alberta Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
DESCRIPTION:Sponsored by:Overview \nSince its launch in 1981\, the Annual Alberta Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference has served as a cornerstone gathering for Alberta’s labour relations community—offering not only timely legal and policy updates but also valuable networking opportunities with leading voices in the field. \nThis year’s conference brings together top arbitrators\, lawyers\, union representatives\, and HR professionals for in-depth discussions on the most pressing developments in labour arbitration and workplace policy. Expert-led panels will cover critical topics such as recent case law\, legislative changes\, policy trends\, and the practical challenges shaping today’s labour landscape in Alberta. \nThe conference will feature concurrent panels and hands-on workshops\, allowing attendees to customize their experience by choosing the sessions most relevant to their interests and professional roles. With a strong emphasis on connection and collaboration\, this event is designed to foster dialogue\, spark new ideas\, and strengthen professional relationships across the labour relations community. \nWhether you’re navigating complex arbitration issues or refining your workplace strategies\, the Alberta conference offers the insight\, flexibility\, and network you need to stay ahead. \n\nWhat to Expect \nThe event begins with an evening networking reception\, providing a relaxed setting to connect with fellow attendees\, speakers\, and leaders from the labour community. This will be followed by an evening plenary session\, offering thought-provoking discussion to set the stage for the next day’s program. \nThe following day features a full schedule of expert-led panels\, including concurrent sessions that allow participants to tailor their experience by choosing the topics most relevant to their interests and professional needs. Panelists will represent union-side\, employer-side\, and neutral perspectives\, offering balanced\, practical insights through moderated discussions. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions—either verbally or electronically—at the end of each session. \nIn addition to the live content\, participants will receive a comprehensive package of digital materials\, including textbook chapters\, case summaries\, and other carefully curated resources. Developed through extensive research by Lancaster House program lawyers\, these materials are designed to support continued learning long after the event. \n\nWho Should Attend? \nThis conference will provide invaluable learning and networking opportunities for professionals involved in shaping and managing workplace policy\, arbitration\, and labour relations. It is designed for individuals across a range of industries\, including: \n\nArbitrators & Mediators – Decision-makers and dispute resolution professionals seeking to stay current with evolving practices and jurisprudence.\nNegotiators & Bargaining Agents – Professionals involved in collective bargaining looking to strengthen their strategies and deepen their understanding of recent legal and policy developments.\nHuman Resources Leaders – HR managers\, directors\, and disability management specialists navigating workplace accommodations\, discipline\, and compliance.\nEmployment & Labour Lawyers – Legal professionals seeking updates on arbitration trends\, case law\, and legislative changes.\nUnion Representatives & Labour Relations Experts – Advocates working to ensure fair treatment in the workplace and effective collective bargaining outcomes.\nCorporate Executives & Compliance Officers – Business leaders responsible for aligning workplace policies with legal requirements and best practices.\nGovernment & Public Sector Professionals – HR and legal representatives working within municipal\, provincial\, and federal public service contexts.\n\nWhether you are resolving disputes\, negotiating agreements\, or developing workplace policy\, this conference offers the insights and connections you need to stay informed and effective. \n\nLearning Outcomes \nBy attending this conference\, you will: \n✔ Stay up to date on the latest developments in labour arbitration\, workplace policy\, and employment law across Alberta. \n✔ Strengthen your skills in interpreting and applying arbitration awards\, legislative changes\, and policy decisions in real-world workplace contexts. \n✔ Gain practical strategies for resolving disputes\, drafting effective workplace policies\, and navigating complex issues in collective bargaining. \n✔ Learn from leading arbitrators\, legal experts\, union and employer representatives through engaging discussions and case-based analysis. \n✔ Connect with fellow practitioners\, negotiators\, and decision-makers to expand your professional network and exchange ideas. \n\nSample MaterialsClick here to see an excerpt from last year’s materials! \n\nThursday\, June 18\, 2026 \nRegistration: 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm \n\nOpening remarks: 5:00 pm – 5:05 pm \n\nKeynote - The Evolution of Labour Arbitration in Alberta: Change\, Challenges\, and Collaboration - 5:05 pm – 5:35 pm\n\n\n \nJames Casey\nArbitrator\nLabour Arbitration+Mediation \n\n\nBreak: 5:35 pm – 5:50 pm \n\nPlenary 1 - Uses and Abuses of Modern Technology: An interactive\, scenario-based session on social media\, employee monitoring\, and AI - 5:50 pm – 7:05 pm\n\n\n \nWilson Chan\nEmployer Counsel\nMathews\, Dinsdale & Clark LLP \n\n\n \nPete Desrochers\nArbitrator/Mediator\nThe Negotiators \n\n\n \nElla Henry\nCounsel\nCanadian Union of Public Employees \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will examine the complex challenges and potential opportunities arising from the use of emerging technologies in the workplace. Speakers will analyze three scenarios relating to social media use\, employee monitoring\, and artificial intelligence (“AI”)\, addressing questions such as: \n\nWhen can employers discipline or dismiss employees for inappropriate social media posts or activities? How have arbitrators and adjudicators in recent cases balanced employees’ freedom to express themselves on social media against the employer’s interest in protecting its reputation and preventing harm to other employees?\nHow can employers and unions navigate conflicts between competing human rights that may arise in the context of social media use? For example\, how should employers and unions respond when an employee makes an online post that another employee asserts is discriminatory\, but which the posting employee claims is protected speech under the Human Rights Code or the Charter?