CBA Administrative Law, and Labour and Employment Law Conference - Agenda 

Nov. 28-29, 2025
Ottawa ON

CBA Administrative Law, and Labour and Employment Law Conference

CBA Administrative Law, and Labour and Employment Law Conference
Agenda

Presented by the CBA Administrative Law and the CBA Labour and Employment Law sections

November 28-29, 2025 | Fairmont Château Laurier
1 Rideau Street | Ottawa, ON

Join us on November 28 and 29 at the historic Fairmont Château Laurier for the annual joint conference of the CBA Administrative Law Section and the CBA Labour and Employment Law Section.

IMPORTANT: Simultaneous translation will be provided for the sessions noted below. For health and safety purposes, CBA WILL NOT SUPPLY HEADSETS. Please ensure to supply your own headsets and personal devices.

Please note live streaming will not be available.


Agenda Subject to Change

This session will be offered with simultaneous interpretation *

TIME EVENT
7:30 am – 8:15 am

Registration and Breakfast
Adam Corridor, 1st floor

8:15 am – 8:30 am

Opening Remarks & Welcome
Adam Room, 1st floor

8:30 am – 9:30 am

Opening Plenary 
SCC Year in Review
Adam Room, 1st floor

Speaker: Paul Daly, University of Ottawa - Faculty of Law (Ottawa, ON)

This session will be offered with simultaneous interpretation *

9:30 am – 10:45 am

CONCURRENT SESSIONS 1
SESSION 1.1: Statutory Interpretation & Privative Clauses (Admin)

Laurier Room, 1st floor

Speakers:
Prof. Mark Mancini
, Thompson Rivers University (Kamloops, BC)
Maxwell Brodie, Federal Court of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Zoe Oxaal, Justice Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Christopher A. Guerreiro, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP (Toronto, ON)

Moderator: Jean-Simon Schoenholz, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP (Ottawa, ON)

This session will be offered with simultaneous interpretation *

SESSION 1.2: Workplace Harassment and Workers’ Compensation Coverage (Labour)

Adam Room, 1st floor

This session will canvas the current workers’ compensation and workplace harassment landscape, examine the intersection between worker’s compensation claims for workplace harassment and other harassment-related claims and provide practical advice to help both employer and employee counsel navigate this growing workplace issue.

Speakers:
Joanna Strozak
, Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark LLP (Toronto, ON)
Cole Boucher, Jewitt McLuckie & Associates LLP (Ottawa, ON)
Hossein Moghtaderi, Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP (Toronto, ON)

Moderator: Caroline Spindler, Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark LLP (Halifax, NS)

This session will be offered with simultaneous interpretation *

10:45 am – 11:00 am

Break
Adam Corridor

11:00 am – 12:15 pm

CONCURRENT SESSIONS 2 
SESSION 2.1: Unlocking Justice: Challenges and Solutions(Admin)
Adam Room, 1st floor

  • Growing use of AI in both legal practice and government decision-making.
  • Solutions on access to justice and in administrative proceedings.
 

Speakers:
Michelle Mann, Department of Justice, (Ottawa, ON)
Thomas Vulpe, Social Security Tribunal of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Juliet Chang Knapton, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law (Ottawa, ON)

Moderator: Léa Bou Karam, Depatment of Justice Canada (Ottawa, ON)

This session will be offered with simultaneous interpretation *

SESSION 2.2: Cross-Country Round Up (Labour)
Laurier Room, 1st floor
SPONSOR
LeCorre Lawyers

Speakers:
Alia S. Besharat, Littler LLP (Toronto, ON)
Brenda Comeau, Pink Larkin (Fredericton, NB)
Danilo Di Vincenzo, Le Corre et Associés (Montréal, QC)
Lluc Cerda, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP (Calgary, AB)

Moderator: Andrew Monkhouse, Monkhouse Law PC (Toronto, ON)

This session will be offered with simultaneous interpretation *

12:15 pm – 1:30 pm

Networking Lunch
Adam Corridor, 1st floor
SPONSOR
LCM Avocats Inc.

1:30 pm – 2:45 pm

CONCURRENT SESSISONS #3 
SESSION 3.1: Practical Tribunal Law (Admin)
Adam Room, 1st floor

  • Use of expert witnesses before Tribunal.
  • Managing self-represented Litigants.
  • Use of amicus briefs before administrative bodies.
 

