Labour relations – Grievance arbitration

Greg Francis Dispute Resolution Services
Contact information and calendar

Mr. Francis was called to the Northwest Territories and Alberta bars in 1991. During his career as a lawyer, Mr. Francis worked as a Crown Prosecutor, a defence lawyer, and a Justice of the Peace in the Alberta Court of Justice. His labour and employment law experience includes work for both a trade union and a large public sector employer, as well as serving as Equity Ombudsperson for the Law Society of Alberta. He was also an arbitrator of collective agreement disputes in Alberta from 2004 to 2012. After serving as General Counsel and Superintendent of Human Resources for the Calgary Board of Education from 2012 to 2018, Mr. Francis returned to providing arbitration services. He is a co-instructor of Labour Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Calgary.

Having represented and worked directly for both management and a trade union, Mr. Francis understands well the needs and interests that drive disputes in a unionized workplace. In addition to serving as an arbitrator, Mr. Francis provides grievance mediation and case management services to parties seeking assistance with grievance resolution in advance of arbitration.

Mr. Francis is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Old Trout Puppet Workshop and the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund. He was appointed King's Counsel in 2016.

Hughes Labour Relations

Phone: 780-953-9841
Email: [email protected]

Mr. Hughes is a seasoned professional with considerable and varied experience in labour relations. He earned a Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of Alberta and a Masters in Law from the University of Toronto. He has practiced labour and employment law with two of western Canada’s leading firms, representing and advising large, sophisticated employer clients. That experience was rounded out by advocacy on behalf of employees in a role as representative/counsel for a large Alberta union.

Mr. Hughes approaches labour relations with the unique and balanced perspective acquired by working with both management and union clients in the private and public sectors. He has experience in each of the various fundamental activities that make up labour relations, including advocacy in labour arbitration – and at the Alberta Labour Relations Board – acting as lead negotiator in collective bargaining and also managing labour relations teams in the public sector health context.

Mr. Hughes has complemented his conflict resolution/labour relations skillset by obtaining the Qualified Arbitrator designation through the Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Alberta, and he is currently on Alberta Mediation Services’ Grievance Arbitration and Mediation rosters.

Mr. Hughes has enjoyed giving back to his hometown by volunteering for the Edmonton Community Legal Centre. He also frequently seeks out live music and is proud to sit on the board of directors for the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.

Jolliffe Arbitration Inc.
Suite 220, 3505 32 Street NE
Calgary, Alberta  T1Y 5Y9

Phone: 403-250-2000
Fax: 403-264-2954
Email: [email protected]

A 1974 graduate of the Queen’s University Faculty of Law, Tom initially practised insurance defence litigation in Calgary, Alberta with the law firm Kelly & Kelly. He has been accepting arbitrator appointments in interest and rights’ disputes in the private and public employment sectors in Canada for 35 years starting with his appointment as a Vice-Chair with the Public Service Grievance Appeal Board in Alberta between 1981 and 1984. Since that time his arbitration work has focussed on Alberta but he has also convened hearings across six provinces and two territories in over 100 communities, large and small. Tom is currently named in several collective agreements in Alberta and elsewhere in Canada and for more than 20 years has been a member of the national policy arbitration panel for Canada Post/Canadian Union of Postal Workers. He is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators and the Ontario Labour-Management Arbitrators Association as well as being on the government approved list of arbitrators in Alberta and other jurisdictions. Since 2008 Tom has also been conducting Indian Residential Schools adjudications. He currently receives more than 100 consensual adjudicator/arbitrator appointments per year.

William D. McFetridge Professional Corporation
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Mr. McFetridge has practiced law in Alberta for over 30 years specializing in labour and employment law. He is a Chartered Arbitrator and since 1983 has chaired arbitration boards dealing with grievances and collective bargaining disputes in the public and private sectors. He is currently included on the agreed arbitrator roster in a number of Collective Bargaining Agreements.

In 2010 he was appointed to the Alberta Human Rights Commission and continues to serve as a part time Tribunal Chair. In 2012 he was appointed to hear human rights complaints by the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.

He also adjudicates unjust dismissal complaints under Part III of the Canada Labour Code. Since 2008 he has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the publication The Best Lawyers in Canada in the speciality of Alternative Dispute Resolution.