\nWhat limits do federal and Alberta privacy laws place on employee monitoring and surveillance? How have arbitrators and adjudicators balanced employee privacy rights against the employer’s interest in managing productivity? What factors determine whether electronic monitoring crosses the line into unreasonable oversight?\nWhen can an employer discipline an employee for misconduct discovered through routine monitoring or surveillance? For example\, can an employer that is monitoring employee devices for the stated purpose of ensuring performance and productivity discipline an employee for misconduct entirely unrelated to those criteria?\nWhat challenges and legal risks may arise in using artificial intelligence in hiring\, promotion\, and performance management? Can employers and unions be held liable for flaws in AI systems that result in discriminatory hiring and management processes? Will establishment of a human rights review process or reliance on bias testing be sufficient to shield an organization from liability?\n\nScenarios will be finalized in the weeks prior to the conference\, ensuring coverage of the latest and most pressing issues.\nNetworking Reception: 7:05 pm – 9:00 pm \n\nFriday June 19\, 2026 \nBreakfast and Registration: 8:00 am – 9:00 am \n\nOpening remarks: 9:00 am – 9:05 am \n\nPlenary 2 - New and Noteworthy: Key recent cases and legislative developments in Alberta - 9:05 am – 10:20 am\n\n\n \nLaura Dunnigan\nEmployer CounselMathews Dinsdale \n\n\n \nGreg Francis\nArbitrator and Mediator \n\n\n \nNatalia Makuch\nUnion CounselChivers Carpenter \n\n\nIn this session\, panelists will delve into recent 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\nHow has the Alberta government’s introduction of the Back to School Act (2025)\, ordering striking teachers to return to work\, impacted labour relations within the province? Is the provincial government’s use of the notwithstanding clause open to challenge\, and what lessons can be learned from recent uses of this clause? How have courts and tribunals balanced the competing interests and legal rights at stake when addressing the legality of government intervention in strike actions?\nWill expressing personal or political beliefs at work warrant discipline? Is it discriminatory to discipline or reprimand an employee for being “oversensitive” in conversations about certain subjects – for example\, about their country of origin or about Canada’s Indigenous relations policies?\nCan employees be dismissed for non-compliance with vaccine policies?\nHow have arbitral approaches to evaluating discipline for harassment\, discrimination\, and violence at work changed in recent years? What trends in damages are evident for workplace human rights violations?\nIs an employer obliged to investigate incidents involving harassment if there is no formal complaint?\nWill specifying an age “cut-off” for benefits constitute discrimination or violation of the Charter?\nHow far does the duty to inquire into a disability extend? Does the employer have a duty to inquire into the voluntariness of an employee’s resignation when that employee has a history of mental health concerns?\nWhat aspects of an absenteeism management policy will render that policy unreasonable?\nWhat factors will arbitrators consider when determining whether a hiring or promotion process was fair or reasonable? How does collective agreement language impact this analysis?\nWhat collective bargaining lessons can be learned from recent decisions from the Alberta Labour Relations Board addressing unfair labour practices\, bad faith bargaining\, and illegal strikes?\n\nLegislation \nThe session and materials will also cover recent and upcoming changes to legislation in Alberta and in the federal jurisdiction\, such as: \n\nWhat is the status of ongoing legal challenges to the federal government’s use of s. 107 of the Canada Labour Code to intervene in lawful strike actions in the airline\, railway\, postal\, and other sectors? Will recent controversial cases regarding the use by the federal government of Canada Labour Code  107 result in legislative changes?\nWhat new limits has Alberta’s government introduced regarding the authority of regulatory bodies to discipline professionals for off-duty speech or to impose EDI training?\nWhat changes to Alberta’s private sector privacy legislation are being considered through the ongoing Personal Information Protection Act consultation? What is the deadline for public bodies to introduce a “privacy management program” pursuant to recent amendments to Alberta’s Protection of Privacy Act\, and what must be included in this program?\nWhat new or expanded leaves have been introduced in Alberta in the past year?\nWhat are the similarities and differences between Alberta and Quebec legislation restricting the use of union dues for non-core union activities? How has the Alberta Labour Relations Board defined “core” and “non-core activities” when interpreting the relevant provincial legislation?\nWhat measures have been introduced at a federal and provincial level in response to the trade conflict between Canada and the US?\nWhich provinces have passed legislation restricting employers’ rights to ask for doctors’ notes in support of short-term sick leave?\nWhat measures impacting workplaces were proposed in the federal government’s recent “Canada Strong Budget 2025”? What amendments have recently been made to the Canada Labour Code?\nHow far does recent Quebec legislation expand government authority to restrict or end lawful strikes and lockouts and refer labour disputes to interest arbitration?\n\nFinal selection of topics will take place in the weeks prior to the conference\, ensuring coverage of the latest and most newsworthy topics in a shifting legal landscape. \nBreak: 10:20 am – 10:35 am \n\nPlenary 3 - Navigating Alberta's Economic and Political Currents: Examining the implications for labour relations and collective bargaining - 10:35 am – 11:35 am\n\n\n \nThomas Hesse\nPresident\, united Food and commercial workers Canada local 401 \n\n\n \nChantel Kassongo\nEmployer Counsel\nNeuman Thompson \n\n\n \nJoseph Marchand\nDirector\nAlberta Centre for Labour Market Research (ACLMR)\nCo-Director\, Institute for Public Economics (IPE)\nProfessor\, Faculty of Arts – Economics Department\nUniversity of Alberta \n\n\nAmid economic uncertainty\, with looming deficits and oil price complications the bargaining environment is more complex than ever. This plenary brings together labour relations experts to explore the latest trends\, emerging bargaining priorities\, and strategies for negotiating effectively in 2026. Specifically\, panelists will address: \n\nHow is Alberta’s economy currently performing\, and what do near-term economic forecasts suggest for public-sector bargaining in 2026\, including expectations around compensation growth and affordability?