CV

Curriculum Vitea

Languages:  English and French

Education:  

  • Bachelor of Arts (Economics and Political Science), Queen’s University, 1968
  • Bachelor of Law, Queen’s University, 1971
  • Diplôme de Droit Comparé, Faculté internationale pour l’enseignement du droit, Strasbourg, 1972
  • Doctorat d’Université, Université de droit, d’Économie et des Sciences d’Aix-Marseille, France, course requirement, 1972, Thesis Le bilinguisme judiciaire en Ontario : théorie et réalité, 1985.

Call to Bar and Certification:      

 –  Law Society of Upper Canada, 1974

 –  Certified by the Law Society as a Specialist in Civil Litigation, 1998

Work Experience:

  • 2013-2022 Judge, Federal Court of Canada.
  • 2010-2013 Judge, Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
  • 2008-9 Labour Minister Appointee to study and report on the causes and impacts of work stoppages in the Federal Private Sector: Report Work Stoppages in the Federal Private Sector: Innovative Solutions.
  • 2007-2008 Chairperson, Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal, labour relations tribunal for self-employed independent artists and producers.
  • 2007-2010 Sole Practitioner: civil litigation counsel & dispute resolution practice.
  • 2001-2006 Partner – Vincent Dagenais Gibson LLP/s.r.l. General litigation counsel [Esp. Representing the Kanesatake Mohawk Band Council 2002-2005]. This came after S&A rejected the option of transforming into a boutique litigation firm and to minimize conflicts with my dispute resolution practice.
  • Candidate in 1997 Federal Election, Ottawa Centre, 1996-97 in support of Jean Charest’s leadership for the essential role he played in the 1995 Quebec referendum on separation as well my candidacy being one of the most interesting, meaningful and gratifying times of my career. Photo of PBA & Charest, Ottawa Citizen Photo.
  • 1987-2001 Partner Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (formerly Scott & Aylen), broad bilingual general litigation practice (assignments often based on language) with emphasis on commercial, education, official language, Department of Justice various conflicts agent, administrative, employment and labour law, dispute resolution (1995-2001).
  • 1985-1986 Partner – Honeywell, Wotherspoon (Lang Michener LLP), general litigation with emphasis in administrative, labour & employment, trademark and personal injury law. 
  • 1980- 1984 University of Ottawa, founding Director, Centre for Legal Translation and Documentation, on executive interchange from Department of Justice. Included detailed involvement working with judges in translation of 1984 Rules of Civil Procedure and relations with law book publishers.   
  • 1975-1981 Senior Counsel, Civil Litigation Section – Department of Justice. Litigated in a wide variety of fields at both the trial and appeal level in the Federal and Ontario Courts and before administrative tribunals relating to Federal institutions and agencies, their activities and related statutes and regulations governing their conduct.
  • 1972-75 Legal Officer, Jurimetrics Section, Department of Justice: application of technology to DOJ activities, e.g., CADPOL project (Computer Assisted Drafting and Printing of Legislation) providing insights regarding the precepts and methodology of legislative drafting, DOJ representative on committees overseeing initial access to information and privacy legislation.
  • 1969-1970 Queen’s Law, part time and summer student with Queen’s Quicklaw Information Retrieval Research Project coding in assembler language (programming language that communicates directly with a computer’s hardware).
  • 1967-1968 Student, Queen’s University, computing centre student mentor and for two summers student with Economics Department, responsible for computer programing on study of interprovincial migration project.

Counsel Experience: (in both official languages): 

Aboriginal council dispute law (specialized), access to information and privacy law (specialized), admiralty law, air law, banking law & commercial  law (represented National Bank and francophone co-ops), constitutional law, environmental law, construction law, Crown law (specialized), customs & tariff law, education law (specialized, represented Ottawa and Ontario East francophone school boards and La Cite College), employment law (specialized), employment & human rights law (specialized), Diplomatic relations law (acted for the Embassy of France) elections law, income tax law, official languages law (specialized, acted for the Official Languages Commissioner), labour relations law (specialized), medical malpractice, lawyer professional liability insurance (acted for LAWPRO), health professions law (acted for Montfort Hospital), mortgage law, landlord and tenant law, real estate law, partnership law, personal injury and insurance law (specialized, acted for the Societe d’assurance d’automobile du Québec and several Quebec insurers and numerous plaintiffs), public service law (specialized), civil sexual harassment and assault law (specialized), shareholder disputes, sport law, trademark law, wills and estates law.

Dispute Resolution: 

  • Mediation Process (interest negotiation) Training Program Certificate (1994, CDR Associates, Boulder, Colorado)
  • Adjudicator Training Course, The Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators, April 1999
  • Advanced Mediation Clinic, 2003, CDR Associates, Boulder Colorado)
  • Negotiating Collective Bargains Certificate 2003, Queen’s Industrial Relations Centre
  • Former Roster Mediator, Ontario Mandatory Mediation Program, Ottawa
  • Conducted over 500 Mediations, several Arbitrations and one complex organizational conflict investigation.

