Client Education

You’d like to learn about important legal issues that affect you and your members, wouldn’t you?

Our clients work hard to meet their obligations in complicated and constantly changing legal, regulatory and economic environments. We’re here to help. That’s where our client education program, Leading Questions, comes in.

Leading Questions events address the issues that confront you and your organization. They are held regularly, and include seminars, workshops, podcasts, guest speakers, and more. We answer the questions you’ve been wondering about, as well as those you didn’t even know you had.

Many of you may recall our successful Laws & Bagels client seminars held some years ago. Those seminars addressed many legal issues of importance to our clients. Leading Questions carries on that tradition, but offers other ways to engage and learn in addition to traditional client seminars.

If you are a Goldblatt Partners client, and would like to receive registration information for Leading Questions events, please email: leadingquestions@goldblattpartners.com and ask to be added to our mailing list. Make sure to indicate what organization you work for.

If you’re already on our email list, all you need to do is keep an eye out for the invitations to the seminars, typically sent about 3-4 week in advance of each seminar.

Winter/Spring 2021

Since the start of the pandemic, Goldblatt Partners has been offering client seminars via Zoom. Here is what we have planned for the first half of 2021.

COVID Update 2021
Friday, January 29, 2021, 10-11:00 a.m.

As we enter the new year, the vaccine roll out has begun – but it’s going to take a while and we’re not yet out of the woods.

In this Leading Questions webinar, we’ll address some new COVID-related legal issues, including:

• Whether employers can require employees to take the COVID vaccine
• Whether employees who have been working from home during the pandemic can claim deductions on their income taxes
• Whether employees can keep working from home once the pandemic is over

We’ll also update you on any new legislative or regulatory changes, and answer your COVID-related legal questions!

What Unions Need to Know About Criminal Law
Wednesday, March 24, 2021, 10-11:30 a.m.

Join Vanora Simpson, Daniel Sheppard, and Adriel Weaver for an interactive workshop on how unions can assist their members who are or may be facing criminal proceedings – and avoid inadvertently committing criminal offences themselves! They will lead you through the entire process of a criminal prosecution, from charges being laid to a decision being rendered, and possible workplace implications at each stage, including:

• Reporting criminal charges to the employer
• Accommodation of bail conditions
• Concurrent criminal and disciplinary proceedings
• Use of criminal disclosure for other purposes
• Impact of guilty pleas on arbitration

We will also review criminal law issues that may arise on the picket line, in bargaining, when negotiating settlements, and other union activities.

How to Have your Say without Crossing the Line:
Unions and Political Activity
Friday, April 23, 2021, 10-11:30 a.m.

With possible elections on the horizon, Kirsten Mercer, Christine Davies, Joshua Mandryk, and Melanie Anderson will outline what your trade union or organization needs to know about engaging in political activity and lobbying.

This is a two-part series. The first session will focus on political activity, particularly during an election period. We will answer your questions about your organizations’ rights and obligations when engaging in various political activities at every level of government, including political financing, third-party advertising, and in-kind contributions, like volunteering.

A follow-up session on lobbying will be offered in the fall.

COVID Case Law Update and
Your COVID Questions Answered
Thursday, May 27, 2021, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

The pandemic has resulted in a year of new legal precedents as adjudicators have grappled with the novel issues COVID-19 has generated.

As your own COVID-related grievances proceed through the grievance process, you’ll want to hear what arbitrators have said about issues such as health and safety, pay and benefits, and human rights.

Join Simran Prihar, Ryan Newell, and Gabriel Hoogers for an overview of key COVID cases (the legal kind).

You’ll also have an opportunity to ask us about the issues you are navigating as the pandemic wears on.

Representing your members in high conflict relationships
Monday, June 21, 2021, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Grievance and arbitration processes inherently involve conflicts. You have likely found yourself in relationships with your members where tensions run high.  Join Chris Donovan, Erin Moores, and Emily (Hong Hua) Li for a discussion of how to effectively and fairly represent your members in high conflict situations. We will canvass a variety of questions including:

• What are your duties of fair representation and reasonable accommodation when a member has mental health disabilities?
• What kinds of behaviours are common in high conflict relationships?
• What are best practices for communication, record-keeping, and other tasks when working in a high conflict relationship?
• How can you make sure to care for your own mental health when conflict is high?

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Client-specific seminars and training

We regularly speak at in-house educational events organized by our clients for their own staff and representatives. The legal issues we’ve been asked to address in recent months include: social media in the workplace; how to navigate the grievance and arbitration process; human rights issues in collective bargaining; family status discrimination; pay equity; and an update on recent arbitration cases.

We are always available to help you with your in-house seminars. If you would like us to speak at an event you have organized, or to develop a seminar, webinar, or workshop for your organization, please contact Kelly Doctor.