\nIn what ways has recent legislation\, including the Back to School Act and the use of the notwithstanding clause\, influenced collective bargaining and labour relations dynamics in Alberta?\nWhat non‑monetary provisions (e.g.\, job protections\, health and safety workload management\, training and development) are becoming important bargaining priorities in the current climate?\nIs uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policies likely to affect bargaining outcomes in Alberta’s broader public sector? Are there other international or federal policy developments that negotiators should be mindful of?\nHow can employers and unions best adapt their bargaining strategies to remain effective\, constructive\, and sustainable amid ongoing economic and political uncertainty?\n\nLunch: 11:35 am – 12:35 pm \n\nConcurrent Sessions: 12:35 PM – 1:50 PM (Choice of 2 of 3) Concurrent 1 - Bargaining in the Evolving Workplace: Generational differences\, remote and flexible work arrangements\, new technologies\, EDI\, and more\n\n\n \nChris Monfette\nEmployer Counsel\nNeuman Thompson\n\n\n \nTerry Sway\nAssociate Director\, Negotiations\nNon-Academic Staff Association (NASA) at University of Edmonton \n\n\nTechnological advances and evolving societal expectations are driving the need for modernization of collective agreements. This session will equip attendees with the knowledge required to approach bargaining and employee relations more effectively. Specifically\, the panel will address: \n\nIn what circumstances will an employer’s return-to-office mandate conflict with the terms of a collective agreement? What aspects of remote or hybrid work arrangements have been negotiated in collective agreements? What flexible work options have the parties considered bargaining that would support employee well-being and attendance?\nHow are parties dealing with equity\, diversity\, and inclusion (“EDI”) issues at the bargaining table? What examples of inclusive leave and benefit provisions are beginning to appear in collective agreements?\nHow do inadequate staffing levels and high workloads affect the mental health of employees? How are the parties\, during bargaining\, working to adjuststaffing levels and workloads? In what other ways are the parties responding to employee mental health during bargaining?\nHow are employers and unions reconciling generational differences in the workplace that result in differing bargaining priorities?\nHow is the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) impacting employee hiring\, management\, and work? Are standard “technological change” provisions sufficient to respond to concerns associated with the effect of AI on the workforce?\nWhat are examples of collective agreement provisions relating to monitoring and surveillance associated with new technologies (e.g. biometric scanning\, GPS tracking) in the workplace? How have the parties addressed the privacy issues arising from the use of these new technologies?\nHow can parties best learn about the needs of employees or members when preparing for bargaining?\n\nConcurrent 2 - Clocking In\, Falling Behind: Expert insights on performance\, attendance\, and time theft issues in the workplace\n\n\n \nBruce Graham\nEmployer Counsel\nFasken \n\n\n \nKaren Thibault\nUnion Representative\nDisputes and Arbitrations\nAlberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) \n\n\nFrom keystroke logging to recorded video calls\, unprecedented tools are available to monitor how and when work gets done. But when does oversight become overreach? What are the legal and practical limits of workplace privacy and surveillance? Panelists will address: \n\nWhat constitutes employee “time theft”? How does time theft differ from a lack of productivity? Do employees’ intentions matter when determining if they committed time theft?\nWhat types of evidence can employers rely on to demonstrate time theft or productivity issues? Will circumstantial evidence suffice?\nHow should an employer approach time theft and productivity concerns at a disciplinary meeting? Are employers required to provide advance notice of the dates and times in question? What is the union’s role in this process?\nWhat disciplinary measures have adjudicators and arbitrators deemed appropriate for time theft?\nWhat consequences confront employers who impose discipline due to time theft without properly considering or inquiring into an employee’s disability or potential accommodation needs? How should unions support members with disabilities accused of time theft?\nHow do adjudicators balance an employer’s right to enforce productivity and an employee’s right to privacy? Does the permissible scope of surveillance differ for remote or hybrid workers?\nAre there any restrictions on how long employers can retain employee information gathered through surveillance? Can employers and adjudicators use data collected previously for another purpose for a future dispute?\nHow should workplace policies and collective agreements proactively address time theft?\n\nConcurrent 3 - Workplace Restructuring in Uncertain Times: Managing and responding to terminations\, lay-offs\, contracting in/out\, and more\n\n\n \nErin Ludwig\nAssociate General Counsel – Labour and Employment\nAlberta Health Services \n\n\n \nLisa Mason\nActing Regional Director – Alberta\nAlberta Regional Office\nCanadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) \n\n\nAs the country navigates turbulent economic times\, it is critical that employers and unions understand legal principles and best practices regarding workplace restructuring. In this session\, panelists will address key considerations including: \n\nWhat options\, short of large-scale restructuring\, are available to employers and unions seeking to mitigate economic pressures?\nWhen is it lawful for an employer to “outsource” work? What factors will an arbitrator consider in determining whether outsourcing constitutes a genuine “contracting out” or an impermissible “contracting in”?\nCan employers reassign duties to supervisors or employees outside the bargaining unit as part of restructuring?