Speakers

Sophie Arseneault

Sophie Arseneault

Partner

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Sophie Arseneault practices in the areas of employment, labour, and human rights law. Regularly working with both private and public sector employers, Sophie advises clients on a variety of employment law and labour relations matters. Sophie has assisted clients on provincial and federal pay equity reviews and maintenance exercises, employment equity considerations, employment standards, labour relations, wrongful dismissal claims, and human rights complaints.

Renée Caron

Renée Caron

Principal

Renee Caron Consulting

As one of Canada’s foremost pay equity experts, Renée Caron has been a leader in pay equity operations and policy for more than 15 years. Since 2023, she has been serving federally-regulated workplaces by providing expert advice and support to develop pay equity plans as required under the federal Pay Equity Act. Before that, she played a key role in the development of the federal legislation and was the federal government’s lead on pay equity. Renée is also currently serving on a part-time basis as the Equal Pay Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. The Commissioner receives and investigates equal pay complaints from employees in the NWT public service and the NWT Power Corporation, and teachers; as well, the Commissioner promotes awareness and understanding of the right to equal pay for work of equal value.

Renée has 30 years’ experience in employment and labour relations, including at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the Privy Council Office, the Canada Industrial Relations Board and in the private sector. She authored the seminal text, Employment in the Federal Public Service, published by Canada Law Book and cited by the Public Service Labour Relations Board, the Federal Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada. Renée holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University and a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and is bilingual.

Jyoti Grewal

Jyoti Grewal

Director, Job Evaluation Initiatives, Treasury Board Secretariat

Government of Ontario

Jyoti has over 26 years experience as a public sector leader. She is currently the Director, Job Evaluation Initiatives in the Ontario Public Service leading its job architecture, organizational design, job classification and pay equity framework at Treasury Board Secretariat. She also spent 22 years with the federal public service in various human resources leadership roles both in national and regional contexts starting her career in the field of job evaluation. Dedicated to making a positive impact, Jyoti has successfully led teams to drive innovative solutions and transformations, while spearheading culture change. Jyoti holds a Bachelor’s degree from York University and completed the Public Sector Certificate Program at Chartered Professional Accountants Canada.

Jennifer Hodgins

Jennifer Hodgins

Partner, Employment & Labour

Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

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.

Jayna Koria

Jayna Koria

Senior Principal, National Pay Equity Compliance Lead

Mercer

Jayna Koria is a distinguished Senior Principal Workforce Rewards consultant based in Toronto, with over 20 years of experience with Mercer. She possesses a wealth of expertise in both public and private sectors, successfully leading a diverse range of rewards and compensation engagements. Her proficiency includes developing salary structures, designing job evaluation tools, managing employee engagement surveys, and reviewing HR programs and policies, with a particular emphasis on pay equity at both Federal and Provincial levels.

In her role as the National Compliance Pay Equity Lead for Mercer Canada, Jayna effectively coordinates resources and specialists across the country to provide exceptional support to clients. Her in-depth understanding of Federal, Ontario and Quebec pay equity legislation has established her as a trusted advisor for numerous large multinational clients, ensuring their adherence to compliance standards.

Jayna holds an honors degree in Economics and Management Science from the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK. She is currently enhancing her qualifications through the Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) program and has earned the Retirement Plans Associate (RPA) designation. Additionally, she has completed the Canadian Securities Course, further reinforcing her expertise in the field.

Meredith Parker

Meredith Parker

Executive Director, Pay Equity

KPMG

Meredith is a senior Pay Equity and Compensation Consultant with over 20 years of experience in total rewards design and implementation, and job documentation and evaluation. Meredith is passionate about supporting businesses in aligning total rewards with organizational strategies and facilitating the path to pay equity, identifying risks and mitigation strategies as employers and committees work towards pay equity compliance.

Rebecca Rossi

Rebecca Rossi

Associate

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Rebecca Rossi is an Associate in the Labour, Employment and Human Rights group at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP’s Toronto office. Rebecca Rossi practices in all areas of labour, employment, and human rights law. She represents both unionized and non-unionized employers in labour arbitrations, human rights proceedings, employment litigation and assists federal clients with their pay equity obligations.

Isabelle Roy-Nunn

Isabelle Roy-Nunn

Partner

Goldblatt Partners

Isabelle is a fierce defender of the principle that workers’ rights are human rights.

Whether it’s helping unions arrive at fair collective agreements or helping employees resolve workplace issues, Isabelle is committed to making people’s working lives better. Her many years of experience in-house at a large national public sector union, leading the negotiations, representation and legal services, gives Isabelle valuable and unique insights into the needs of her clients. She understands what it’s like to be the client and she understands what it’s like to be a union.

Isabelle thrives on thinking outside the box to find innovative solutions with her clients. She approaches issues with strategic vision and broad-scoped perspective, and you can rest assured that her clients will always get advice and representation tailored to their specific needs.

In addition to having significant expertise on internal union governance matters, Isabelle is a persuasive advocate in any setting. She is just as comfortable advocating for clients in more collaborative settings, like informal discussions or more structured mediations, as she is in formal adversarial settings, such as arbitration, human rights tribunals and judicial review or appellate hearings. Isabelle is a member of the firm’s pay equity team and regularly provides training and hands-on advice to union staff and members on developing and maintaining pay equity in the Ontario and federal jurisdictions.

A true Acadian New Brunswicker at heart, Isabelle prides herself on providing excellent services in both French and English. Since Ontario has been her home since the mid- 90s, Isabelle has also become an active member and supporter of the Franco-Ontarian community. Isabelle is a member of l’Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario and the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers. She enjoys assisting various community organizations through volunteer boards.

When she’s out of the office, Isabelle is happiest curled up with a good book, whipping up something yummy in the kitchen, traveling with her family or cheering on her daughter’s soccer team.

Dr. Parbudyal Singh

Dr. Parbudyal Singh

Professor of School of Human Resources Management

York University

Parbudyal Singh is a Full Professor in the School of Human Resource Management at York University. He earned his PhD from McMaster University. He has more than 100 publications, including articles in the leading journals in human resource management, industrial relations, and compensation. He is a co-author of Managing Human Resources (10th Canadian Edition, published by Nelson, 2022), a leading textbook used in Canadian universities and colleges. He is also the lead author of Canada’s foremost compensation textbook (Strategic Compensation in Canada, 7th edition, with Richard Long). Dr. Singh has offered advice to governments, as well as for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, including some of Canada’s leading firms, on all aspects of compensation and rewards. He is considered a leader in the pay equity area. Dr. Singh was honoured with the Distinguished Human Resource Professional Award in 2018 by the Human Resource Professional Association for outstanding contributions to the field. He was the first recipient of this award.