Labour Relations Seminar Day 1

 

OAFC Update 

The OAFC President will provide a brief update on behalf of the OAFC Board of Directors. The update will introduce the 2025 Board of Directors, include a status update on government relations initiatives, discuss 2025 priorities and review and update important member initiatives.

Presented By: OAFC President Deputy Chief Rob Grimwood

 

Keynote - Change is Your Proof of Life

Did you know you are SIX times more likely to demonstrate strong resilience in the middle of a life-changing event if you can identify your autonomy and choices within that change?

My unique perspective and experiences will empower you to discover your 'WHY' as you collaborate with change. Change is an inevitable part of life. Whether the change is something you have chosen or if the change has chosen you, the one thing you ALWAYS have is a CHOICE. Through sharing the dramatic story of my rescue by SEAL Team VI after being held hostage by Somali Pirates, I will show you how to become a collaborator with change and create the strategies you need to survive and thrive no matter what life has place in your path and launch you into a space of abundant growth and success.

Presented By: Jessica Buchanan

Jessica Buchanan is a Teacher, Author, Humanitarian, Speaker, Founder, and Survivor.

In her NYT Bestselling memoir Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six, Jessica details her experience as she was abducted at gunpoint and held for ransom by a group of Somali pirates for 93 days. Forced to live outdoors in deplorable conditions, starved, and terrorized by more than two dozen gangsters, Jessica’s health steadily deteriorated until, by order of President Obama, she was rescued by the elite SEAL Team VI on January 25, 2012.

Jessica is now a highly sought-after inspirational speaker, TEDx Speaker, and is also the founder of Soul Speak Press. Her second book is an anthology titled “Deserts to Mountaintops: Our Collective Journey to (re)Claiming Our Voice.” She is married to a native Swede, has two children, and now resides in the DC Metro area.

 

Pension Accrual, Benefit Coverage and Top-up Pay During Leaves

The treatment of pension accrual, benefits coverage, management of entitlements and top-up pay for personnel on leaves of absence has become a hot button issue in the fire sector. 

This session provides essential knowledge and strategies to help you make informed decisions about your benefit plans and policies, consider your options at the bargaining table, and ensure compliance with labour laws and collective agreements, all while maintaining the effectiveness and efficiency of your fire service. 

We will review employees’ rights and entitlements under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and your obligations as an employer. We will also dive into some of the administrative, budgetary and tax implications of disability top-up payments and discuss how leaves of absence affect pension accrual, including through disability waivers of contributions. And we will share some best practices for managing vacation, lieu days, and sick time accrual during leaves of absence, and discuss the distinctions between various leave categories (WSIB, short-term disability, long-term disability, maternity/pregnancy and parental leave).

Presented By: Jessica Toldo, David Gruber

 

 

Staffing Clauses in Fire Services

Staffing in fire services is becoming more complex. Council sets service levels, the Association has expectations and budget pressures continue to add to the challenge.

This session will explore recent legal developments around staffing, how to understand the asks, take the best approach and defend against areas within the employer's control. Following that, we will have a brief discussion around the rights of chiefs under FPPA.

Presented By: John Saunders, Victoria McCorkindale

 

 

The View From the Other Side of the Bargaining Table

How does your Association think? How much do politics drive their decision making? How do they balance national, provincial and local agendas?

These questions and more will be answered as we provide you with a point-of-view from the other side of the bargaining table. 

Presented By: Mark Mason (Moderator) , Mike Doyle 

 

 

OMERS Update: Innovating for the Retirement of the Future

After more than 60 years of delivering on the pension promise, OMERS is re-imagining retirement for the next generation of members. Join us while we discuss pensions as ‘social infrastructure’ in a greying world and the value of a defined benefit pension.

Presented By: Celine Chiovitti, Chief Pension Officer, OMERS Administration Corporation

 

Benefits Issues in the Fire Service

Employers are under increasing pressure to control benefits costs and insurers regularly propose a variety of changes to coverage and administration practices to assist with cost containment.  However, unilateral changes to benefits plans, even those that may be “administrative” in nature, may be challenged by unions as contrary to a collective agreement.  In particular, unions continue to challenge the introduction of mandatory generic coverage, changes to dispensing frequency, introduction of preferred providers and alterations to reasonable and customary limits.  This session will discuss recent arbitration decisions in which such changes have been challenged and provide a framework for assessing the risk associated with proposed changes to benefits plans.

Presented By: Natasha Monkman, Mark Mason

 

WSIB Mental Stress Claims: Navigating the Challenges

Fire chiefs are increasingly encountering complex claims involving mental stress and PTSD among their firefighters, and understanding the nuances of these claims is critical to managing their teams effectively. In this comprehensive session, we will explore how  mental stress claims can be managed effectively, while ensuring legal compliance, protecting the well-being of your workforce, and maintaining operational readiness. Key topics will include:

- Objecting to entitlement and rebutting the PTSD presumption

- Return to work

- The impact of pre-existing conditions on claims

- The intersection of mental stress claims and other employment law issues

- When there is no return to work:  what’s next?

Presented By: Stephanie Savoni, Mariana Kamenetsky, Daryl Seupersad