\nWill a unilateral reduction in an employee’s working hours or changes to an employee’s shift time\, position\, job classification\, or job location constitute a layoff requiring the application of seniority rights?\nHow does collective agreement language impact the order in which employees must be laid off and their recall and bumping rights?\nWhen will a “layoff” in fact amount to a termination? How do employees’ entitlements on termination change when they are let go as part of a large-scale restructuring?\nMust employers consult with unions when considering workplace restructuring or disclose plans to restructure during collective bargaining?\nWhat steps should be taken to preserve the morale\, health\, and safety of employees following a workplace reorganization?\nWhat legislative changes and government programs have recently been introduced to avoid or cushion the impact of large-scale downsizing or loss of employment through restructuring?\nWhat measures have parties negotiated in collective agreements to address the possibility of future workplace reorganizations?\n\nBreak: 1:50 pm – 2:05 pm \n\nConcurrent Sessions: 2:05 PM – 3:20 PM  (Choice of 2 of 3) \nConcurrent 1 - Bargaining in the Evolving Workplace: Generational differences\, remote and flexible work arrangements\, new technologies\, EDI\, and more\n\n\n \nChris Monfette\nEmployer Counsel\nNeuman Thompson\n\n\n \nTerry Sway\nAssociate Director\, Negotiations\nNon-Academic Staff Association (NASA) at University of Edmonton \n\n\nTechnological advances and evolving societal expectations are driving the need for modernization of collective agreements. This session will equip attendees with the knowledge required to approach bargaining and employee relations more effectively. Specifically\, the panel will address: \n\nIn what circumstances will an employer’s return-to-office mandate conflict with the terms of a collective agreement? What aspects of remote or hybrid work arrangements have been negotiated in collective agreements? What flexible work options have the parties considered bargaining that would support employee well-being and attendance?\nHow are parties dealing with equity\, diversity\, and inclusion (“EDI”) issues at the bargaining table? What examples of inclusive leave and benefit provisions are beginning to appear in collective agreements?\nHow do inadequate staffing levels and high workloads affect the mental health of employees? How are the parties\, during bargaining\, working to adjuststaffing levels and workloads? In what other ways are the parties responding to employee mental health during bargaining?\nHow are employers and unions reconciling generational differences in the workplace that result in differing bargaining priorities?\nHow is the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) impacting employee hiring\, management\, and work? Are standard “technological change” provisions sufficient to respond to concerns associated with the effect of AI on the workforce?\nWhat are examples of collective agreement provisions relating to monitoring and surveillance associated with new technologies (e.g. biometric scanning\, GPS tracking) in the workplace? How have the parties addressed the privacy issues arising from the use of these new technologies?\nHow can parties best learn about the needs of employees or members when preparing for bargaining?\n\nConcurrent 2 - Clocking In\, Falling Behind: Expert insights on performance\, attendance\, and time theft issues in the workplace\n\n\n \nBruce Graham\nEmployer Counsel\nFasken \n\n\n \nKaren Thibault\nUnion Representative\nDisputes and Arbitrations\nAlberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) \n\n\nFrom keystroke logging to recorded video calls\, unprecedented tools are available to monitor how and when work gets done. But when does oversight become overreach? What are the legal and practical limits of workplace privacy and surveillance? Panelists will address: \n\nWhat constitutes employee “time theft”? How does time theft differ from a lack of productivity? Do employees’ intentions matter when determining if they committed time theft?\nWhat types of evidence can employers rely on to demonstrate time theft or productivity issues? Will circumstantial evidence suffice?\nHow should an employer approach time theft and productivity concerns at a disciplinary meeting? Are employers required to provide advance notice of the dates and times in question? What is the union’s role in this process?\nWhat disciplinary measures have adjudicators and arbitrators deemed appropriate for time theft?\nWhat consequences confront employers who impose discipline due to time theft without properly considering or inquiring into an employee’s disability or potential accommodation needs? How should unions support members with disabilities accused of time theft?\nHow do adjudicators balance an employer’s right to enforce productivity and an employee’s right to privacy? Does the permissible scope of surveillance differ for remote or hybrid workers?\nAre there any restrictions on how long employers can retain employee information gathered through surveillance? Can employers and adjudicators use data collected previously for another purpose for a future dispute?\nHow should workplace policies and collective agreements proactively address time theft?\n\nConcurrent 3 - Workplace Restructuring in Uncertain Times: Managing and responding to terminations\, lay-offs\, contracting in/out\, and more\n\n\n \nErin Ludwig\nAssociate General Counsel – Labour and Employment\nAlberta Health Services \n\n\n \nLisa Mason\nActing Regional Director – Alberta\nAlberta Regional Office\nCanadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) \n\n\nAs the country navigates turbulent economic times\, it is critical that employers and unions understand legal principles and best practices regarding workplace restructuring. In this session\, panelists will address key considerations including: \n\nWhat options\, short of large-scale restructuring\, are available to employers and unions seeking to mitigate economic pressures?\nWhen is it lawful for an employer to “outsource” work? What factors will an arbitrator consider in determining whether outsourcing constitutes a genuine “contracting out” or an impermissible “contracting in”?\nCan employers reassign duties to supervisors or employees outside the bargaining unit as part of restructuring?\nWill a unilateral reduction in an employee’s working hours or changes to an employee’s shift time\, position\, job classification\, or job location constitute a layoff requiring the application of seniority rights?