Matthew is a practical and strategic labour and employment lawyer who advises employers on complex workplace issues and advocates for them in negotiations and legal disputes.

Matthew routinely assists organizations navigate a broad range of human resources issues, including employee recruitment, discipline and termination, executive employment arrangements, labour relations, organizational change and business reductions and closures. He also advises private and public sector employers on their rights and obligations relating to employment standards, human rights, workplace bullying and harassment and occupational health and safety. His experience includes working with clients throughout Canada, the United States, and abroad‎.

His practice includes the representation of employers at labour arbitrations, before administrative tribunals and at the Ontario and Federal courts. He has acted as lead spokesperson in collective bargaining negotiations and assisted employers in crises, including in response to union organizing campaigns and strikes.

Matthew is frequently called upon to provide strategic employment and labour law advice on corporate transactions, draft and enforce employment agreements and restrictive covenants, including non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements, conduct workplace investigations and deliver training on a wide-range of workplace topics.

Before pursuing his career in ‎law, Matthew was a Human Resources Manager in the manufacturing industry.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

•   Law Society of Ontario
•   Canadian Bar Association
•   Ontario Bar Association
•   Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers

Daphne Fedoruk acts as Senior Legal Counsel for the Canadian Human Rights Commission, where she is responsible for legal advice and support to the Pay Equity Division of the Commission. Daphne also represents the public interest on behalf of the Commission in human rights litigation. Daphne regularly plays an active role in settlement negotiations and mediations of emotional and contentious disputes.

Prior to joining the Commission in 2018, Daphne was a lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, practising in all areas of employment, labour law and human rights law. She frequently provided strategic advice to federally-regulated employers on complex workforce issues. She represented employers before Courts and administrative tribunals, including in pay equity cases.  Daphne has particular expertise in disability and mental health accommodation and a passion for creating healthy, inclusive, and respectful workplaces.

Jennifer Hodgins practises in all areas of employment and labour law, including human rights, pay equity, employment standards, labour and employee relations, grievance arbitration, wrongful dismissal and health and safety matters. Jennifer has acted on behalf of employers in grievance arbitrations, human rights tribunal proceedings, wrongful dismissal claims, judicial review proceedings and federal and provincial labour board matters. She also regularly provides proactive and strategic advice to employers relating to workplace issues and labour relations, including collective bargaining.

Prior to joining our Toronto office, Jennifer practised labour and employment law at a management-side labour and employment boutique firm and completed a clerkship at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto. She has also worked as in-house labour counsel at a large regional hospital.

Kyle Lambert is an accomplished employment lawyer and litigator. He serves clients in a range of industries including aviation, telecommunications and media, and marketing. With extensive experience in employment and labour relations law, Kyle represents businesses in wrongful dismissal claims, human rights claims, and claims for breach of restrictive covenants, in addition to providing employment-related advice and analyses on large business transactions and workplace investigations.  Kyle is a frequent presenter and author on developments in employment and labour relations law in Canada. In his litigation practice, Kyle assists clients on shareholder disputes, complex contractual disputes, and government procurement challenges. He has appeared before all levels of Ontario’s civil courts, the Federal Court and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal.

Dianne Rideout is a partner in McMillan’s Employment and litigation groups. Dianne regularly advises domestic and international clients in all aspects of the employment relationship, including: provincial and federal employment law, hiring, discipline, termination, human rights, wrongful and constructive dismissals, and other employment related litigation. Dianne regularly acts for vendors and purchasers in connection with employment and labour implications arising from complex corporate transactions.

Dianne is an experienced litigation lawyer and has appeared at all levels of court in British Columbia, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada. She also represents clients at administrative hearings before the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal, the Employment Standards Tribunal and the Human Rights Tribunal.

Dianne has also developed extensive experience in occupational health and safety law and routinely provides day-to-day counsel on health and safety regulatory compliance; as well as guidance on reprisal complaints, workplace investigations, and serious and fatal incidents.

Renee Roussel is currently Senior Director, National Operations for Regional Operations and Compliance within the Labour Program of the Government of Canada. Her role is to provide strategic direction and ensure operational readiness as part of the Canada Labour Code Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) and Part III (Labour Standards). She has been a career public servant for over 23 years and has worked for organizations such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Parks Canada Agency and most recently for the Department of National Defence.  She has spent most of her career in Occupational Health and Safety Leadership. She completed her Masters in Business Administration with a specialization in Health and Safety Leadership.

Her leadership has allowed for the implementation of firearms for Park Wardens as part of the Government’s decision to arm. She is also currently working on a number of legislative and regulatory changes for the Canada Labour Code that will help modernize labour standards and ensure the prevention of harassment and violence in the workplace.

Simmy Sahdra is a Labour & Employment lawyer at McCarthy Tétrault LLP. Simmy advises and represents management regarding a variety of labour and employment issues including, labour arbitrations, collective bargaining, employment litigation, human rights, and workplace investigations. Prior to joining McCarthy Tétrault, Simmy worked and volunteered at various social justice related institutions such as the Human Rights Legal Support Centre and at the Women’s Legal Education Action Fund (LEAF) in Toronto.

Duncan Shaw is the Senior Director of Occupational Health and Safety in the Labour Program at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). He has an Honours Bachelor of Arts from Queen’s University, and began working for the Government of Canada in 1991 with the Department of Finance. Before joining the Labour Program, he worked in five branches in ESDC, and has held Executive Director and Director roles primarily in the area of labour market programs.

Michael is one of Canada’s leading employment and labour lawyers recognized by Chambers Global®, Who’s Who Legal® (Most Highly Regarded), Legal 500® and Lexpert®.  He is a former Chair of the National Labour and Employment Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association and the Labour and Employment Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association.    Michael represents clients in a broad range of industries and sectors.  His clients are unionized and non-unionized, domestic and foreign, public and private, and range in size and complexity of operations from small, single-location enterprises to large, multi-site, multinational corporations.

Tatha is a Toronto employment lawyer who advises and represents federal and provincial employers on all types of employment and labour law issues including employment contracts, severance packages, harassment, health and safety, restrictive covenants, labour arbitration and grievances, and employment standards claims.  Tatha focuses on reducing risk, minimizing any potential liability and crafting practical solutions to the employment issues every business faces.