He has been a guest lecturer/arbitrator in both the Faculties of Law and Business at the University of Calgary, and for a number of years, was a team leader in the Trial Advocacy Program in the Faculty of Law. He taught in the Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society arbitrator training program and is a frequent speaker on employment law, labour and human rights issues.

He is active in the community and served as Chairman of the Alberta - NWT - Nunavut Division of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (C.N.I.B.) and was a Board member for over 30 years. He volunteers at the Cochrane and Area Humane Society, runs regularly and is a former marathoner.

Phone: 403-860-1620
Email: [email protected]

Mr. Robertson earned his LL.B. (cum laude) at the University of Ottawa in 1979, and articled with Nelligan Power (now Nelligan O’Brien Payne) in Ottawa.

He and his wife moved to Calgary in 1981, and from then until 2013, Mr. Robertson was a very active courtroom lawyer. His wide-ranging practice had an emphasis on employment law, human rights matters, and long-term disability claims. He was Chair of the Employment and Labour Practice Group at Macleod Dixon (now Norton Rose Fulbright Canada) for 15 years. He was senior or sole counsel in over 25 trials in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, the Federal Court of Canada, and the B.C. Supreme Court, and sole counsel on more than 21 appeals before the Court of Appeal of Alberta, as well as counsel in many Alberta Court of Justice trials in both the Criminal and Civil Divisions. He also represented clients in many labour and commercial arbitrations, and in other forums.

He appeared before the Alberta Human Rights Commission and subsequent appeals (notably, Chiasson v Kellogg Brown & Root (Canada) Company, 2005 AHRC 7, 2006 ABQB 302, and 2007 ABCA 426, leave to appeal to the S.C.C. denied at 2008 CanLII 32723, involving the issue of human rights and drug testing in the workplace), and his opinions on alcohol and drug testing policies were published online with the policies of the Construction Owners’ Association of Alberta and Enform. 

Mr. Robertson was appointed as King’s Counsel in 2012.

In 2013 Mr. Robertson was appointed as a Master in Chambers of the Court of King’s Bench and Registrar in Bankruptcy. As Master and Registrar, Mr. Robertson wrote over 165 decisions on a wide range of topics. Since his retirement from the Court in 2020, he has been a mediator and arbitrator.

Yingst Bartel ADR Inc.
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Cheryl Yingst Bartel, B.A, L.L.B, L.L.M. (Lab. Rel. & Empl. Law) has more than a decade of experience arbitrating labour disputes as part of a career in conflict resolution that has spanned more than 30 years, since her graduation from law school in 1990. She is a former litigator with an international law firm who has appeared before all levels of the judiciary, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

Since leaving private practice in 1999, Cheryl has worked exclusively as a neutral in the field of labour relations and employment law. She spent several years mediating, gaining valuable experience and skills for resolving both collective and individual labour and employment conflict in a neutral role. She has mediated more than 200 collective bargaining disputes in her career. Cheryl also received appointments from the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner’s Office (Government of Canada), as Senior Conciliator, to resolve whistleblowing reprisal complaints in the federal public service, throughout Western Canada.

During this time, Cheryl had the good fortune to meet several senior labour arbitrators who agreed to train and mentor her informally as a labour arbitrator. She gained invaluable experience from this sharing of expertise and she has since spent more than a decade arbitrating labour disputes, both as sole arbitrator and as chair of arbitration boards.

The bulk of Cheryl’s full-time work is spent as a labour arbitrator. Cheryl has arbitrated in both the private and public sectors, in provincial and federal jurisdictions, and across multiple industries. She has experience with med-arb and expedited processes and acts as ad hoc arbitrator for an expedited process in the railway industry. Cheryl’s decisions have been commented upon by Lancaster House and the Human Rights Reporter and she has been upheld by the Federal Court (Trial Division).

Cheryl holds multiple appointments to provincial and federal rosters, for both labour arbitration and mediation work: Grievance Arbitration Roster (Alberta); Board of Reference Roster (K to 12 teacher discipline); Federal Grievance Arbitrator Roster; External Adjudicator Roster, Canada Industrial Relations Board; Grievance Mediation Roster (Alberta); Designated Mediator Roster (Alberta); and Umpire Registry for Essential Services (Alberta). She is also a named arbitrator in multiple collective agreements.