\nHow does collective agreement language impact the order in which employees must be laid off and their recall and bumping rights?\nWhen will a “layoff” in fact amount to a termination? How do employees’ entitlements on termination change when they are let go as part of a large-scale restructuring?\nMust employers consult with unions when considering workplace restructuring or disclose plans to restructure during collective bargaining?\nWhat steps should be taken to preserve the morale\, health\, and safety of employees following a workplace reorganization?\nWhat legislative changes and government programs have recently been introduced to avoid or cushion the impact of large-scale downsizing or loss of employment through restructuring?\nWhat measures have parties negotiated in collective agreements to address the possibility of future workplace reorganizations?\n\nBreak: 3:20 pm – 3:35 pm \n\nPlenary 4 - Complex Issues in Accommodation: Neurodiversity\, family status\, return-to-office mandates\, medical information\, and more - 3:35 pm – 4:50 pm\n\n\n \nBob Blakely\nUnion Counsel\nBlakely & Dushensky Legal Counsel \n\n\n \nApril Kosten\nEmployer Counsel\nDentons \n\n\n \nDr. Perry Sirota\nClinical & Forensic Psychologist\nSirota Psychological Services \n\n\nEmployers and unions often need to address the needs of employees and members that may not be immediately visible. In this panel\, experts will provide insight into complex accommodation issues and provide guidance on the types of information that can be requested or must be provided in support of various accommodation requests. Specifically: \n\nWhen will an employee be allowed to work from home as a form of health-related accommodation? Does an employee’s susceptibility to contracting an illness in the workplace warrant accommodation? What medical information is required to support such a request?\nWhat is “neurodivergence”? What types of medical information can employers request from neurodivergent employees seeking accommodation? What are common workplace accommodations for neurodivergent employees?\n\nWhat are the unique privacy concerns Involved? \n\nWhat are best practices for drafting initial and follow-up letters to medical professionals? Are employers or unions entitled to communicate directly with an employee’s medical professional? Is an employer ever entitled to an employee’s diagnosis?\nHow 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?\nWhen will it be appropriate for an employer to request a fitness-to-work assessment or an Independent Medical Examination (“IME”)? What is the union’s role in this process?\nIn what circumstances have decision-makers found that employees should be permitted to work from home or on a full-time or part-time basis\, in order to accommodate obligations related to family status\, such as childcare or eldercare??\nWhat 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?\n\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\nPricing \nAlberta Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference – Evening Day 1 and Full Day 2 (Skills Training Workshop sold separately) \n$1\,495.00Select options	\n		This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page	\n  \nBundle pricing is available: \n\nAlberta Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference – Bundle (Conference Day + Workshop) \n$1\,995.00Select options	\n		This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page	\n  \nYou may also be interested in: \nAttendees can also register for one of three concurrent skills training workshops offered by our Centre for Labour Relations Training & Development\, taking place the day before the conference. The workshop includes panel discussions and hands-on scenarios addressing bargaining and labour arbitration challenges and is designed to complement the Alberta Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference. The conference and workshop may be attended separately or as a bundled registration. Attendees have the option to pick one of: \nWorkshop 1: Bargaining in Complex Times: Advanced skills to prepare for\, cost\, negotiate\, and communicate in collective bargaining \nWorkshop 2: Honing Your Grievance and Arbitration Skills: Tools and tactics for effective representation \nWorkshop 3: After the Investigation: Defusing conflicts and restoring workplace relationships \nConference Co-Chairs \n\n\n \nThomas Hesse\nPresident\nUnited Food and commercial workers Canada local 401 \n\n\n \nJacqueline Lacasse\nGeneral Counsel and VP People & Culture\nUniversity of Calgary \n\n\n \nJeremy Schick\nVice-Chair with the Labour Relations Board \n\n\n\nAdvisory Committee \n\n  \n\n \nMark Asbell\, K.C.\nArbitrator\, Mediator\, and Adjudicator\nAsbell Dispute Resolutions \n\n\n \nClayton Cook\nUnion Counsel\nMcGowan Cook \n\n\n \nMarcella Clarke\nSenior Labour Relations Advisor\nAlberta Health Services \n\n\n \nJackie Laviolette\nEmployer Counsel\nMatthews Dinsdale & Clarke \n\n\n \nNancy Schlesinger\nChair and Essential Services Commissioner\nAlberta Labour Relations Board \n\n\n \nBen Zorn\nManager of Labour Relations\nAUPE \n\n\n\nCPD \nCPD\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. \nThe Best Western Premier Calgary Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre - Discounted Room\nReserve By: Monday\, May 18\, 2026 \nAfter this date\, the special group rate will no longer be available and reservation requests will be based on availability that is subject to the hotel’s rates. \n\n\n\nStart date\nEnd date\nRoom rate\n\n\nJune 17\, 2026\nJune 19\, 2026\n$139 per night\n\n\n\nReservations Direct Phone: 1-(403) 248-888 \nToll-Free Number: 1-800-661-1464 \nGroup Name: Lancaster House 2026 \nAttendee Block Block ID Number: 394952 \nBooking Link: https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotel-rooms.61102.html?groupId=9I9YR4K1 \nEmail your reservation request to res@calgaryplaza.com
URL:https://lancasterhouse.com/event/44th-annual-alberta-labour-arbitration-and-policy-conference/
LOCATION:The Best Western Premier Calgary Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre\, 1316 33 Street NE\, Calgary\, Alberta\, T2A 6B6\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Conference,Labour Law & Labour Policy
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261006
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261008
DTSTAMP:20260406T080330
CREATED:20260211T163830Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260224T153428Z
