First Reference Talks

About

First Reference Talks invites subject matter experts and lawyers to express their views on human resources, employment law, payroll and internal control issues in Canada. As a publisher of human resources print and electronic publications, and ready-to-use internal control policies and procedures, First Reference strives to provide Canadian businesses with the most straightforward, authoritative and cost-effective resources.

Our audience is primarily small to medium size businesses, human resources and health and safety professionals, legal professionals, and others working in HR, payroll, finance and accounting. As ever, our aim is to share knowledge, offer suggestions and recommendations, and provoke discussions and comments. But please note: we do not offer legal advice.

We have a list of regular contributors (see below) and we hope you enjoy our posts and find them useful. We love to hear from our readers, so please submit your comments to our entries.

About the Blog Authors

Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B., was called to the Quebec bar in 1988 and is still a member in good standing. She practised business, employment and labour law until 1999. For over 12 years, Yosie has been the Managing Editor of the Human Resources and Compliance Collection from First Reference. She contributes regularly to First Reference Talks, HRinfodesk and other First Reference publications. She is also a regular contributor to Slaw. She manages the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA) of Ontario’s monthly member e-newsletter ELAW. Yosie is one of Canada’s best known and most respected HR authors, with an extensive background in employment and labour law across the country.

Adam Gorley, B.A. (Phil.), is a top-notch researcher, content provider and copy editor. He contributes regularly to First Reference Talks, HRinfodesk and other First Reference publications, and produces the monthly Inside Internal Controls newsletter. His areas of focus include broad human resources issues, corporate social responsibility, government policies, information technology and labour market trends.

Christina Catenacci, B.A., LL. B., was called to the Ontario Bar in 2002. Since then, Christina has held associate positions in law firms in Hamilton and Barrie, Ontario, in the areas of business and employment law. She is a member of the Ontario Bar Association and the Simcoe County Law Association. Since February 2005, Christina has been the content editor to The Human Resources Advisor Ontario, Western and Atlantic editions (print and electronic). She contributes regularly to First Reference Talks, HRinfodesk and other First Reference publications on the topics of employment and labour law.

Guest Bloggers

Andrew Taillon is a lawyer in Cox & Palmer‘s Halifax office. He practises mainly in labour, employment and litigation. He completed a B.A. at Mount Allison University and an M.A. at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom before working as a rural economic development consultant in Newfoundland. He then attended Dalhousie Law School where he was the recipient of the J. Gerald Godsoe Scholarship. He was also a member of the Dalhousie team for the Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark Labour Arbitration Moot and the winner of the Robert A. Samek Memorial Prize in jurisprudence and legal philosophy. He contributes regularly to First Reference Talks on the topics of employment and labour law in the Atlantic provinces.

Stuart Rudner is a partner in the Labour and Employment group at Miller Thomson LLP, practising out of the Toronto and Markham offices. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1999 after obtaining his law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School. Prior to law school, Stuart obtained a B.A. (Honours) at McGill University, where he majored in industrial relations. Stuart represents both employers and employees at all stages of the employment relationship, before courts, mediators and tribunals. In 2008, he appeared at the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) of Ontario in Honda v. Keays, one of the most important employment law cases of the last decade. He contributes regularly to First Reference Talks, HRinfodesk and the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) of Ontario ELAW member newsletter in the area of employment and labour law.

Andrew Lawson is a human rights and health and safety trainer and advisor, currently consulting to both the federal and Ontario governments. Since 1996, he has conducted extensive legal research in the areas of human rights and occupational health and safety law. He has worked in the people management business for over 25 years. Drawing on his extensive research and experience, he teaches employers how to develop policies and practices that build on the experience of other professionals. His career has provided him with the opportunity to work in the health care sector, with disabled persons, in customer care and in legal services. He has conducted workshops for hundreds of groups in every province of Canada, throughout the United States and in Australia. His teaching takes the form of interesting, interactive and informative workshops. He contributes regularly to First Reference Talks, HRinfodesk and the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) of Ontario ELAW member newsletter in the area of management and employee workplace training.

Earl Altman is a partner at Garfinkle, Biderman . He obtained his undergraduate degree at Carleton University before earning his LL.B. at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. Since he was called to the Ontario Bar in 1983, Earl has practised commercial and employment litigation. Earl’s litigation practice focuses on employment disputes, including acting for employees and employers in wrongful dismissal claims, and in breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty claims. He also handles a variety of commercial disputes, including claims arising out of disputes within partnerships, and among shareholders, as well as disputes between commercial landlords and tenants. He contributes regularly to First Reference Talks, HRinfodesk and the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) of Ontario ELAW member newsletter on the topics of employment and labour law in Ontario.

Henry J. Chang is a partner in the business immigration group of Blaney McMurtry LLP. Henry obtained his Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1990 and was admitted to the practice of law in the state of California and the province of Ontario in 1992. Henry is also registered as a Foreign Legal Consultant by the Law Society of Upper Canada, which is a requirement for all lawyers who provide advice on the law of a foreign jurisdiction. A recognized authority in the field of United States and Canadian immigration law, Mr. Chang lectures extensively on the subject in both the United States and Canada. His written work has appeared in numerous nationally and internationally recognized legal publications, including Immigration Law and Procedure, which has been cited in over 300 federal court decisions. He contributes regularly to First Reference Talks, HRinfodesk and the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) of Ontario ELAW member newsletter in the area of corporate immigration. You can learn more about Henry and his work on his website.

