KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Sponsored by WorkSafe by Lionel Crowther, Winniepg Fire shares his journey to recovery after losing two crew members.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER sponsored by Sunshine Coast Health Centre: Ben Vernon explains his unexpected Nightmares: A Paramedic attacked and stabbed on duty describes the hurdles of recovering from an OSI.

BC First Responder Steering committee: Building Resilient Workplaces by Trudi Rondou.

Cancer Screening and Prevention: The latest cancer prevention and screening options by Dr. Wendy Ross.

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

• WorkSafe BC: Life of a claim, presumption and policy update, death/funeral benefits and Occupational Disease claims by Tanya Houghton; Sheena Clarkson; Ashley Spetch.
• Workers Comp Alberta: Appeals, presumption legislation, regulations by Jay Williamson, Bill Ostapek.
• Workers Comp Saskatchewan: Appeals, presumption legislation, regulations by Jeff Reader.

Right to know Legislation: Lessons Learned by A/C Steve Robinson.

UBC Heart Study: Firefighter heart disease risk and monitoring by Dr. Saul Isserow; Maida Valkenier.

Sleep Recovery Techniques: The First Responder Sleep recovery Program is a sleep deprivation mitigation training tailored for fire fighters, police, EMS, air medics and dispatch professionals in the First Responder community. By Jacqueline and Sean Toomey.

Fatigue Risk Management: Circadian Rhythms & Sleep, by Dr. Glenn Landry.

Homewood's Ravensview overview by Dr. Lyn MacBeath; Dr. Michael Berry.

Sunshine Coast Health Centre Program Update by Dr. Geoff Thompson.

First Responder Health: Clinician Directory & Wellness initiative by Matt Johnston.

First Responder Sleep Recovery by Jacqueline Toomey; Sean Toomey.

Fire Fighter Decon: The latest and greatest info for firefighter decon by Kevin Tomyk.

IAFF Peer Support Training by Theresa Snow; Isabel Ruediger: The IAFF Peer Support Training Program is a two-day interactive course taught by experienced peers from the fire service and behavioural health clinicians. After completing the IAFF training, members will become IAFF Trained Peer Supporters and have the necessary knowledge and skills to provide support to their peers; educate brothers and sisters about behavioral health (e.g., PTSD and resilience); serve as a bridge to behavioural health programs and community resources; and build or enhance their peer support programs. Experienced peers from the fire service and behavioural health clinicians. After completing the IAFF training, members will become IAFF Trained Peer Supporters and have the necessary knowledge and skills to provide support to their peers; educate brothers and sisters about behavioral health (e.g., PTSD and resilience); serve as a bridge to behavioural health programs and community resources; and build or enhance their peer support programs.

Workers Advocacy Training by Paul Rushton; Paul Knudsgard: Topics will include: Initial claim filing and associated pitfalls; Introduction to the appellate system including timelines and issues faced by representatives; Discussion of issues specific to firefighters such as the application of statutory presumptions; Intermediate/advanced topics such as medical-legal issues, evidence, and oral hearing techniques.

"NEW" Provincial Elections and Political Capacity Development Program: You must register through IAFF Canada Office - APPLY HERE. Mike Holiday; Jason Curry; Rachel Roy: This is a proactive engagement, based on instruction and guidance, to increase the political effectiveness of our provincial associations and locals and make the IAFF more capable of impacting elections that matter and delivering legislative victories at every level. The short and long term objectives are; To provide effective and advanced campaign skills and build a network of local leaders capable of managing small-scale local campaigns or playing key roles in larger provincial-wide efforts. To enhance, and where absent build, increase political campaign capacity and structures in provincial associations. Increase the political reach and reputation of the IAFF and our state associations by deliberately building a trained, motivated activist base. Build permanent, self-renewing political campaign structures in our provincial associations, with planning, goals, collaboration and accountability as values.

Bargaining: Basic to Advanced Level by Mike Carter; Gord Ditchburn; Brad Readman; Lloyd Zwack; Sean McManus (Full Day): In this session, participants will start with the basics of beginning a round of bargaining -- notice to bargain, building proposals, preparations, roles, ‘rules’ during the round. Then participants will move into more complicated scenarios of with prejudice, bad faith bargaining, mediation and arbitration, and overall strategy building. The sessions will involve lectures and breakout groups for hands on learning.

Role of Union Representatives at Investigatory & Discipline Meetings - an Interactive Session by Alan Black; Crystal Norbeck; Lorne West (Full Day): A combined theory and practical session; the learner will focus on the role of union representatives at investigatory meetings. They will be given an assignment in the morning and they will provide their group presentation in the afternoon through role playing in investigative / grievance environment. Role playing as Fire Chief, Human Resource Manager, Union Officer are parts of this interactive session.

Discipline & Discharge by Tony Glavin; Amanda Rogers: “Hasta La Vista Baby: You Are Terminated.” Discipline and Discharge in Unionized Workplaces. It’s Judgment Day. Your member’s been terminated. Do you have the basis for a successful grievance? This practical course will review the law around discipline and discharge in the workplace. Learn about the types of offences that can form the basis discipline, and how to determine when a member can legitimately say “I’ll be back” and return to work after having their employment terminated. We’ll cover topics such as how to represent members in discipline grievances, the union’s duty of fair representation to its members, and the assessment of whether to bring a grievance forward to arbitration or seek a settlement.