Cheryl’s Master’s thesis for her L.L.M. degree considered the intersection of the duty to accommodate and medical marijuana and she maintains a particular interest in drug and alcohol issues in the workplace.

Cheryl strives to be a considerate, knowledgeable, and well-prepared arbitrator, with the ability to quickly grasp complex issues, understand practical labour relations realities and issue timely, well-reasoned decisions. The bulk of her arbitration appointments are made by consent of the parties.

Cheryl has been actively involved in presentations to stakeholders. She has been involved with the Calgary Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference for many years (as panellist, workshop leader, plenary speaker, Conference Advisory Committee Member and Conference Co-Chair); and has spoken to many other organizations on current issues, including several presentations to the Council of Labour Relations Executives of the Conference Board of Canada.

When not arbitrating, Cheryl can be found training horses on her farm outside Calgary.

Witten LLP
Barristers and Solicitors
2500 10303 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta  T5J 3N6

Phone: 780-428-0501
Cell: 778-990-6774
Fax: 780-429-2559
Email: [email protected]

Robert S. Abells, Q.C. is a member of the Alberta grievance arbitration roster and has been an active arbitrator since 1989. In addition to his work as an arbitrator, Robert practices professional discipline and securities litigation and has represented clients before all levels of courts and various administrative tribunals. He has diverse experience as a lecturer in subjects ranging from civil procedure to human rights and labour arbitration. Previously a senior partner with the law firms Witten LLP and Abells Regan LLP, he currently divides his time among Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver Island. He is a graduate of the University of Alberta and a member of the Law Societies of British Columbia and Alberta.

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James T. Casey (“Jim”) is an Edmonton-based arbitrator providing labour arbitration and mediation services in Alberta and in the Northwest Territories in a broad range of industries in both the provincial and federal sectors. After working as a lawyer for 35 years at Field Law, effective December 31, 2023 Jim retired from the firm to establish “James T. Casey: Labour Arbitration + Mediation.” The establishment of his own independent business enables Jim to focus exclusively on labour arbitration and mediation. Jim has about 25 years of experience as an arbitrator.

He also served for 14 years as a part-time Vice-Chair of the Alberta Labour Relations Board, adjudicating disputes under the Alberta Labour Relations Code and the Public Service Employee Relations Act. Jim has issued over 150 labour arbitration and labour relations board decisions. Jim is on numerous labour arbitrator rosters, including the Alberta Government’s “Grievance Arbitration Roster” and “Grievance Mediator Roster".

Jim is the author of many publications in the fields of labour relations and professional regulation, including being the author or co-author of 5 law books. He is a contributing author and founding editor of “Remedies in Labour, Employment and Human Rights Law” which has been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada and many other Courts and tribunals. Jim is also the author of “The Regulation of Professions in Canada” which is the leading legal text in Canada in the field of professional regulation. His book has been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada and in hundreds of other Court and tribunal decisions.

Jim is a frequent speaker on labour relations, professional regulation, and administrative law issues.

Dev A. Chankasingh Professional Corporation
279 Darlington Crescent
Edmonton, Alberta  T6M 2T1

Phone: 587-521-5420
Fax: 587-521-5450
Email: [email protected]

Member of the Law Society of Alberta – Admitted in August 1989

B.A. Special Degree (with Distinction) and LL.B. Degree from the University of Alberta

Labour, Employment and Administrative Law:

In January 2012 Mr. Chankasingh was appointed to the roster maintained by the Federal Labour Program as a grievance arbitrator under Part I of the Canada Labour Code, as an unjust dismissal adjudicator and wage recovery referee under Part III of the Code, and as an adjudicator under the Wage Earner Protection Program Act.

In November 2014 Mr. Chankasingh entered into a contract with the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) to act as an Independent Legal Harassment Advisor. In that role, he provides independent legal advice to EPS members and civilian employees of the EPS on workplace harassment issues.

In December 2014 Mr. Chankasingh was appointed to the Grievance Arbitration Roster maintained by Mediation Services of the Government of Alberta’s Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour Department.

