Justin Diggle is Counsel at Miller Thomson LLP.  Prior to joining the firm, Justin was a partner with a management labour and employment law boutique firm and subsequently served as Legal Counsel  with one of the province’s largest Crown corporations. Justin most recently held the position of Senior Legal Counsel, Human Resources leader and Chief Collective Bargaining negotiator for one of Ontario’s largest municipalities.

In addition to being a trusted business advisor and negotiator, Justin is an experienced advocate who has appeared before private arbitrators and the Grievance Settlement Board, the Ontario Labour Relations Board, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Canada Labour Code Adjudicators and the courts.  Justin is also dedicated to training and education, having designed and delivered seminars and programs for a number of clients and professional organizations, and having taught for 21 years at the university Level.

Born in Kuwait, Rawan El-Komos immigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia with her family from Egypt in 1992. A daughter of an Egyptian father and a mother of Jordanian and Palestinian descent, her diverse background and experiences have given her a strong sense of community and of social responsibility.

Rawan grew up in Halifax where she received her Degree in Commerce (Marketing) and where she began her Human Resources (HR) career in the Public Service at the Department of National Defense (DND) in 2001.

Over the years, she has held a number of progressively senior roles in HR at the DND, Transport Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and joined the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) in August 2018.

Rawan is currently the Senior Director General of Corporate Services at the PPSC.  She is known to be an innovative, authentic and passionate leader who is committed to people management, leadership and most importantly inclusion.  She is married and the proud mother of her 9-year-old son, Anthony.

Busayo is a barrister and solicitor, licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, practicing employment law. Busayo assists both employees and employers with navigating workplace issues ranging from wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal, human rights discrimination, contract and policy drafting, and disability insurance claims. She is passionate about advocating for her clients and keeping their interests centered throughout the process. She approaches her work with a listening ear and a keen eye.

Barry B. Fisher is a mediator and arbitrator in Toronto. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1979 and has been an ADR practitioner since 1987. His practice focuses on both labor as well as employment law matters. In 2011, Barry was awarded the Ontario Bar Association Award of Excellence in ADR. He is the author of the Wrongful Dismissal Database; an on-line database published by Carswell, designed to assist lawyers and human resource professionals in determining reasonable notice periods. In 2016, Barry became a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators. Barry is also a frequent contributor on LinkedIn on employment law matters.

Mr. French is the President and CEO of the Canadian Initiative on Workplace Violence, based in Toronto, Canada. Within the mental health field, Mr. French has held many senior administrative and clinical positions within both the private and public sectors. Many of Canada’s leading organizations interested in the safety and wellbeing of their employees have sought his advice and consultation regarding workplace threats.

Bryony Halpin is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC).  At the OHRC, Bryony works on human rights issues relating to COVID-19, education, poverty and housing. Prior to joining the OHRC, Bryony held roles at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) where she was an Indigenous Policy Specialist and led the development of the ministry’s Strategic Approach to Indigenous Relations. Bryony’s prior role at MMAH was in the Housing Division where she worked on the National Housing Strategy as well as the Indigenous Strategic Housing Framework. Bryony also spent time at the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs, where she was responsible for co-developing, with the Anti-Racism Directorate, the Indigenous-focused Anti-Racism Strategy, as well as leading the design of two youth-focused anti-racism programs. Before joining the Ontario Public Service, Bryony taught at York University and Ryerson University. Bryony holds a PhD in Environmental Studies from York University and a Masters in Public Policy and Administration from Ryerson University.

Diane Rudakenga has over 15 years’ experience working in the health and wellness industry. Her educational background is in Psychology & Psychoeducation, Human Resources Management and she is a certified Positive Psychology practitioner. She has gained experience working with community based organizations, corporate industries, government and public sector agencies.

Her area of expertise include:

• Mental Health
• Disability Management
• Counselling & Coaching
• Crisis Intervention & Conflict resolutions
• Human Resources
• Organization Health & Wellness
• Developing, implementing strategic and operational solutions

Diane has been passionate about breaking the stigma surrounding mental health, neurodiversity and disability. She is a lifelong advocate of equity, diversity and inclusion.