Professional Associations:

  • Carleton County Law Association (Former Trustee)
  • Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (Board member & president)
  • Advocates’ Society
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Ottawa Human Resources Professional Association
  • Regroupement des gens d’affaires

Professional Activities:

  • CCLA: Trustee 2006-2009
  • AJEFO: President 2000-2002
  • Federal Court Bench & Bar Committee CBA National Civil Litigation Section Representative
  • Conservative Party Candidate

Volunteer Activities:

  • Citizens Advocacy; Board member and Advocate
  • Royal Ottawa Hospital, Board Member
  • Christie Lake Kids, Board Member

Awards:

  • Attorney-General’s recognition of contribution to the bilingual administration of Justice in Ontario, August 1984
  • Titre de membre a vie de l’AJEFO, Novembre 1994 
  • Récipient de l’Ordre du mérite Francophile, l’Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario, June 2002
  • Certificat Honorifique, contribution as a former president of l’AJEFO, and the important role played in the recognition of the French language as an official language of the of the Courts of Ontario, June 2004
  • Prix Basterache-Charron, Association des étudiant(e)s de common law, U-Ottawa, 2011-2012

Teaching:  

Part-time lecturer, Faculty of Law, Common Law, University of Ottawa:

  • 1977-78 Civil Procedure III (Federal Court Procedure).
  • 1978-80 Civil Procedure I (Ontario Procedure).
  • 1982-85 Les délits civils (Law of Torts, French Common Law Program).
  • 1993-94 Civil Procedure I (Ontario Procedure).
  • 1996 Trial Advocacy participant.
  • 1998-99 Civil Procedure I (Ontario Procedure).

Bar Admission Course – Ottawa Section:

  • 1985-86 Ottawa Section, Civil Procedure II, seminar leader and guest lecturer on Appeals.
  • 1988-89 Advocacy Skills, seminar leader.
  • 1990-92 Administrative Law (French section), seminar leader.
  • 1998-02 Professional Responsibility.

Judges’ Language Training (Francophone Judges) – Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs:

  • 1986 Module on Tort Law – Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
  • 1989 Module on Administrative Law. (including preparation of module), Banff, Alberta.
  • 1994 Module on Judgment Writing, Kingston, Ontario.

Other:

  • 1997 Programme de formation pour les membres des tribunal administratifs (judgment writing), Canadian Centre for Management Development. 

Publications and Conferences:

  • Production of Documents in the Federal Court, Advocates Quarterly, Volume 2, No. 3, 1980, pp. 175-289; (critiquing Federal Court document discovery rules requiring production only of documents relied on; Rules amended thereafter requiring standard production of relevant documents).
  • La procédure en français, Programme Chair and presenter, Joint Continuing Education Program, AJEFO, Law Society of Upper Canada, Canadian Bar Association (Ontario section), Advocates Society, November 1984, Ottawa (regarding 1985 amended Rules of Procedure with emphasis on procedures for bilingual trials).
  • Judicial Review in the Federal Court, Canadian Bar Association of Ontario, December 9, 1992, Ottawa.  
  • Linguistic Rights in Canada: Collusions or Collisions, Moderator – Linguistic Challenges panel, Canadian Centre for Linguistic Rights, November 4 – 6, 1993.
  • Opinion Comment, The Ottawa Citizen, December 1996, Big Misconception acknowledging “sympathetic to western grievances” while recognizing ‘Distinct Society Clause’ and “Quebec role … in the preservation and promotion of that identity.
  • Representing the Federal Government Employee, CBAO, LSUC, CCLA, Programme Chair – Public Authorities Liability and presented paper February 26, 1997.
  • Moot Trial Counsel, simulated bilingual judicial review proceeding of complaint under Official Languages Act, National Symposium on Canada’s Official Languages, Ottawa: (Department of Justice, Heritage Canada, Treasury Board): September 16-18, 1998.
  • La révision judiciaire devant la Cour fédérale; La Plaidoirie Administrative, joint program of AJEFO and Barreau de Hull, February 10, 1989, Hull, Québec.
  • School Closures – Hot Topics in Ontario School Law, Lorman Education Services, Chair & Paper, May 14, 1999.
  • Expériences gagnantes de la médiation – AJEFO Annual Conference, Toronto, June 1999.
  • Innocent Absenteeism, Update 99 – Borden & Elliot Labour and Employment Law Symposium – November 2, 1999.
  • Students’ Rights from the Litigator’s Point of View – Civil Litigation Updated, CCLA Conference – Montebello, November 6, 1999.
  • Non-Culpable Absenteeism: A Managed Approach, Murray Axmith, program January 27 and February 10, 2000 (English and French presentation).
  • Termination Tips – Separate Employers and Crown Corporations, Federal Employer Liaison Committee February 29, 2000. 
  • Successorship and Related Employer Issues – Employment Standards Act in Ontario, Lorman Education Services, March 23, 2000. 
  • When Teachers are Accused of Breaking the Law, Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education (CAPSLE), “Bridging the Millennium”, May 1, 2000. 
  • 10 Tips for Effective Employment Contracts in the High-Tech Sector, Drake Beam Morin, June 15, 2000.
  • Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act: Issues of Interest in Bill C-6, Carleton County Law Association and CBAO Joint CLE program – Co-chair and paper, September 20, 2000.
  • New Privacy Challenges for the HR Professional, Ottawa Human Resources Professional Association, October 25, 2000.
  • 12 Steps to Meeting the Employer’s Duty to Accommodate the Disabled Worker Murray Axmith Seminar, French and English presentation, November 16 and 23, 2000.
  • La médiation obligatoire, Annual conference, AJEFO, June 22, 2001, Toronto. 
  • Ten tips for Employment Law Mediation, The Six Minute Employment Lawyer, ABCO, Ottawa, May 7, 2003.
  • Professional Regulation of Negotiation & Bargaining, Kingston Frontenac Law Association – September 11, 2009.
  • Policy Development in Practice: Findings from the Federal Work Stoppages Study, Council of Industrial Relations Executives, Conference Board of Canada, October 23, 2009, Toronto.
  • Competitive Bargaining for Lawyers: Foundations, Ottawa, January 12, 2010; program for the benefit of Christie Lake Kids recipient of the subscription fees.
  • Competitive Bargaining & Mediation Strategies, unpublished suite of 9 videos, 2009-2010.
  • Rebalancing Bilingualism, limited publication, November 2022

If requiring further information, you may contact me at the coordinates in the footer below or on the Terms page.

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