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Canada Industrial Relations Board

Please visit the CIRB's Members' page for the most up-to-date listing of Board Members and biographies.

Vice Chairs

Graham J. Clarke	Louise Fecteau
Judith F. MacPherson	Richard Hornung, Q.C.
Claude Roy	Andrew L. Sims

Members

EMPLOYER REPRESENTATIVES	EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES
Herman Champagne	John Bowman
Patrick J. Heinke	Daniel Charbonneau
André Lecavalier	Norman Rivard

Biographical Information

Elizabeth MacPherson, Chairperson
Ms. MacPherson was the Director General, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, with the Labour Program since April 1999. Her career experience has included executive positions in mediation and conciliation within a number of different organizations, including the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal. She also held the position of Special Advisor to the Associate Deputy Minister of Labour.

In 2006, Ms. MacPherson taught industrial relations at the University of Ottawa's School of Management. She holds a Bachelor and a Master of Laws from the University of Ottawa. She is an active volunteer and a member of numerous organizations and councils, including the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Graham J. Clarke, Vice Chairperson
Mr. Graham Clarke was appointed as Vice-Chairperson of the CIRB on April 23, 2007.

A member of the bars of Ontario and Quebec since 1987, Mr. Clarke started practising labour law in Montréal. In 1988, he became legal counsel to the Canada Labour Relations Board's first Chairperson, Mr. Marc Lapointe. After leaving the Board, Mr. Clarke published the loose-leaf book Canada Labour Relations Board: An Annotated Guide (Aurora: Canada Law Book, 1992). He is also the author of Clarke's Canada Industrial Relations Board (Aurora: Canada Law Book, 1999), which was published following the 1999 amendments to the Canada Labour Code.

From 1990 to 2007, Mr. Clarke represented private sector clients in both official languages before a wide range of administrative tribunals and courts.

At the time of his appointment, Mr. Clarke was a partner in the firm Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP, honourary legal counsel for United Way Ottawa and a member of the Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa.

Louise Fecteau, Vice Chairperson
Ms. Louise Fecteau was appointed as Vice-Chairperson of the CIRB on October 1, 2003.

Ms. Fecteau is a lawyer specializing in labour and commercial law. She served as Secretary General to the committee reviewing the Court of Quebec judges' salaries, pension plans and other benefits. She was also Vice-President and General Manager of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association. Ms. Fecteau has extensive experience in collective bargaining and arbitration of grievances.

Ms. Fecteau earned a Bachelor of Law from the Université Laval and a Master of Public International Law from the Paris-Sorbonne University. The term of her appointment ends September 30, 2007.

Judith F. MacPherson, Vice Chairperson
Ms. MacPherson possesses over 25 years of experience as a lawyer and arbitrator specializing in labour, employment and administrative law. She has held various positions serving on numerous committees, associations and boards, including the New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board as a Vice-Chairperson, the New Brunswick Public Service Labour Relations Board as an adjudicator, the Canadian Bar Association's National Judicial Salary and Benefits Committee as Chair and the NB Legal Aid Appeal Committee as a member. She was awarded the Queen's Counsel designation and the CBA, New Brunswick Branch Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her exceptional contribution to the legal profession.

She holds a Bachelor of Civil Law (LL.B.) from the University of New Brunswick and a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Mary's University in Halifax.

Richard I. Hornung, Q.C., Vice Chairperson
Mr. Hornung has a wealth of experience in industrial relations, labour law and the resolution of disputes. He has an established history as an arbitrator and mediator of labour and commercial disputes. He served as Vice-Chairperson of the Canada Labour Relations Board and Chair of the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board. In addition to his extensive experience in ADR, Mr. Hornung has practised law, been a Professor of Law at the University of Alberta and instructed mediation at Harvard Law School (PIL).

Mr. Ruck is a lawyer and former consultant in labour negotiations, mediation and dispute resolution. Mr. Ruck brings extensive experience in the fields of labour, human rights, civil litigation and administrative law. He has served as vice-chairperson of the Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board, as well as chair of the Labour Standards Tribunal and of the Civil Service Employee Relations Board. He is a former Ombudsman for the province of Nova Scotia and a founding director of the Canadian Ombudsman Association.

Mr. Ruck obtained a bachelor of law degree from Dalhousie University Law School and has practiced in all areas of administrative law, as well as labour and employment law. The term of his appointment ends June 24, 2006.

Claude Roy, Vice Chairperson
Mr. Claude Roy was appointed as Vice-Chairperson of the CIRB on March 3, 2008.

Since 1974, Mr. Roy has been in private practice, working in the areas of civil law, labour law, commercial law, criminal and quasi-criminal law, municipal law and bankruptcy law. He has significant expertise in administrative and penal law. Over the years, he has also served as First Councillor of the Barreau du Québec and solicitor for the cities of Laterrière, La Baie and Jonquière.

Since April 2006, he has been an adjudicator and referee, appointed by the Minister of Labour to hear cases of unjust dismissal and sit in appeal on wage recovery determinations by departmental inspectors.