Speakers: 
Christopher H. Wirth, Keel Cottrelle LLP (Toronto, ON)
Alyssa Holland, Conway Baxter Wilson LLP (Ottawa, ON)
Koml Kandola, Arbitrator and Mediator, Kandola Arbitration Services Ltd. (Vancouver, BC)

Moderator: Joseph Redman, Shores Jardine LLP, (Edmonton, AB)

This session will be offered with simultaneous interpretation *

SESSION 3.2: Unionization of Gig and Platform Workers (Labour)  
Laurier Room, 1st floor

Speakers:
Matthew P. Badrov, Partner, Littler LLP (Toronto, ON)
Fife Ogunde, Government of Saskatchewan (Regina, SK)
Nora Parker, Wright Henry LLP (Toronto, ON)
Andrew Astritis, RavenLaw LLP (Ottawa, ON)

Moderator: Samuel Schonhoffer, Gerrand Rath Johnson LLP (Regina, SK)

This session will be offered with simultaneous interpretation *

2:45 pm – 3:00 pm

Break
Adam Corridor, 1st floor

3:00 pm – 4:45 pm

PLENARY SESSION 2  
Political & Economic Climate: Impacts from South of the Border on Immigration, Labour Mobility, and Temporary Foreign Workers
Adam Room, 1st floor

Speakers:
Will Tao, Heron Law Offices (Burnaby, BC)
Tamara Mosher-Kuczer, Lighthouse Immigration Law PC (Ottawa, ON)
Ravi Jain, Jain Immigration Law (Toronto, ON)

Moderator: Marc-Alexis Laroche, Galileo Partners Lawyers Inc. (Montreal, QC)

This session will be offered with simultaneous interpretation *

4:45 pm – 6:30 pm

Networking Reception
Drawing Room, 1st floor

 

TIME EVENT
8:00 am – 9:00 am

Breakfast
Adam Corridor, 1st floor

9:00 am – 10:15 am

PLENARY SESSION 3
Navigating the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment and Administrative Law
Adam Room, 1st floor

AI in Employment Practices: An analysis of how employers are integrating AI tools into recruitment, performance evaluation, and workforce management. The session will address emerging legal obligations, including Ontario’s new disclosure requirements under Bill 149, effective January 1, 2026, which mandate transparency in the use of AI during hiring.

Bias, Privacy, and Accountability: A discussion on the risks of algorithmic bias, privacy breaches, and the legal liabilities employers may face when deploying AI systems in employment contexts.

AI and Administrative Decision-Making: A look at how administrative tribunals are adopting AI for case management, evidence analysis, and decision writing. The seminar will explore the ethical and procedural implications of these tools, including concerns around transparency, fairness, and linguistic accessibility.

AI in Employment Practices: An analysis of how employers are integrating AI tools into recruitment, performance evaluation, and workforce management. The session will address emerging legal obligations, including Ontario’s new disclosure requirements under Bill 149, effective January 1, 2026, which mandate transparency in the use of AI during hiring.

Bias, Privacy, and Accountability: A discussion on the risks of algorithmic bias, privacy breaches, and the legal liabilities employers may face when deploying AI systems in employment contexts.

AI and Administrative Decision-Making: A look at how administrative tribunals are adopting AI for case management, evidence analysis, and decision writing. The seminar will explore the ethical and procedural implications of these tools, including concerns around transparency, fairness, and linguistic accessibility.

Speakers:
Amy Salyzyn, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law  (Ottawa, ON)
Sukhi Dhillon Alberga, Chair, CBA Legal Futures Subcommittee, Founder of Counselurdocs and Bridging Legal Solutions (Toronto, ON)
Colin Lachance, PGYA Consulting (Ottawa, ON)

Moderator: Andrew Monkhouse, Monkhouse Law PC  (Toronto, ON)

This session will be offered with simultaneous interpretation *

10:15 am - 10:30 am

Break
Adam Corridor, 1st floor

10:30 am – 10:45 am

Essay Contest Awards
Adam Room, 1st floor

10:45 am – 12:15 pm

Fireside Judicial Chat
Adam Room, 1st floor

Speakers:
The Honourable Justice David W. Stratas, Federal Court of Appeal  (Ottawa, ON)

Moderator: David George Vuicic, Hicks Morley LLP (Ottawa, ON)

This session will be offered with simultaneous interpretation *


Osgoode Hall Law School

*Attendees who wish to use the Simultaneous Translation services, must provide their own headsets to attach to their personal devices.  For health and safety concerns, CBA will not be providing headsets to attendees.

 

 

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