UID:19053-1791244800-1791417599@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:Ontario Labour Law Conference
DESCRIPTION:Overview \nThe Ottawa Labour Law Conference is the go-to event for labour relations and HR professionals\, legal practitioners\, and arbitrators\, investigators\, and mediators. Focusing on the latest developments in federal sector and Ontario labour relations\, this conference offers practical discussions on recent key cases\, legislative updates\, and workplace challenges shaping today’s labour environment. Participants will explore how current legal decisions impact labour relations strategies and workplace compliance. Designed for professionals looking to stay ahead in a rapidly changing field\, the event also provides valuable networking opportunities with leading voices in law\, government\, and labour relations. Deepen your understanding of Canadian labour law\, sharpen your approach to workplace issues\, and build connections that matter. \nAttendees also have the option to attend our featured workshop offered by our Centre for Labour Relations Training & Development\, taking place the day after the conference at the same venue. \n\nWhat to Expect \nIn this conference\, leading labour relations professionals and subject matter experts will explore recent legal developments and emerging workplace challenges.  \nThroughout the event\, panelists from union-side\, employer-side\, and neutral perspectives will share their insights through moderated discussions. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions verbally or electronically at the end of each panel. \nParticipants will also be provided with a comprehensive set of digital materials including textbook chapters\, case summaries\, and other online resources. These resources\, developed through hours of research by Lancaster House program lawyers\, will prove invaluable for future reference. \n\nWho Should Attend? \nThis conference will provide invaluable learning and networking opportunities for: \n\nHuman Resources (HR) Managers and Directors – Stay informed on the latest developments and best practices in the world of labour relations.\nIndustrial Relations Specialists – Navigate the complexities of emerging workplace issues in unionized environments.\nExecutives and Business Leaders – Learn how to weather the current economic forecast and strategically address the latest workplace challenges.\nUnion Officers and Representatives – Advocate effectively for workers’ rights with respect to new technologies\, return-to-office mandates\, and more.\nLabour and Employment Lawyers/Consultants – Stay informed on the latest developments and hear from top voices on complex workplace issues.\n\n\nLearning Outcomes \nBy attending\, you will: \n\nGain a comprehensive understanding of recent cases and legislative changes impacting the world of labour relations.\nReceive a comprehensive materials package summarizing key recent practical tips\, caselaw\, legislation and resources\nEngage with leading experts through interactive Q+A periods\, enhancing your professional practice.\nNetwork with peers across industries\, fostering collaborative approaches to labour relations challenges.\n\n\nTuesday\, October 6\, 2026 \nComing Soon. \n\nWednesday\, October 7\, 2026 \nComing Soon. \n\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\nPricing \nOntario Labour Law Conference – Both Days $1\,755.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nOntario Labour Law Conference – Day 1 $1\,255.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nOntario Labour Law Conference – Day 2 $1\,255.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nBundle pricing is also available: \n\nOntario Labour Law Conference – Bundle (Conference + Workshop) $2\,195.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nConference Co-Chairs \nComing Soon. \nAdvisory Committee \nComing Soon. \nCPD \nCPD\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/ontario-labour-law-conference/
LOCATION:Rogers Centre Ottawa\, 55 Colonel By Drive\, Ottawa\, Ontario\, K1N 9J2\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Conference,Labour Law & Labour Policy
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261104
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261105
DTSTAMP:20260406T080330
CREATED:20260303T205328Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T183947Z
UID:19204-1793750400-1793836799@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:B.C. Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference
DESCRIPTION:Overview \nThe BC Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference brings together top union leaders\, employer representatives\, negotiators\, HR professionals\, legal experts\, and government officials to explore the latest factors shaping public sector labour negotiations. \nIdeal for those gearing up for bargaining\, the conference highlights recent legislative changes\, wage settlements\, economic and arbitral trends\, and other emerging issues at the bargaining table. Sessions focus on proven bargaining strategies\, and best practices tailored to Western Canada’s labour relations environment. \nMore 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. \nAttendees also have the option to attend one of two featured workshops offered by Lancaster’s Centre for Labour Relations Training & Development\, taking place the day after the conference at the same venue. \n\nWhat to Expect \nIn this conference\, leading economic experts and negotiators will examine economic trends\, legal developments\, and emerging workplace issues impacting negotiations in the broader public sector. \nThroughout the event\, panelists from union-side\, employer-side\, and neutral perspectives will share their insights through moderated discussions. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions verbally or electronically at the end of each panel. \nParticipants will also be provided with a comprehensive set of digital materials including textbook chapters\, case summaries\, and other online resources. These resources\, developed through hours of research by Lancaster House program lawyers\, will prove invaluable for future reference. \n\nWho Should Attend? \nThis conference will provide invaluable learning and networking opportunities for: \n\nUnion Negotiators – Connect with other union leaders and hear from top voices on strategies at the table.\nGovernment 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.\nIndustrial 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.