In June 2015 Mr. Chankasingh was appointed as a part-time member of the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board (PSLREB) for a term of three years. Among other things, the PSLREB is responsible for the administration of the grievance adjudication system in the Federal public service.

Since January 2012 Mr. Chankasingh has received numerous consensual appointments as arbitrator for grievances between various employers and unions in Alberta. He has also conducted a number of investigations as an outside neutral in both unionized and non-unionized workplaces.

From January 2003 to September 2011, Mr. Chankasingh was Counsel, Labour and Employment, with Alberta Health Services and its predecessor health authorities’ employer organization, HBA Services (formerly Provincial Health Authorities of Alberta). He acted as counsel on behalf of health facilities throughout Alberta. The scope of his responsibilities included:

• acting as counsel in numerous labour and employment litigation, including Labour Relations Board hearings, grievance arbitration board hearings, human rights matters and judicial review proceedings (which included an appearance at the Supreme Court of Canada as co-counsel for PHAA as an intervener)
• appearing as counsel in mediations before labour arbitrators
• appearing as counsel at settlement conferences at the Labour Relations Board
• negotiating and concluding severance agreements for non-unionized employees and settlement agreements for unionized employees
• advising on all labour and employment matters, including collective agreement interpretation, processing of grievances, discipline and dismissal of employees and human rights issues
• research and preparation of legal opinions on labour and employment issues
• advising clients on alternatives to litigation, including negotiated settlements
• acting as a nominee at grievance arbitration hearings

Mr. Chankasingh was a Partner at Miller Thomson (formerly Cook Duke Cox) until December 2002. From the early 1990s his practice focused primarily on labour, employment and administrative law. He advised and represented employers and employees in both unionized and non-unionized workplaces regarding a variety of issues, including negotiating and drafting employment agreements, certification under labour legislation, the negotiation, interpretation and administration of collective agreements, employment standards, human rights and employment related disputes.

In the area of employment related litigation Mr. Chankasingh has extensive experience in:

• negotiating and conducting severance agreements
• mediation of employment related disputes
• attending at Judicial Dispute Resolutions
• conducting examinations for discovery
• appearing as counsel before the Court of King's Bench
• negotiating and concluding settlement agreements

Mr. Chankasingh also acted as counsel at grievance arbitration hearings, the Labour Relations Board, adjudications under the Canada Labour Code, appeals under employment standards and employment insurance legislation, complaints under human rights legislation and in the Court of King's Bench in judicial review matters.

He also appeared as counsel before other administrative tribunals such as the Hospital Privileges Appeal Board, the Development Appeal Board and the Discipline Committee of the Alberta Association of Registered Nurses.

Mr. Chankasingh has served in various voluntary capacities related to labour and employment law, including:

• Acting as Case Review Officer and then Co-Chair of the Canadian Bar Association Labour and Employment Law Subsection.
• Presenting a paper on the topic “Handling Medical Information: Reconciling Privacy with the Need to Know – the Employer’s Perspective” and sitting as a panel member at Lancaster’s Labour Arbitration Conference in Calgary.
• Acting as Employment Counsel for the 2001 World Track & Field Championships in Edmonton.
• Serving as a Contributing Editor, Butterworth’s Employment Law in Alberta (Loose leaf).

Born in Trinidad, W.I., Dev has resided In Edmonton since 1974. He is married to Debbie Seecharan for twenty-six years. Debbie is a teacher for the Edmonton Public School Board and together they are raising three children.

Witten LLP
Contact information and calendar

Mr. Dolgoy was admitted to the bar in British Columbia and Alberta in 1975 after earning his B.A. (1969) at Simon Fraser University and his LL.B. (1973) at the University of British Columbia. A senior lawyer, he focuses on estate planning, arbitration (as an independent chair), administrative law, regulation of professionals and has an extensive general legal background.

Mr. Dolgoy has sat on boards of numerous community organizations.

de Villars Jones LLP
Barristers and Solicitors
300 Noble Building
8540 109 Street
Edmonton, Alberta &T6G 1E6

Phone: 780-433-9000
Fax: 780-433-9780
Email: [email protected]

David Phillip Jones, Q.C. draws his expertise not only from the practice of law, but as a former law professor. David grew up in Calgary and studied economics and political science at McGill University. He then studied law as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. For 16 years, he was a full-time law professor at McGill and the University of Alberta, teaching administrative law, constitutional law, property, taxation, and government control of business.

