Ontario Municipal Human Resources Association Presents:
Spring Workshop Agenda–Stand Tall: Resilience and Well-being 2018
April 11th-13th, 2018
Hilton Hotel and Suites – Niagara Falls/Fallsview
Wednesday, April11thThanks to our sponsors!
The events and activities being held during the OMHRA Spring Workshop have been made
possible through the generous financial support of our sponsors!
1:30 p.m. to
3:00p.m.
OMMI Points: 0.5 / Session A: Increase Resilience and Well-Being Through Enhanced Skills for Difficult Conversations
Presenter: Elinor Whitmore,Vice President, Stitt Feld Handy Group - Mediator and Arbitrator
Would you like to enhance your existing skills for handling difficult conversations?
Do others come to you for advice on how to handle difficult conversations?
Are you sometimes exhausted at the end of the day from dealing with difficult conversations?
Join Elinor Whitmore for an interactive presentation on Having Difficult Conversations.
At this presentation you will learn to analyze a difficult conversation using the six key themes. You will also learn how to manage strong emotions in these situations and how to minimize the risk of being triggered or triggering others.
The participants in this program will learn:
- The six key themes of a difficult conversation;
- How to prepare for a difficult conversation using the six themes;
- How to manage strong emotions;
- How to minimize the risk of being triggered or triggering the other person; and
- How to share these skills with others to reduce the need for your involvement in certain situations.
2:45p.m. –
3:00 p.m. / Refreshment Break - Foyer
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. / Session A (continued):Increase Resilience and Well-Being Through Enhanced Skills for Difficult Conversations
Presenter:Elinor Whitmore, Vice President,Stitt Feld Handy Group - Mediator and Arbitrator
Location: Great Falls Ballroom
5:30 p.m. / Dine-Around (optional)
Join your HR colleagues for dinner and experience the great cuisine Niagara Falls has to offer.
Enjoy delicious food, plenty of fun and good company. We’ve made blocks of reservations at two local restaurants where you can join your HR colleagues for dinner. Menus and sign-up sheets will be available on-site at the Registration Desk on Wednesday afternoon. Attendance is optional and associated costs are the responsibility of the individual participants.
8:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
9:00 p.m. to
11:00 p.m. / Newcomer Reception
Are you a new member of OMHRA – or is this your first OMHRA event? Newcomers are invited to take this opportunity to meet the OMHRA Board Member who will be your Mentor throughout the Workshop.
Location: Myst Lounge, 33rd Floor, Upstairs
Take the south tower elevator to 33rd floor, exit at Watermark Restaurant and take separate elevator upstairs to Myst Lounge.
Welcoming Reception
All workshop participants are invited to come out and enjoy a relaxing evening networking withsponsors and other municipal human resources professionals.
Location: Myst Lounge, 33rd Floor, Upstairs
Take the south tower elevator to 33rd floor, exit at Watermark Restaurant and take separate elevator upstairs to Myst Lounge.
Thursday, April12th
7:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. / ACTIVITY TIME –Let’s Get Physical
Three Great Options:
- Get Out Your Walking/RunningShoes and explore Niagara Falls!Please meet in the Hilton Hotel lobby.
- Join your colleaguesattheFour Points Sheraton gym or pool (adjacent to the Hilton Fallsview) foran independent workout!
- Yoga: Join AnouschkaVanden Bosch in Lake Ontario Room! Bring your yoga mat, if
Wellness Activities - Chance to Win 1 of 2 Prizes
8:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. / Workshop Registration & Breakfast
Location: Foyer / Great Falls Ballroom
8:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. / Welcoming Remarks
Rosanne Mantesso, President, OMHRA
Civic Address
MayorJim Diodati, City of Niagara Falls
Location: Great Falls Ballroom
9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
OMMI Points: 0.25 / Session B:Keynote - Body Break’s Hal Johnson and Joanne Mcleod
Hal and Joanne are Canadian icons – for 25 years they have been on television in self-produced fitness interstitials that promote healthy and active living. Their energy is unquestionably infectious. They are also no strangers to competition; as amateur athletes, Hal played baseball for Team Canada, while Joanne represented Canada on the national track and field team. They recently participated as a dynamic duo in the Amazing Race – Canada!
Join Hal and Joanne as they share with us their strategies for resilience and well-being!