Maanit Zemel is a lawyer practising commercial and civil litigation at Miller Thomson LLP in Toronto. Although she has represented clients on a broad range of issues, Maanit has particular experience and expertise in the areas of Internet defamation, cross-border disputes, injunctions and recovery of proceeds of fraud. Maanit has been called to the bars of Ontario and New York. She has a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto and a B.A. from McGill University in Montreal. Maanit has represented clients before all levels of courts and administrative tribunals, including the Supreme Court of Canada. She contributes regularly to First Reference Talks on topics related to internal controls, corporate governance, internet law and information technology.

Suzanne Cohen Share holds a master’s degree in Health Policy and Critical Disabilities, including disability law. Suzanne is a well-known cross-disability accessibility expert and consultant, a popular lecturer, trainer, researcher and author. She has taught at York University and Brock University, and was on the Accessible Built Environment Standard Development Committee for the Province of Ontario. Suzanne is the proprietor of Access (SCS) Consulting Services. She has diverse skills, with over 25 years experience as a business consultant. She contributes regularly to First Reference Talks on accessibility standards and human rights.

Ian J. Cook MA, MBA, CHRP, continues to pursue a fascination for people and business. His quest to understand what it takes for organizations, and the people in them, to thrive has led to many fantastic career stages. Ian has been an entrepreneur, an operational manager and spent 10 years, consulting to some of the World’s leading companies. He currently heads up BC HRMA’s research and learning services. The corner stone of this work is the HR Metrics Service which has fast become Canada’s leading source of HR data and analysis. Our mission is to make HR measurement common practice and unequivocally prove the value of great people practices

He has an MA from Edinburgh University, an MBA from Lancaster University and is a Certified Human Resources Professional. In his spare time he can be found exploring BC’s amazing outdoors, with his wife and young family.

Alan R. McEwen‘s involvement in payroll spans over 20 years. As a practitioner, he has implemented and managed outsourced payroll operations for both large and small employers. This includes founding Outsourcing Canadian Payroll Inc. in Canada, the US and the UK in 2001. As a consultant, he has worked with many organizations, public and private, on HR/payroll process re-engineering, strategic systems decisions and forensic payroll audits. As a noted public speaker, Alan has provided payroll training in a variety of formats, from short sessions at conferences and trade shows, to one-day training sessions and college-based professional certification courses. As a writer, Alan’s writings have appeared in all of the major publications read by Canadian payroll professionals. He has also held volunteer and staff positions with the Canadian Payroll Association, on its Federal and Provincial Government Relations Committees, its Board of Governors and at its National Office in Toronto. Since 2004, Alan has sat on the Board of Referees in the Niagara region, an administrative panel that hears appeals from decisions of the EI Commission.

Alan R. McEwen has also spent much of the last 20 years working on payroll software. This includes assisting several major software vendors in adapting their payroll software to Canadian requirements. Twice in this period Alan has developed sophisticated Canadian payroll software for use in outsourcing or by large and complex employers. The latest version of Alan’s software can re-process payrolls retroactively in a web-based, multi-country, multi-language and multi-currency environment.
 

 
David Hyde, M.Sc, CPC is a security and business risk consultant, author and educator with 26 years of broad-based leadership experience. He is Principal Consultant with David Hyde and Associates and in this role is a trusted advisor to a number of Canada’s top corporations on operational and reputational due diligence matters. David was formerly Director of National Security for Cadillac Fairview, a $17 billion global commercial real estate corporation. Since 2005 he has taught crime risk management courses within the Faculty of Continuing Education at the University of Calgary. David holds a M.Sc in Security and Risk Management from the University of Leicester and is a graduate of the Security Executives Development Program at The Wharton School. He is certified to perform Threat Risk Assessments by the International Security Management and Crime Prevention Institute (ISMCPI) and holds advance level certification in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). You can learn more about David’s work and writings on his firm’s website or business Facebook page.

Matt Lalande – Matt is a lawyer at Haber & Associates. Although Matt is specialized in representing those who have suffered harm by the wrongs of others, Matt has particular emphasis on wrongful death, personal injury and employment law. For nearly a decade Matt has been helping accident victims and the families of wrongful death victims recover the compensation that they deserve. Along with this, Matt has representing employers and employees within all facets of employment law and human rights law. You can reach Matt by visiting www.torontopersonalinjurylawyers.ca or www.Habver-lawyer.com, or by writing him directly at matt.lalande@haber-lawyer.com.

Past Bloggers

Colin Braithwaite has more than 20 years experience in writing and publishing. From 2004–2010, Colin was the Managing Editor responsible for the products in the Internal Control Library at First Reference Inc. He now works as a freelance editor and writer at Colin Braithwaite Editorial Services.
 

John Proctor is one of the leading experts in human risk and travel risk management in Canada and is recognized internationally in this capacity. He has been responsible for the development of all of the federal captivity survival programs currently in use in Canada today and has helped several other countries with their own systems. He regularly provides advice internationally in this field to both government and corporate organizations. He initiated and designed the only captivity survival instructor’s course in Canada and has also actively supported and advised a number of Government departments on recent Canadian captivity incidents. John has 22 years experience in the British and Canadian forces.