In 1988, he went into private practice in Edmonton with his wife, Anne, to create the “cerebral micro-firm” of de Villars Jones LLP.

He is co-author of Jones & de Villars’ Principles of Administrative Law (6th edition 2014), co-editor of the Administrative Law Reports, and frequent author of legal articles and presentations. David was the co-recipient of the 2009 Medal from the Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals, and in 2012 received the Distinguished Service Award for Legal Scholarship from the Law Society of Alberta and the Alberta Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. He is one of the foremost administrative lawyers in Canada.

David’s legal wisdom is respected across Canada. He is the Conflict of Interest Commissioner for Yukon and for the Northwest Territories, Chancellor of the Anglican Church of Canada, and a Chartered Arbitrator. His practice includes all areas of administrative law, commercial and labour arbitration, and “point of law” litigation.

Norrie & Co. Professional Services Inc.
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Ms. Norrie is an arbitrator and mediator with 25+ years of human resources and labour relations experience. Throughout her career she has had the opportunity to work not only with both the private and public sectors, but has had the unique experience of working in senior leadership roles for both management and unions.

Ms. Norrie is currently on the Arbitration Roster for Alberta Mediation Services. In 2013 she was appointed to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services roster as a grievance arbitrator, adjudicator and referee.

Ms. Norrie holds the designation of Qualified Arbitrator (Q Arb) with the ADR Institute of Canada.

Since 2013, Ms. Norrie has been on the Mediation Roster for Alberta Mediation Services. She is engaged by organizations regularly to assist in training, investigations, organizational reviews and workplace conflict resolution.

Ms. Norrie was a sessional instructor for the University of Lethbridge and the ADR Institute of Alberta (when it was the Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society – AAMS).

Ms. Norrie holds a Bachelor of Arts and an L.L.B from the University of Alberta, and has completed mediation and negotiation training through the ADR Institute of Alberta and Harvard Program on Negotiation.

Oviatt Law
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Ms. Oviatt is an arbitrator and administrative law lawyer. She worked as legal counsel to the Court of King’s Bench and at a large law firm in labour law, privacy and professional regulation before joining Oviatt Law in 2014.

Ms. Oviatt focuses her practice on labour arbitration and quasi-judicial decision making. She holds the designation of Qualified Arbitrator from the ADR Institute of Canada. She chairs private arbitrations in Alberta and is appointed to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services arbitrator lists as a grievance arbitrator under Part I of the Canada Labour Code, as an unjust dismissal adjudicator and wage recovery referee under Part III of the Canada Labour Code, and as an adjudicator under the Wage Earner Protection Program Act.

In 2015, Ms. Oviatt was first appointed as a tribunal member for the Alberta Human Rights Commission and continues to chair human rights hearings and tribunal dispute resolution mediations. She is also a hearing panel member for the Real Estate Council of Alberta and was a tribunal member for the Subdivision Development Appeal Board for the City of Edmonton. An advocate for lifelong learning and tribunal training, Ms. Oviatt is on the board of directors for the Foundation of Administrative Justice.

903 9929 Saskatchewan Drive NW
Edmonton, Alberta  T6E 5J9

Cell: 780-993-8588
Email: [email protected]

Francis is a Chartered Arbitrator, and acts as independent or sole Chair on arbitrations involving labour and employment problems, commercial and business disputes, construction, health law, products liability and various other fields. He is also a mediator, assisting parties in resolving disputes involving commercial transactions, labour and employment problems, construction disputes, community relationships, sports disputes and various other fields. He has appeared in all levels of the courts of Alberta, in the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Appointments and memberships