Location: Great Falls Ballroom
10:15 a.m. to 10:30a.m. / Refreshment Break
Location: Foyer
Concurrent Sessions
OMMI Points: 0.25
10:30 a.m. to 12:00p.m.
OMMI Points: 0.25
OMMI Points: 0.25 / Session C1: WSIB Bill 127 – Stop Treading Water and Start Swimming
Presenter:Alexandra Stinson, R.Kin, CCPE (Canadian Certified Professional Ergonomist), Owner, PROergonomics
2018 brings about a more inclusive compensable claim strategy from WSIB that will review Post Traumatic Stress Disorder claims by First Responders and entitle all workers to benefits for traumatic or chronic mental stress arising out of, and in the course of, the worker’s employment. This dramatic shift from physical limitations to mental health capacity will be a stalling point for many Municipalities, Agencies, Boards and Commissions that are questioning how to prepare for and manage mental health claims.
This session will:
- Review the scope and implications of WSIB Bill 127 for your Organization
- Assist participants to understand the challenges with accommodating mental health claims within existing programs
- Teach participants how to evaluate existing programs to determine potential gaps
Session C2:Stand (and sit!) Tall
Presenter:Jon HowardM.Sc, R.Kin, Chief Executive Officer, Apex Occupational Health Solutions Inc.
Learn how to fit the workstation to the employee so they can “Stand (and sit!) Tall” in their everyday lives and bring that knowledge back to their teams, positively impacting their well-being.
This session will:
- Review Ergonomic Theory and common injuries and complaints
- Teach participants how to safely use sit/stand workstations and how to make purchasing decisions
- Review positive impact of technology driven ergonomics on discomfort in the workplace
Session C3:The Nuts & Bolts of Workplace Investigation for Municipal HR Managers
Presenter: Jim Rovers, Senior Vice President, AFIMAC
From leading conflict resolution sessions with senior management to addressing allegations of violence, discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, HR staff are often faced with sensitive situations that require very specific action to avoid further escalation.
This presentation will assist participants to:
- Identify who should conduct the investigation
- Decide who should be interviewed and the questions to ask
- Design the appropriate setting for the interview
- Create professional reports that appropriately highlight all elements of the investigation
12:00p.m. to 1:00 p.m. / Lunch Break – A buffet lunch will be served.
Location: Foyer / Grand Falls Ballroom
1:00 p.m. to 2:10 p.m.
OMMI Points: 0.25 / Session D: Everything You Wanted to Know (But Didn’t Have the Budget to Ask!)
This panel of legal counsel will address the Employment and Labour questions you may have…but were afraid to ask!
Your questions may include topics such as: Marijuana in the Workplace, PTSD Claims, Bill 148 Updates, Attendance Management and more.
Panel: Ruben Goulart - BernardiHuman Resource Law LLP
Jamie Knight – FilionWakelyThorupAngelettiLLP
Anna Karimian– Hicks Morley LLP
Zaheer Lakhani – Bandhu Lakhani Campea LLP
Location: Great Falls Ballroom
Concurrent Sessions
2:10 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
OMMI Points: 0.25 / Session E1: Sponsor Meet and Greet – You asked for it! Spend this time to really get to know our Sponsors and their services. Grab a refreshment and get mingling!
Location: Foyer/Great Falls Ballroom
Session E2: MercersSurvey - An opportunity for Mercers to explain their enhanced Municipal Compensation Survey and for delegates to provide input and ask questions!
Presenter: Elizabeth English, Principal, Mercers
Learning objectives:
- Review the data submission process and best practices — key dates, job matching, data verification.
- Learn how to access survey results.
- Hear what’s new for 2018.
- Ask the survey team questions.
3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
OMMI Points: 0.25 / Session F: OMERS Comprehensive Plan Review
Presenter: Paul Harrietha, CEO, OMERS Sponsor Corporation, Marianne Love, Co-Chair, OMERS Sponsors Corporation
Running a major defined benefit (DB) pension plan is a complex task motivated by a simple goal: to deliver meaningful and affordable pension benefits on a sustainable basis. Since the economic crisis in 2008, the Plan’s funded status has climbed steadily. OMERS has a wonderful opportunity to rethink the Plan – and to ensure it remains sustainable, meaningful and affordable.
The Sponsor Corporation Board recently resolved to launch a Comprehensive Plan Review to help:
- Model the Plan’s long-term financial health
- Explore the full suite of possible risk mitigation and management strategies available
- Fully assess what members, employers and sponsors want and need – today and in the future.
