SOAR’s 36th Annual Conference 2024

The Rhythms of Administrative Justice: Changing Tempos, Changing Times

Jump to…

1. Welcome from 2024 SOAR Conference Co-Chairs
2. Opening Plenary – Overtures of Connection: Building a Culture of Human Connection Where People and Organizations Thrive
3. Morning Break
4. Concurrent Workshop 1 – Keeping in Tune With The Choir: Outreach and Accountability by Tribunals and Regulators
5. Concurrent Workshop 2 – The Prelude: Setting the Stage for Composing a Great Decision
6. Lunch/Intermission
7. Afternoon Plenary – The Soundtrack of Influence: Speaking With Impact
8. Concurrent Workshop 3 – Admin Law Blast: Chart Topping Cases of 2024
9. Concurrent Workshop 4 – Setting the Tone: Staff Challenges in Maintaining Harmony
10. Concurrent Workshop 5 – Performance Evaluation for Adjudicators – Giving and Receiving Notes
11. Afternoon Break
12. Closing Plenary – Who are we listening to?
13. Networking Reception

Indigenous Welcome

AMY DESJARLAIS
Rebirthed Teachings | Office of Indigenous Initiatives, Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion, Toronto Metropolitan University

Welcome from 2024 SOAR Conference Co-Chairs

ERIC BRUCE
Deputy Registrar/Director, Registration & Professional Conduct, College of Dental Hygienists Ontario

PREEYA SINGH
Director of Professional Conduct, General Counsel & Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Officer, College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario (CASLPO)

Overtures of Connection: Building a Culture of Human Connection Where People and Organizations Thrive

Eligible for 1 hour and 10 minutes of Professionalism Hours with the Law Society of Ontario

Join Pete Bombaci, the visionary founder and CEO of Canada’s Human Connection Movement, for an inspiring and engaging exploration into the power of social connection and social health. This dynamic presentation, titled “Building a Culture of Human Connection Where People and Organizations Thrive,” sheds light on the critical role of social connections in enhancing both personal well-being and professional success.

Discover practical strategies for nurturing deep connections that lead to happier and healthier employees who are more productive, trusting, optimistic, collaborative, and resilient in high-stress environments. Pete will guide you through the many ways in which fostering strong connections can combat the disconnected world we live in today and transform everyday interactions into powerful networks of support and mutual growth. This session isn’t just informative—it’s designed to be fun, interactive, and full of surprises, ensuring that audience participation is both encouraged and rewarded.

Pete’s passionate delivery and important message will inspire you to see the untapped potential of human connections in a new light. Let’s shape a future where the promotion of strong social health fuels purpose-driven organizations, inspires leadership and innovation, and is the cornerstone of communities, enhancing our collective well-being!

SPEAKER | PETER BOMBACI
Founder, GENWELL – Canada’s Human Connection Movement

Materials & Resources

• The Power of Human Connection – Genwell

WORKSHOP 1

Keeping in Tune With The Choir: Outreach and Accountability by Tribunals and Regulators

Regulators and tribunals work among a chorus of voices. To operate effectively, they must maintain the confidence of the publics they serve and avoid straying too far off key. How do these bodies stay true to their mandates, demonstrate accountability, and avoid a cacophony of criticism? This panel will explore measures employed by regulators and tribunals to keep in tune with other system partners to promote a more harmonious and effective approach to their work, including proactive outreach and self-review. Panelists will explore the high and low notes of these measures, riffing on lessons learned and key takeaways for regulators and tribunals looking to tune in with their own choir.

MODERATOR | Dan Abrahams
Vice President, Policy & Governance and Chief Legal Officer, Professional Engineers Ontario

SPEAKER | David Smith
Director, External Relations, Professional Engineers Ontario

SPEAKER | Rosemarie McCutcheon
Chair, Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal WSIAT

SPEAKER | Erica Richler
Partner, Steinecke Maciura Leblanc, Barristers and Solicitors

Materials & Resources

• Stakeholder Engagement – PEO
• Accountability and Performance Measurement: The CPMF Example – Erica Richler
• Keeping in Tune With The Choir: Outreach and Accountability by Tribunals and Regulators – Rosemarie McCutcheon (Presentation)
• Keeping in Tune With The Choir: Outreach and Accountability by Tribunals and Regulators – Rosemarie McCutcheon (Presentation + Resources)

WORKSHOP 2

The Prelude: Setting the Stage for Composing a Great Decision

Eligible for 1 hour and 15 minutes of Professionalism Hours with the Law Society of Ontario

This workshop focuses on how preparation will help you write a clear and concise decision.

Topics include:

• What to do before you hear the case?
• What makes a useful outline?
• How to harness the evidence and capture the results of the deliberation?
• Tips to save time and avoid backtracking after you start drafting your decision.

Learn how the prelude to writing can help you excel as an efficient and effective decision-maker!