• ADR Institute of Canada Inc. – Chartered Arbitrator (C.Arb.) - 1994
• Alberta Grievance Arbitration Roster, Appointed Arbitrator and Roster Committee Member
• Labour Canada Arbitration Roster, Appointed Arbitrator
• Alberta Court of King’s Bench – Civil Mediation Program – Roster Mediator
• Comisión Arbitral Permanente, Arbitration Services Centre, Monterrey, México, Director
• American Arbitration Association (AAA) – Commercial Arbitrator & Mediator
• Alberta Government Services, Consumer Services, Arbitrator under Fair Trading Act
• BC Intl. Commercial Arbitration Centre, Domestic Commercial Arbitration Panel, Member
• Canada Customs and Revenue Agency – Appointed Independent Third Party Reviewer
• Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society, Member, Chartered Arbitrator Review Committee
• Canadian Bar Association – Member, Labour Law and Creditors’ Rights Sections

Publications

Francis’ written awards in the labour arbitration area are found in the Alberta Grievance Arbitration Awards and many are published in the Labour Arbitration Cases (Carswell).

He is the author of 'Pipelines in Western Canada' (1975). In 1985, he co-authored, with his wife, Marguerite Trussler, a textbook entitled 'Mortgage Actions in Alberta', dealing with foreclosure remedies in Alberta and elsewhere in Canada (Carswell). In 1996, he wrote a "Practice Guide to Conducting a Foreclosure Action' (Carswell). In 2003, he collected and published 'Fundukia – the Whimsical Wit and Whimsy of Master Michael Funduk', to honour the retirement of Master Funduk. Sales of the book have raised over $14,000 for Edmonton’s Food Bank.

He has written and presented frequent seminar and conference papers, articles and case comments, relating to labour and commercial arbitration and mediation, and foreclosure law.

Barrister and Solicitor
149 10403 122 Street
Edmonton, Alberta  T5N 4C1

Phone: 780-423-6807
Fax: 780-423-6813
Email: [email protected]

Andy Sims is an experienced labour arbitrator and mediator based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He has practiced law since 1974, following his graduation from the University of Alberta. He was designated King’s Counsel in 1990. He was admitted to membership in the National Academy of Arbitrators in 2002 and the B.C. Arbitrators Association in 2013.

He maintains an active private practice across the country as an arbitrator and mediator. He has chaired interest arbitrations in all sectors of the economy under Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Federal Legislation. He also provides administrative law counsel to a variety of administrative boards and tribunals and appears regularly before the Alberta Courts as well as the Supreme Court of Canada in that capacity.

Between 1985 and 1994 Mr. Sims served as the full-time Chair of the Alberta Labour Relations Board and in 1992 took on added responsibilities as Chair of the Alberta Public Service Employee Relations Board. He also served part-time for 21 years as a Vice Chair of the Alberta Labour Relations Board and for three years as a Vice Chair of the Canadian Industrial Relations Board.

In 1995 he was appointed to chair a Task Force to review Part 1 (Labour Relations) of the Canada Labour Code, culminating in the report “Seeking a Balance” published in 1995 and amendments to the Canada Labour Code enacted in 1998. He was a member of the 1997 Advisory Committee on the Changing Workplace, under the Chairmanship of the Federal Minister of Labour. Until 2014 he sat on the Federal Minister of Labour’s Advisory Council on Workplace and Labour Affairs. In 2013 he completed a Construction Labour Legislation review for the Government of Alberta.

In 1994 he delivered the H.D. Woods Memorial Lecture to the Canadian Industrial Relations Society. He conducted the 1994 review of the Appeals Commission under Alberta’s Workers’ Compensation Act. He served as a member and Vice Chair of the Alberta Law Reform Institute (9 years) and a Sessional Instructor at the University of Alberta Law School (14 years). He has served as a Board Member of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice and the Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals.

In 2005, he received the Alberta Centennial Medal for "outstanding service to the people and Province of Alberta”. In 2011 he received the University of Toronto’s Bora Laskin Award for “outstanding contribution to Canadian labour law”.

During his career he has authored several hundred reported decisions in the Canadian and Alberta Labour Relations Board Reports and the Labour Arbitration Cases. He is a standing arbitrator under many collective agreements and speaks frequently on labour relations and administrative law topics. He frequently mediates or chairs interest arbitrations and conciliation panels in collective bargaining disputes.

Resolve ADR
Phone: 780-242-2221
Email: [email protected]

Leanne Young, Q.C. is an arbitrator, mediator, negotiator, and adjudicator.