Location: Great Falls Ballroom
4:00 p.m. to 4:15p.m. / SessionG: Optional: OMMI Update – HR Designation
Bill McKim, Executive Director, OMMI,will provide a summary of the HR designation criteria from OMMI.
4:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. /
ACTIVITY TIME – Let’s Get Physical
Three Great Options:
- Get Out Your Walking/Running Shoes and explore Niagara Falls! Please meet in the Hilton Hotel lobby.
- Join your colleagues at the Four Points Sheraton gym or pool (adjacent to the Hilton Fallsview) for an independent workout!
- Yoga: Join AnouschkaVanden Bosch in Lake Ontario Room! Bring your yoga mat, if
Wellness Activities - Chance to Win 1 of 2 Prizes
6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. / Banquet Reception – Foyer of the Great Falls Ballroom
7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. / Banquet
Opening Remarks – Rosanne Mantesso, President, OMHRA
Presentation of CMM HR Enhancement Designations
Location: Great Falls Ballroom
9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. / Networking Event– Elimination Draw! Music! Spectacular View!
Don’t forget your business card for the elimination draw! Win 1 of 3 prizes!You must be present to win.
Location:Myst Lounge, 33rd Floor, Upstairs
Take the south tower elevator to 33rd floor, exit at Watermark Restaurant and take separate elevator upstairs to Myst Lounge.
Friday, April13th
7:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. /
ACTIVITY TIME – Let’s Get Physical
Three Great Options:
- Get Out Your Walking/Running Shoes and explore Niagara Falls! Please meet in the Hilton Hotel lobby.
- Join your colleagues at the Four Points Sheraton gym or pool (adjacent to the Hilton Fallsview) for an independent workout!
- Yoga: Join AnouschkaVanden Bosch in Lake Ontario Room! Bring your yoga mat, if
Wellness Activities - Chance to Win 1 of 2 Prizes
7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. / Breakfast – Hot Buffet
Location: Great Falls Ballroom
Concurrent Sessions
8:45a.m. to
9:45 a.m.
OMMI Points: 0.25 / Session H1: Do Employers Have a Legal Duty to Provide a Psychologically Healthy Workplace?
Speaker: Lauren Bernardi,Bernardi Human Resource Law
There are many laws governing the employment relationship from employment standards to human rights to health and safety. Are they all heading in the same direction? Is there a legal duty to create a psychologically safe workplace?
This innovative and energizing session will examine where the law is heading and what your duties are now and will be in the future including:
- The interplay between employment standards, human rights, contract law, tort law and WSIB
- Whether there is an implied term in employment agreements for psychological protection?
- Whether employers have a duty to prevent psychological harm under occupational health and safety laws?
- Whether the existence of the voluntary National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace creates a default standard by which the course will measure employers?
Location: Great Falls Ballroom
Session H2: Physical & Cognitive Job Demands Assessments: A necessity to accommodate employees with physical & cognitive limitations.
Speaker: Kristan Rossetto, R. Kin, BSc., H.K. GradCert ESLM, Ergonomic, Health & Wellness Consultant– ERGO Inc.
Determining suitable work for an injured or limited employee can feel like tip toeing through a virtual minefield. A Physical or Cognitive Demands Assessment (PDA/CDA) is an essential piece of the accommodation process.
The session will discuss the following:
- What makes for a valid and effective PDA/CDA
- Why should employers conduct PDAs/CDAs
- What types of jobs are the most important to conduct PDAs/CDAs for
- Who should be completing the PDAs/CDAs
- How to use and read PDAs/CDAs to determine return to work options.
Location: Lake Huron Room
9:45 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. / Refreshment Break
Location: Foyer
10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
OMMI Points: 0.25 / SessionI: Legal Update – Hicks Morley
Speakers: Mark Mason, Partner, Julia Nanos, Associate, Hicks Morley
Always a must see; join us as Hicks provides us with their enlightening selection of legal cases and precedents that are impacting our workplaces.
Location: Great Falls Ballroom
11:30a.m. to
12:00 p.m. / Closing Remarks – Rosanne Mantesso, President, OMHRA
Door Prizes, Social Media Prizes,Wellness Draws – You must be present to win.
Location: Great Falls Ballroom
Ontario Municipal Human Resources Association – Spring Workshop 2018 Page 1 of 8