\n\n\nLearning Outcomes \nBy attending this conference\, you will: \n\nGain a comprehensive understanding of federal and B.C. economic and fiscal outlooks and the implications for labour relations\, and how this may impact public sector bargaining. \nLearn how to translate these economic realities into bargaining strategies and understand and communicate how the statistics may impact approaches at the table.\nKeep informed on recent cases and legislative changes impacting bargaining\, including the legality of government interventions in strike actions.\nKnow how to modify collective agreements for modern workplaces.\nEngage with leading experts through interactive Q+A periods\, enhancing your professional practice.\nNetwork with peers across industries and across the table\, building bridges and fostering collaborative approaches to bargaining challenges\n\n\nSample Materials \nClick the following link to see an excerpt from a previous year’s materials. \n\nWednesday\, November 4\, 2026 \nComing Soon. \n\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 \nB.C. Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference \n$1\,455.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nB.C. Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference + B.C. Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Skills Training Workshop \n$2\,355.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nB.C. Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference + B.C. Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference + B.C. Labour Arbitration and Policy Skills Training Workshop or B.C. Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Skills Training Workshop \n$2\,995.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \n\nB.C. Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference \nAttend Lancaster House’s B.C. Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference\, taking place at the same venue two days after this conference – November 6\, 2026. \nTailored for labour relations professionals\, lawyers\, consultants\, arbitrators\, and mediators\, the event will feature engaging discussions on the latest caselaw and legislative updates and procedural tools and challenges. Connect with leading legal and labour relations professionals and build the knowledge and relationship essential for success in Western Canada’s legal landscape. \n\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. \nB.C. Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Skills Training Workshop \nB.C. Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference Skills Training Workshop \n\nConference Co-Chairs \nComing Soon. \n\nAdvisory Committee \nComing Soon. \n\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-bargaining-in-the-broader-public-sector-conference/
LOCATION:Alberta
CATEGORIES:Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference,Conference
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261106
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261107
DTSTAMP:20260406T080330
CREATED:20260303T205337Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T184042Z
UID:19213-1793923200-1794009599@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:B.C. Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
DESCRIPTION:Overview \nThe B.C. 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. \n\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\nFriday\, November 6\, 2026 \nComing Soon. \n\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 \nB.C. Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference \n$1\,455.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nB.C. Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference + B.C. Labour Arbitration and Policy Skills Training Workshop \n$2\,355.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nB.C. Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference + B.C. Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference + B.C. Labour Arbitration and Policy Skills Training Workshop or B.C. Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Skills Training Workshop \n$2\,995.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nB.C. Public Sector Bargaining ConferenceAttend Lancaster House’s B.C. Public Sector Bargaining Conference\, taking place at the same venue on November 4\, 2026. \nThe B.C. 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. \n\nFeatured Workshops 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. \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. \nB.C. Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Skills Training Workshop \nB.C. Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference Skills Training Workshop \n\nConference Co-Chairs \nComing Soon. \n\nAdvisory Committee \nComing Soon. \n\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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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261202
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261203
DTSTAMP:20260406T080330
CREATED:20260319T193642Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T185306Z
UID:19341-1796169600-1796255999@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:Ontario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference
DESCRIPTION:Overview \nLancaster 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. \nTo 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. \nWhat to Expect \nThe 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. \nPanelists will include leading voices from union\, management\, and neutral perspectives\, with moderated discussions and interactive Q&A sessions to encourage dialogue and deeper insight. \nAll 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. \n\nWho Should Attend? \nThis conference is ideal for: \n\nUnion Negotiators – Connect with other union leaders and hear from top voices on strategies at the table.\n\n\nGovernment 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.\n\n\nIndustrial 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.\n\n\nLearning Outcomes \nBy attending this conference\, you will: \n\nGain 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. \n\n\nLearn how to translate these economic realities into bargaining strategies and understand and communicate how the statistics may impact approaches at the table.\n\n\nKeep informed on recent cases and legislative changes impacting bargaining\, including the legality of government interventions in strike actions.\n\n\nEngage with leading experts through interactive Q+A periods\, enhancing your professional practice.