Mr. Roy is a graduate of Université Laval in Québec City and has been licensed by the Barreau du Québec since 1974.

Andrew L. Sims, Vice Chairperson
Mr. Sims has been in private practice since 1994 as an arbitrator, mediator, and administrative law and tribunal consultant in the labour relations field. From 1985 to 1994, he was the Chairperson of the Alberta Labour Relations Board, and since 1994 he has been its Vice-Chair. He was also Chairperson of the Alberta Public Service Employee Relations Board from 1992 to 1994.

Mr. Sims has been a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators since 2002. He has been a speaker at or chairman of numerous seminars on employment law, administrative law, labour relations, alternative dispute resolution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, creditor-debtor law, plain language, decision writing, tribunal management and technology.

Mr. Sims holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Law degree from Queen's University and has published many papers and reports in the area of law. His most recent publication is Seeking a balance: Report of the Task Force to review Part I of the Canada Labour Code.

Members

John Bowman, Employee Representative
Mr. John Bowman is a full-time member of the CIRB serving as an employee representative.

Mr. Bowman was the Privacy Officer for the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) in British Columbia and various CAW locals. He holds several memberships with different organizations, including the British Columbia Labour Relations Board and the Organizing Advisory Committee within the British Columbia Federation of Labour. For the past 29 years, Mr. Bowman has served as a long-time national representative with the Canadian Association of Industrial Mechanical, and Allied Workers and CAW.

Mr. Bowman holds a bachelor's degree in history with a specialization in labour history from the University of Winnipeg.

Herman Champagne, Employer Representative
Mr. Herman Champagne is a full-time member of the CIRB serving as an employer representative.

Mr. Champagne's recent professional experience includes three years as Director of Human Resources at Technicolor, which specializes in film, television and commercial post-production. Prior to that, he was responsible for human resources and labour relations activities at Collins & Aikman, an American company that manufactures automobile carpets and plastic components for the automotive industry. Mr. Champagne also served as Senior Advisor of Human Resources at Petro-Canada for six years.

Mr. Champagne holds a bachelor's degree in industrial relations from Université Laval and a general law certificate from the Université de Montréal. He is a member of the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés du Québec.

Daniel Charbonneau, Employee Representative
Mr. Daniel Charbonneau is a full-time member of the CIRB serving as an employee representative.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Charbonneau was an advisor with the Service Employees Union, Local 800 (QFL). He previously worked on the Air Canada customer service union (International Association of Machinists) committee (Eastern Region).

After obtaining a bachelor's degree in political science from the Université du Québec à Montréal, Mr. Charbonneau studied industrial relations at the Université de Montréal.

Patrick J. Heinke, Employer Representative
Mr. Patrick J. Heinke is a full-time member of the CIRB serving as an employer representative.

Mr. Heinke has been running P.J. Heinke & Associates Inc. since 2002, a firm that provides mediation, negotiation and strategic planning services. During his long career at Air Canada, which began in 1967, he held several management positions: from 1997 to 2002, he was Senior Director, Labour Relations; from 1993 to 1997, he was Director, Labour Relations-Customer Service; from 1991 to 1993, he was Manager, Labour Relations-Customer Service; and from 1989 to 1991, he held the position of Manager, Labour Relations-International and Finance.

Mr. Heinke audited courses at the University of Vienna, Austria, and completed the Executive Management Program and Negotiations Strategies at Queen's University.

Mr. Heinke holds several memberships. He is Executive Member, Federally Regulated Employers of Transportation and Communication Organizations, and the Air Transport Association of Canada. He is also a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the American Arbitration Association. The term of his appointment ends April 3, 2008.

André Lecavalier, Employer Representative
Mr. André Lecavalier is a part-time member of the CIRB serving as an employer representative.

From 1990 to 2003, Mr. Lecavalier was Vice-President, Human Resources, at Clarke Inc. in Toronto. In this capacity, he dealt with various aspects of human resources (labour relations, compensation and benefits, training, recruitment, health and security) related to 1,500 employees. During this period, he also negotiated and administered several collective agreements across the country.

A graduate from the Université de Montréal (Bachelor of Arts in Sciences - Major in Industrial Relations), Mr. Lecavalier started his career with the City of Dorval, Quebec where he was responsible for fire prevention and labour relations for the fire department's employees. The term of his appointment ends December 15, 2007.

Norman Rivard, Employee Representative
Mr. Norman Rivard is a full-time member of the CIRB serving as an employee representative.

Mr. Rivard was the Chair of the Steelworkers - Industrial Wood and Allied Workers of Canada (I.W.A.) Council. He held positions as both Vice President and National President of the former I.W.A., was a union president in Northern Ontario, and he was also a member of an executive board, which established and oversaw the policy and administration of the national union. Mr. Rivard became active in union committees when he first began working as a machine operator for Rexwood Products in 1967. He is a certified Canadian Labour Congress union education instructor.