Contract Language - Back to the Basics: Key Principles of contract language construction, and how an arbitrator interprets language by Rob Weeks; Jessica Burke. Ambiguity - how is it handled? Purposive approach - what does it mean? Collective agreement as a whole - what does this mean? Case studies on language interpretation.

Union Representation - Advocacy vs Obstruction by Rob Weeks; Jessica Burke: When is an investigation disciplinary in nature when is it not? What rights to representation do your members have? Are 3rd party investigators independent or agents of the employer? What is the role of an advocate and what crosses the line from advocacy to obstruction? Strategies and Tactics to deal with Employers that do not recognize your right to be part of. Investigative meetings or do not allow you to advocate for your members’ rights in meetings.

Key Case Law by Rob Weeks; Jessica Burke: Being an effective union representative requires a broad skill set and knowledge base. Labour Law is one area that representatives need to have a practical level of understanding. An important part of that understanding comes from knowing key cases that shape jurisprudence. In this course we will be discussing some examples of those key cases that every union representative should know.

Medical Privacy by Rob Weeks; Jessica Burke: The employer’s rights to medical information and your member’s right to medical privacy intersect in the employer/employee relationship. In this course we hope to answer some common questions such as: What rights do your members have in regards to their private medical information When information is requested who gets it and who can ask for it? Do your members get to ask why the information asked of them is being collected? Once the employer receives medical information are there rules on how it is handled? What information is the employer entitled to and are there situations in which the employer is entitled to more information? Can the employer make an allegation of culpability and if so what does that mean? How does accommodation and GRTW fit into this and is there a difference? Can the employer demand your member sees a specialist and if so in what circumstances? Do BFOR’s play a role in accommodation and if so in what way? What is an IME and when is it appropriate? By Rob Weeks; Jessica Burke

First Responder Sleep Recovery Training by Jacqueline Toomey; Sean Toomey: Pre-Paid Course: This 4 Hour Training Is Broken Into 2 Segments, Educational & Experiential. It Includes Research On First Responder Sleep Related Health Issues, Nutrition For Optimal Recovery, How To Improve Sleep With Transformative Sleep Routines, Sleep Recovery Practices™ And Confidential Community Resources. Sleep Recovery Practices™ Have Been Proven To Directly Benefit Sleep, Treat Pts, Anxiety, Depression And Support Everything From Performance, Mental Wellness, Stress Reduction, Energy And Cardiovascular Health. This Training Will Be Invaluable To Restoring Your Energy, Improving Your Hormones, Enhancing Your Immune System And Offer Peace Of Mind With Drastically Improved Sleep.

Union Officers: Responsibilities Including Topical Issues and Duty Of Fair Representation Federal Election Recap And Overview by Sean McManus; Scott Marks: The roles and responsibilities for union executive members has increased dramatically over the last number of years leading to increased workload and more demands being made by members. Bargaining, grievances and the “traditional” areas of representation continue to take up the bulk of an executive’s time, but now areas such as human rights, accommodation, mandatory retirement, and social media have become part of the daily workload. This session will address topical issues for executives such as without prejudice discussions (including bargaining proposals), social media, past practice/estoppel to name a few. Coupled with those duties is the statutory obligation to fairly represent all members which will also be addressed as there has been an increase in duty of fair representation (DFR) complaints by members. Finally, the session will provide an overview of the recent federal election including the IAFF’s involvement – what went right and what did not.

Tools for Secretary Treasurers by Jamie Blayney: Secretary & Treasurers have an important role. Recording, communicating, and ensuring your members’ dues are being used appropriately. Learn tools, tips and collaborate with your peers on making your position a success including technology and committee structures.

G-Suite Introduction: Cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools by Brian Catinus; Jake Van Buschbach (Full Day): An introduction to cloud based data management for your Local. Including real time collaboration for data creation and management. We will look at G-Suite’s host of products to help your Local effectively manage your Local’s business. Including Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive and Sites. As well as how we safely share the information we create.

G-Suite Advanced: Apply the Collaboration by Brian Catinus; Jake Van Buschbach (Full Day): For a full day session, we will look at what it takes to administer G-Suite for your Local. Expanding on the root programs described in the first session to look at other connected collaborative tools your G-Suite account will offer. The majority of the focus will be on safely and efficiently setting up and managing your administration, settings, security and access for your organization. We will draw on best practices from other Locals as well as industry standards for security and data management.

Digital Communications 101 : Branding, Campaigns, Content by Chris McKee; Lee Lax; Curtis Noble: From successfully developing your union’s brand to building great and effective campaigns - this workshop will set your local up for online success. This class will also provide a step-by-step demonstration of how to build great video content from scratch to get your local noticed.

Goodbye Tension - Hello Pension by Saverio Lattanzio: This session will proivde an overview of the MPP Pension. There will be an emphasis on the intricacies of police and fire groups. Members attending are encouraged to have a Wifi device and access to their respective MPP Pension account.