MODERATOR | Sasha Cragg-Gore
Commissioner, Canadian Human Rights Commission

SPEAKER | Mary Condon
Adjudicator, Capital Markets Tribunal

SPEAKER | Bonnie Goldberg
Presiding Officer, Inquests, Officer of the Chief Coroner, Ontario

SPEAKER | Joanne Leatch
Senior Counsel, Tribunals Ontario, Legal Services Branch

The Soundtrack of Influence: Speaking With Impact

Whether it’s orchestrating strategic relationships, composing sales pitches, or conducting stakeholder meetings, speaking with confidence is a vital skill that can be mastered. But finding the right feedback to fine-tune your performance is often a challenge. In the real world, people rarely offer honest critiques on whether your tone hits the right note, your body language strikes a chord, or your communication resonates with the audience.

In this dynamic, supportive, and highly interactive workshop, we’ll take your audience through a series of exercises inspired by the techniques of top musicians and performers. Participants will discover how they truly sound to others and learn how to harmonize their natural personality with the tools and techniques needed to communicate effectively. By the end, they’ll be able to amplify their voice and presence, creating a powerful and magnetic performance.

SPEAKERS | STEPHAN DYER AND JUAN CAJIAO
reTHINK Corporate Training and Communications

Materials & Resources

• The Soundtrack of Influence: Speaking With Impact – Stephan Dyer and Juan Cajiao

WORKSHOP 3

Admin Law Blast: Chart Topping Cases of 2024

Back again by popular demand, SOAR’s annual ‘admin law blast’ will review key decisions from the past year, including the Supreme Court of Canada’s Yatar v. TD Insurance Meloche Monnex. Our expert panel will debate the current trends and developments in administrative justice that counsel, staff, and decision-makers should know about. The exciting discussion and practical tips will be off the charts!

MODERATOR | Michelle Alton
Deputy Director, Court Services Division, Ministry of the Attorney General

SPEAKER | Amy Block
Partner, Weir Foulds LLP

SPEAKER | Tim Gleason
Partner, Dewart Gleason LLP

Materials & Resources

• Admin Law Blast – Cases

WORKSHOP 4

Setting the Tone: Staff Challenges in Maintaining Harmony

Eligible for 1 hour and 15 minutes of Professionalism Hours with the Law Society of Ontario

Although Tribunals may be of varying sizes, collectively, we face many similar objectives and issues in the practice of administrative law. This workshop will allow us to explore and benefit from the experiences and procedures of other Tribunals primarily from the perspective of front-line staff. Our panelists will focus on the role of Tribunal staff and will explore how Tribunal staff supports and sets the tone for efficient and productive hearings. We will address staff’s role in managing attendees in a virtual hearing room. Suggestions and tips will be provided on how staff may handle aggressive and emotional Tribunal participants, as well as unresponsive parties. The workshop will also address managing requests for accommodations, and interpreters, as well as how Tribunal staff can best support individuals whose first language is not English. Additionally, our Panelists will share different Tribunal practices and the role of staff in decision writing.

MODERATOR | Genevieve Plummer
Manager, Hearings Office, College of Pharmacists Ontario

SPEAKER | Romeo Benedicto
File Management Coordinator and Lead, Case Management System, Law Society Tribunal

SPEAKER | Michael Mathews
Manager, Tribunal Ontario Hearings Unit, Landlord and Tenant Board

SPEAKER | Lyla Simon
Acting Head, Adjudicative Tribunals, Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario

WORKSHOP 5

Performance Evaluation for Adjudicators – Giving and Receiving Notes

Increasingly, tribunals and regulatory bodies have developed systems to review the performance of adjudicators. Ideally, performance evaluation balances the need of managers to ensure accountability, transparency, and excellence in performance, with the need to uphold fairness and independence for adjudicators. This workshop will look at different perspectives on performance review, exploring why and how best to conduct performance evaluations.

MODERATOR | Grace Knakowski
Corporate Secretary & VP, Governance & Tribunal Secretariat, Ontario Securities Commission

SPEAKER | Tim Moseley
Chief Adjudicator, Capital Markets Tribunal

SPEAKER | Lora Patton
Vice Chair, Consent and Capacity Board

SPEAKER | Jodi Zigelstein-Yip
Chief HR Innovator and Founder, Enliven HR Consulting

Materials & Resources

• Performance Evaluation for Adjudicators, Giving and Receiving Notes
• Adjudicators Assessment Criteria

Who are we listening to?

Has the use of social media and online platforms increased access to justice or created an environment of misinformation under the rise of populism? The spread of news and information is happening at lightning speed, and our panel will discuss how social media has impacted the work of regulators and adjudicators, sharing success stories, experiences of backlash and lessons learned.

MODERATOR | Preeya Singh
Director of Professional Conduct, General Counsel & Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Officer, College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario (CASLPO)

SPEAKER | Cristina Damiani
Deputy Registrar, Supreme Court of Canada

SPEAKER | Jason Gennaro
Manager of Communications & Special Advisor to the Chief Justice of Ontario, Court of Appeal for Ontario

SPEAKER | Natasha Tusikov
Associate Professor, Criminology Program, Department of Social Science, York University

SPEAKER | Zimra Yetnikoff
Director, Investigations and Hearings, College of Psychologists and Behavioural Analysts Ontario

Materials & Resources

• Closing Plenary: Who are we listening to? – Publications from Natasha Tusikov