FCO and ACCUO Post Agenda for 2013 Conference in Halifax

The joint conference of the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman and the Association of Canadian College and University Ombudspersons is entitled "The Ombuds Office in Canada Today: Learning and Working Together" and will take place June 9-12, 2013 at the Westin Nova Scotian in Halifax, NS.  The event will include annual general meetings for FCO and ACCUO and pre-conference training programs.  Organizers have posted a draft agenda:

Pre-Conference Workshop 

Sunday, June 9

"Systemic Investigations for the Small Office" – Kim Carter, Ombudsperson, Province of British Columbia; Bruce Ronayne, Executive Director of Intake and Systemic Investigations, Office of the BC Ombudsperson

Main Conference

Monday, June 10 

Welcome and Opening Remarks – Ian Darling, FCO Past President and Planning Committee Co-Chair; Kristen Robillard, President of ACCUO; Dwight Bishop, Ombudsman of Nova Scotia

Keynote Address: "The Psychology of Stories: Storytelling and Ombuds Work" – Jonathan White, Media Psychologist and Lecturer, St. Mary’s University

Plenary Session: "Communication and the Gen Factor: Are we all on the same page?" – Rachel Barnett, Assistant Ombudsman, Dayton and Montgomery County Ombudsman Office

Breakout Sessions:

• "Investigation processes improvement: Do we walk the talk?" – David Boudreau, Conseiller Spécial, Direction générale de l’assurance de le confirmité, Commissariat aux langues officielles; Benjamin Brzezynski, Associate, Patient Care Quality Office, Vancouver Island Health Authority; Pierre Coulombe, Directeur, Direction de la mesure du rendement, Commissariat aux langues officielles; Graham Fraser, Commissioner of Official Languages
• "Into the Breach: The Emerging Role of Canada’s Ombudsmen in Improving Accountability in Canadian Health Care" – William Lahey, Associate Professor, Schulich School of Law
• "Conflict is an asset" – Joëlle Thibault, Ombudsman, Hydro-Québec
• "Using Mediation to go Deeper in Ombudsing" –Marc Johnson, Undergraduate Ombudsperson, University of Alberta

Breakout Sessions:

• "Who are we to Judge? Working with specialists (& big egos)" – Kelly Chessie, Assistant Ombudsman, Ombudsman Saskatchewan; Karen Topolinski, Assistant Ombudsman, Ombudsman Saskatchewan
• "Settling differences: new approaches to measuring fairness in high security organizations" – Norman Dolan, PhD Candidate; Senior Investigator (Retired), Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces Ombudsman Office 
• "The Links Between Substance and Process: Lessons Learned from the Nova Scotia Task force on Bullying and Cyberbullying" – A. Wayne MacKay, CM., Q.C., Yogis and Keddy Chair in Human Rights Law and Professor of Law, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University
• "International Perspectives on the Ombudsperson and Civil Society" –Martine Conway, Ombudsperson University of Victoria; Peter Hourihan, Ombudsman, Province of Alberta; Jorge Ulises Carmona Tinoco, Defensor, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Annual General Meeting – Association of College and University Ombudspersons

Tuesday, June 11

Plenary Session: "Creating Barrier-Free Services: Are You Accessible to All Your Constituents?" – Fiona Crean, Ombudsman, City of Toronto; Brenda Tan, President, Ontario Patient relations Association; Other panelists to be confirmed

Plenary Session: "The View From the Other Side: What Respondents Expect – and What They Get" – Moderated by Howard Sapers, Correctional Investigator of Canada; Panelists to be confirmed

Breakout Sessions:

• "Demystifying conflicts" – Johanne Côté, Employee Ombudsman, National Bank of Canada
• "The Best Laid Plans…" – Dwight Bishop, Ombudsman, Province of Nova Scotia; Guy Parent, Veterans’ Ombudsman; Raymonde Saint-Germain, Protectrice du citoyen, Province de Québec
• "Designing a New Landscape for 'Duty to Accommodate' Challenges" – Carter MacDonald, Ombuds, Camosun College; Natalie Sharpe, Director, Student OmbudService, University of Alberta

Breakout Sessions:

• "Text-Matching Software: Gimmick or Godsend?" – Jayson MacLean, Graduate Ombudsperson, University of Alberta
• "Emerging Issues in Municipal Oversight" – Moderated by Kim Langlois, Manager of Investigations and Complaint Services, Nova Scotia Ombudsman; Panelists Fiona Crean, Ombudsman, City of Toronto; Johanne Savard, Ombudsman, Ville de Montréal; Nikolaos Vogiatzis, Ph.D candidate in Law, University of Hull; Larry Munroe, Auditor General, Halifax Regional Municipality
• "Effective Management of Small Ombuds Offices" – Barry Fleming, Q.C., Citizens’ Representative for Newfoundland and Labrador; Bradley Moss, Deputy Citizens’ Representative, NL

Annual General Meeting and Election of Officers – Forum of Canadian Ombudsman

Wednesday, June 12

Breakout Sessions:

• "Making a Case for Fairness in Policy Development" – Kevin Fenwick QC Ombudsman Province of Saskatchewan; Aaron Orban, Assistant Ombudsman, Ombudsman Saskatchewan
• "Writing a Good Report" – Nancy Chamberland, Ombudsman, Université Laval
• "Reason-giving in theory and practice: administrative law meets real life" – Sheila Wildeman, Assistant Professor, Shulich School of Law, Dalhousie University

Breakout Sessions:

• "A Role for Restorative Approaches in Post Secondary Disciplinary Frameworks" – Dianne Norman, Manager, Student Dispute Resolution, Dalhousie University
• "Reasonableness as a Criterion for Ombudsman Action" – Greg Levine, Ph.D., LL.B., Barrister and Solicitor
• "Treating consumers fairly consumers: a question of balance" – Anne-Marie Poitras, Governance and Compliance Consultant

Plenary Session: "Walking the Talk: Ethical Issues and Standards of Practice" – Nora Farrell, Ombudsperson, Ryerson Polytechnic University; Jay Solman, Ombudsperson, University of British Columbia

Wrap Up and Farewell – Barry Fleming, Citizens’ Representative, Newfoundland and Labrador; Linda Carlson, Executive Director of Investigations, BC Ombudsperson’s Office and Planning Committee Co-Chair

Additional details and registration information are now online. (FCO/ACCUO 2013 Conference.) 

Related posts: FCO/ACCUO Post 2011 Conference Agenda; Association of Canadian College and University Ombudspersons Publishes Standards of Practice; FCO/ACCUO Joint 2013 Conference Call for Proposals.