ADRIC Update
by Marc Bhalla, LL.M., C.Med, C.Arb
(Ontario’s elected representative to the Board of Directors of the ADR Institute of Canada)
On November 2nd and 3rd 2023, the ADR Institute of Canada hosted its 49th annual AGM and Conference. The latest iteration of the national conference took place in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia. Themed as “Navigating Rough Waters Through Dispute Resolution” the gathering offered three key goals for attendees – to learn, network and inspire. While greeted with snow upon arrival, it did not last. Some suggested the warmth of the dispute resolution community coming together was the reason but I think if any far-fetched responsibility is to be embraced for holding off the cold weather in Halifax in early November it would be the sizzle of the bright minds from Ontario!
As the province’s elected representative on the ADRIC Board, I am proud to report that Ontario was a large part of the event’s success. So much so that I suggest to you that it was not possible for anyone to attend the national conference in Nova Scotia without learning something from Ontario. Attendees certainly left with fresh insights and an awful lot to reflect upon from us.
There were three concurrent streams of educational sessions to attend at the conference, beginning on Thursday, November 2nd with a provocative morning session about arbitration presented Queen’s University law professor, Joshua Karton, Q.Arb. Professor Karton spoke about Navigating Between Scylla and Charybdis: Appeals from Arbitral Awards. In the course of comparing and contrasting recent arbitration appeal cases out of British Columbia and Ontario, attendees reflected on questions such as if parties accept the prospect of receiving a bad decision in the course of choosing private arbitration and insights from the award winning paper, Arbitration Appeals on Questions of Law In Canada: Stop Extricating The Inextricable!
From this jam-packed session, attendees were treated to a luncheon keynote by the legendary Bill Horton, C.Arb before facing perhaps the most difficult decision of the conference… whether to attend the session on mediation training, What I Have Learned from My Students, by Helen Lightstone, C.Med or catch Kimberly Gale speaking about Collaborative Law to Resolve Estate Disputes, where Kim presented her prominent paper on the topic.
The first day of the national conference concluded with an all-star panel from Ontario moderated by ADRIC Executive Director, Gary Lacasse. ADRIO’s own Executive Director, Pramila Javaheri, C.Med, Q.Arb and President, Bruce Ally joined forced with Humber College professors Mary Lee, and Rameen Sabet to share their ground-breaking research about the digital transformation in the field.
Day 2 of the annual national conference also contained heavy Ontario-based content. From Matt Maslow and Colm Brannigan, C.Med, C.Arb., C.Med-Arb, presenting about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on arbitration and mediation respectively at different sessions to the extraordinary Verlyn Francis presenting what I considered the conference headliner, Navigating the Rough Waters of Impartiality, Bias & Culture in Mediation. Verlyn offered an incredible, thought-provoking and inspiring session.
There could not possibly be any doubt that our province leads the field as the conference rounded out with presentations by Theresa Mukoyi (Insurance), Ekin Cinar & Emily McMurty (modernizing commercial arbitration) and Josie Parisi (ADR in insolvency). Ontario truly shone!
The Annual General Meeting attached to the conference saw the appointment of a new President of the ADR Institute of Canada.
Care to hazard a guess as to where they are from?
Michael Schafler, Q.Arb’s homebase is indeed ADRIO, as the Toronto litigator and arbitrator has taken the reigns to lead our field’s national organization as it looks to reach new heights in 2024 and beyond. While those of you unable to make it to the festivities in Halifax might feel as though you missed out by reading this update, I offer a silver lining. You don’t need to travel out of province to gain cutting edge insights into the latest trends and developments in the field! So much talent, leadership and inspiration can be found right here, from those of us privileged to be on the land of the Algonquin, Mississauga, Ojibway, Cree, Odawa, Pottowatomi, Delaware and the Haudenosaunee—Mohawk, Onondaga, Onoyota’a:ka, Cayuga, Tuscarora, and Seneca—Nations.