Diane continuously works at implementing strategies that uses approaches that are positive psychology based, neurodiversity affirming, anti-racist and anti-ableism.

Richard has worked within the Canadian Federal Public Service for over 25 years. He is currently the Director of the Equity, Anti-racism, Diversity and Inclusion Leading the Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination Secretariat at the Department of Justice Canada where his work focusses on ensuring equity and inclusion for all equity seeking groups within the organization. Over the years, his work has involved leading initiatives in support of Government of Canada commitments to the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent. Richard is one of the founders of the Federal Black Employee Caucus that has been working with federal public service and union leadership to address anti-black racism in the federal public service.

Richard’s work regionally, nationally and within the federal public service is intended to improve the condition of Black and African diaspora communities in Canada. Over the last few years, Richard has been a speaker on addressing systemic racism, anti-black racism and how to be an ally within the Black Lives Matter movement.

Joel is a partner with Williams HR Law, where he practices management side labor, employment and  human rights law. He provides legal and strategic advice and training to both unionized and non unionized employers in all areas of labor and employment law. Joel also represents employers before  various courts, boards and tribunals.

Joel regularly presents before employers and human resources professionals. Joel has presented to the  Human Resources Professionals Association, including at the HRPA’s Annual Conference, Annual HR  Summit and Annual HR Law Conference, as well as the Toronto Entrepreneurs Conference, the CPA  Ontario Association, various chambers of commerce across Ontario and other industry associations.  Joel’s writing is frequently published in labor & employment law and human resources publications,  including Canadian Employment Law Today, HR Reporter and HR Professional magazine.

Meg Steele has worked as a lawyer for the City of Ottawa since 2002. She specializes in labor arbitrations, human rights matters, and employment law. Meg’s practice also includes providing advice on collective bargaining, workplace safety, and accessibility issues. She leads a group of lawyers and labor relations professionals that provide strategic advice on all aspects of the employment relationship.

Meg holds a B.A. (Hons.) in English and Political Science from Mount Allison University (1996) and a B.C.L/LL.B. from McGill University’s National Program (2000). She was called to the Ontario Bar in 2002.

Rachel Turnpenney is a founding partner of Turnpenney Milne LLP. Rachel’s practice focuses exclusively on employment law, with an emphasis on workplace investigations and human rights law. She strives to achieve practical, cost-effective results for her clients and believes that excellent client service coupled with a strategic, knowledgeable and reasonable approach are central to arriving at positive outcomes for her clients.

Rachel regularly conducts workplace investigations as an external, independent investigator on topics ranging from harassment/bullying, human rights matters to general misconduct. Rachel is comfortable investigating complex matters involving multiple parties and complaints as well as those involving serious and high-profile allegations.

Beyond the role of Investigator, Rachel is retained to conduct post-investigation services such as in-house training seminars and presentations on a variety of topics, ranging from basic harassment and discrimination training to individualized sensitivity or respect in the workplace training arising from a specific complaint or incident. She also conducts workplace audits and employee facilitations/mediations. Rachel’s goal for both audits and facilitations is to get to the root of the concern, have employees be (and feel) heard and move toward improving the health of the workplace in a proactive and responsive manner.

From 2003 to 2010, Rachel was an associate with Canada’s preeminent management-side labor and employment firm. In 2010, she formed Turnpenney Milne LLP with Catherine Milne.

Rachel received her Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) from Wilfrid Laurier University and her LLB from the University of Western Ontario. She was called to the Bar in Ontario in 2003 and the Bar in British Columbia in 2018. Rachel is a member of the Association of Workplace Investigators (“AWI”) as well as an AWI Certificate Holder (AWI-CH).

In her spare time, Rachel has a particular passion for travel and is always striving to figure out how to have a sustainable employment law practice out of a farmhouse in Tuscany or an island in the Caribbean.