\n\n\nNetwork with peers across industries and across the table\, building bridges and fostering collaborative approaches to bargaining challenges.\n\n\nSample Materials \nClick the following link to see an excerpt from a previous year’s materials. \n\nWednesday\, December 2\, 2026 Coming Soon. \n\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 Notifications \nAll 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 \nOntario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference \n$1\,455.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nOntario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference + Ontario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Skills Training Workshop \n\n$2\,355.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nOntario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference + Ontario Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference + Ontario Labour Arbitration and Policy Skills Training Workshop or Ontario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Skills Training Workshop \n\n$2\,995.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nOntario Labour Arbitration and Policy ConferenceAttend Lancaster House’s Ontario Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference\, taking place on December 3\, 2026. \nTailored for labour relations professionals\, lawyers\, and consultants\, as well as arbitrators and mediators\, the event will feature engaging discussions on the latest caselaw and legislative updates and procedural tools and challenges. Connect with leading legal and labour relations professionals and build the knowledge and relationships essential for success in Eastern Canada’s legal landscape. \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 at the same venue on December 4\, 2026. \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. \nCheck back soon for more details. \nOntario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Skills Training Workshop \nOntario Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference Skills Training Workshop \nConference Co-Chairs \nComing Soon. \n\nAdvisory Committee \nComing Soon. \n\nCPD \nConference CPD\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/ontario-bargaining-in-the-broader-public-sector-conference/
LOCATION:Alberta
CATEGORIES:Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference,Conference
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261203
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261204
DTSTAMP:20260406T080331
CREATED:20260319T193700Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T185539Z
UID:19338-1796256000-1796342399@lancasterhouse.com
SUMMARY:Ontario Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
DESCRIPTION:Overview \nLancaster House’s Ontario Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference will offer essential updates and analysis for union and management representatives\, legal practitioners\, and labour relations professionals. \nTo complement the main event\, attendees are invited to participate in a full-day interactive workshop on December 4\, 2026. This practical session will feature hands-on scenarios guided by experienced panelists\, offering tailored feedback and strategies to strengthen your skills. \nWhat to Expect \nThe 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\, making this not only a learning opportunity but a valuable space to exchange ideas\, compare experiences\, and build professional relationships. \nBetween sessions\, during refreshment breaks and lunch\, you’ll have the chance to connect with peers\, share strategies\, and engage directly with speakers and fellow attendees. \nParticipants will also receive a comprehensive digital resource package featuring case summaries\, legal analysis\, and curated materials for ongoing reference. \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.\n\n\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.\n\n\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 By attending this conference\, you will: \n\nEnhance your understanding of key legal developments and legislative changes shaping labour arbitration and workplace policy in Canada.\n\n\nSharpen your skills in managing complex accommodation requests.\n\n\nStrengthen your approaches with greater confidence and clarity.\n\n\nDeepen your insight by hearing from union\, management\, and neutral perspectives on emerging trends and practical challenges in arbitration.\n\n\nImprove your hearing preparation by integrating updated legal knowledge\, case law\, and procedural tools into your practice.\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\nThursday\, December 3\, 2026 Coming Soon. \n\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 Notifications \nAll 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 \nOntario Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference \n$1\,455.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nOntario Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference + Ontario Labour Arbitration and Policy Skills Training Workshop \n\n$2\,355.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nOntario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference + Ontario Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference + Ontario Labour Arbitration and Policy Skills Training Workshop or Ontario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Skills Training Workshop \n\n$2\,995.00Add to cart	\n			\n  \nOntario Public Sector Bargaining Conference \nAttend Lancaster House’s Ontario Public Sector Bargaining Conference\, taking place at the same venue on December 2\, 2026. \nThe Ontario 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. Sessions focus on proven bargaining strategies\, effective dispute resolution techniques\, and best practices tailored to Ontario and Canada’s labour relations environment. 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 at the same venue on December 4\, 2026. \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 \nOntario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Skills Training Workshop \nOntario Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference Skills Training Workshop \nConference Co-Chairs \nComing Soon. \n\nAdvisory Committee \nComing Soon. \n\nCPD \nConference CPD\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/ontario-labour-arbitration-and-policy-conference/
LOCATION:Alberta
CATEGORIES:Conference,Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference
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