She has adjudicated and arbitrated more than 300 hearings over the last decade. As a practitioner, focused on labour and civil litigation, she has overseen matters throughout Alberta, and across Canada, the US, and the UK. She has been named in a collective agreement as an arbitrator and appointed as an umpire in large scale negotiations.

With a Bachelor of Arts (’92), a Master of Science (’04), and a Law degree from the University of Alberta (‘98), Leanne has had an ongoing commitment to education. She has completed certificates in mediation (’12) and negotiation (’13) in the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. Presently, Leanne is a candidate in the Executive Master of Laws program at the London School of Economics.

Leanne was recognized with a King’s Counsel designation in 2013. She also holds the designation of Chartered Arbitrator (C.Arb) with the ADR Institute of Canada and the designation of Associate Arbitrator (ACIArb) with the internationally recognized center for excellence for the practice of ADR: the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Associations she is a member of include the ADR Institute of Alberta, the ADR Institute of Canada, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the Canadian Institute of Administrative Tribunals, the Law Society of Alberta, the Canadian Bar Association, the Edmonton Bar Association, the International Association for Conflict Management, and the Association for Conflict Resolution.

In her spare time, Leanne sits as Vice Chair of the Legal Archives Society of Alberta (LASA) which recognizes, celebrates and archives the rich legal history in our province.

Asbell Dispute Resolutions Inc.
PO Box 92551
Sherwood Park, Alberta  T8A 3X4

Phone: 780-906-2234
Email: [email protected]

Mark Asbell, Q.C. is an Arbitrator, Mediator and Adjudicator. With 17 years of experience as Chair of the Alberta Labour Relations Board, Mark is a nationally recognized leader in labour law and labour dispute adjudication. He is a prolific writer generating over 700 decisions during his career with the Alberta Labour Relations Board, including decisions tested and affirmed at both the Alberta Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Over his adjudicative career, Mark has developed a reputation as a courteous, efficient adjudicator with superior hearing management skills who is able to quickly hone the essence of the dispute while providing a forum where the parties feel heard and respected.

While adjudication may be the necessary end-point, Mark’s true passion is facilitating party-driven settlement, and trust and respect for ongoing relationships. As Chair of the Alberta Labour Relations Board, Mark developed and implemented the first-of-its-kind settlement conferences and processes by utilizing various alternative dispute resolution models responsive to the circumstances of the dispute followed, where necessary, by adjudication. Through the use of these ADR initiatives the Alberta Labour Relations Board’s settlement rate improved from an average of 35% annually to as high as 80% per annum. This model has since been adopted by several adjudicative boards across Canada and has been studied and discussed at national and international academic conferences. Mark personally assisted in mediating or helping resolve over 200 disputes under these processes.

Admitted to the Law Society of Alberta in 1985, Mark practiced labour & employment, contract, personal injury, and First Nation’s law with the Edmonton based boutique law firm of Ackroyd, Piasta, Roth & Day. As an adjudicator, Mark has served as a consensually appointed arbitrator, Chair (1999-2016) and Vice-Chair (1991-1996) with the Alberta Labour Relations Board, Alternate Chair with the Public Service Employee Relations Board (1993-1995), and an arbitrator for the Canadian Centre for Sport and Law (1997-2000). Mark was appointed by the Law Society of Alberta as an Adjudicator for Conduct Hearings in February 2016. Mark’s varied experience both practicing law and adjudicating includes addressing issues within broad based disputes in the public, education, health, construction, transportation, retail, and manufacturing sectors as well as individual matters involving First Nations’ interests under the Canada Labour Code, complaints against lawyers, and doping allegations and disciplinary actions involving amateur and Olympic athletes.

In addition to being a regular speaker and presenter at universities, colleges, conferences, seminars, and workshops, Mark is an active community volunteer, having served or continuing to serve on many local, provincial, and national charity and athletic boards. In addition to coaching youth hockey and basketball, he holds or has held the highest certification levels as a nationally certified referee and coach in Lacrosse. He continues to coach Junior Lacrosse and serves on the Board of Directors for the Sherwood Park Titans Major Lacrosse Association. In recognition of his contributions to the community, Mark was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship Medal in 2004, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2005, and appointed King’s Counsel in 2008.