DAY 1: Wednesday, May 5, 2010

9:00
Announcements and Opening Remarks
Co-Chair:
Brian Gover, Partner, Stockwoods LLP

9:10
A Review of the Top Cases and Hot-Button Issues of the Year
Brian Gover, Partner, Stockwoods LLP

10:15
Refreshment Break

10:30
Living with the Aftermath of the McNeil Case
Moderator:
Joseph Markson, Markson, McDonald
Panelists:
Harry Black, Q.C., Harry G. Black Q.C. Professional Corporation
Bonnie Bokenfohr, Director, Legal Services and Risk Management Branch, Edmonton Police Service
Joseph Callaghan, Deputy Crown Attorney, Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General
Owen Wigderson, Barrister & Solicitor

• How are police forces interpreting their obligations?
• What needs to be disclosed?
• An update on post-McNeil litigation and judicial consideration
• Can police officers with troubling disciplinary histories remain in positions that may lead to court testimony?
• How is McNeil affecting the prosecution and defence of criminal cases?
• Will criminal defence attorneys who also defend police in criminal or administrative proceedings perceive a conflict of interest
  in aggressively pursuing disciplinary records?

11:45
Use of Force: Where does the Law Stand Today?
Chris Lawrence, Technical Advisor, Force Science Institute, Minnesota State University
Joanne Mulcahy, Harry G. Black QC Professional Corporation

• When will use of force lead to disciplinary action or worse?
  - what is allowed and what isn’t?
• Tasers and the Braidwood Inquiry
• Debunking some popular misconceptions about the use of force
  - insight into the evolving science
  - the National Use of Force Framework
  - less-lethal weapons
• Recent case law

12:45
Networking Luncheon for Speakers and Delegates

2:00
Civil Liability of Police Forces to Members of the Public
Julian Falconer, Partner, Falconer Charney LLP
Eugene Mazzuca, Partner, Blaney McMurtry LLP

• Did Hill v. Hamilton open any floodgates in terms of actions for negligent investigation?
  - meeting the standards in litigation
  - case law update
• Personal injury and wrongful death actions
  - care of persons in custody
• Liability for off-duty conduct
• Liability for procedural breaches in the course of investigations
• Recent case law on malicious prosecution in relation to police
• Dealing with the increasing complexity of litigation
• Risk management tips for police forces

3:15
Networking Refreshment Break

3:30
Understanding the Emerging Risk to Police Forces of Civil Liability to Employees
Julian Falconer, Partner, Falconer Charney LLP
Brendan van Niejenhuis, Stockwoods LLP

• Important recent decisions that create police exceptions to the Weber line of cases
  - implications for police associations
• Risk management for police forces
• Vicarious liability for human rights violations

4:30
Co-Chair’s Remarks

4:45
Conference Adjourns

DAY 2: Thursday, May 6, 2010

9:00 Announcements
Co-Chair:
Julian Falconer, Partner, Falconer Charney LLP

9:05
Ontario’s Office of the Independent Police Review Director: the First Six Months

Susanne Burkhardt
Director of Development & Community Engagement
Scadding Court Community Centre

Gerry McNeilly
Independent Police Review Director

• What are the initial statistics on complaints?
  - volume
  - types of cases
• How has the new scheme changed the complaint investigation process?
  - the new activist role of the OIPRD
  - how is it working in practice?
• Meeting the timelines set out in the PSA
• What new infrastructure is being set up around Ontario, and what is the cost?
  - does the office have adequate resources to meet the caseload?
  - public education about the changes
• Working with the new regs
• Developments in B.C., Manitoba and Nova Scotia: how will their approach differ and how will it be the same?
• What hasn’t changed under the new regime?
• How is it working from the point of view of complainants and police?

10:30
Networking Refreshment Break

10:45
Conducting Police Internal Investigations
Moderator:
Margaret E. Beare, PhD, Chair of Sociology, York University
Panelists:
Tony Corrie, Staff Supt., Central Field Command, Toronto Police Service
Mike Hamel, Former Inspector, Internal Affairs, Toronto Police Service

• Receiving complaints
• Classifying complaints
• Who should investigate?
• Best practices
• Interviewing under the PSA or comparable statutes
• Dealing fairly with a systemically high proportion of unfounded complaints
• Issues regarding statements
  - voluntariness
  - compellability
  - can you subpoena witnesses and records?
  - can you protect the identity of witnesses?
  - privacy, privilege and confidential information
• At what point does a complaint become a criminal investigation?
• - does the investigation change at that point, and if so how?
• - disclosure issues where there is a potential for criminal charges
• When should an external investigation manager be brought in?
• - the UK experience
• - choosing the manager
• Recent case law

12:00
Networking Luncheon for Speakers & Delegates

1:15
Improving the Adjudicative Process
Moderator:
George Cowley, Director of Legal Services (ret’d), Toronto Police Service
Panelists:
Superintendent Jean Michel Blais, Director, Appropriate Officer Representative Directorate, RCMP
Peter Brauti, Partner, Brauti Thorning Zibarras LLP
Lynda A. Bordeleau, Partner, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP, Ottawa

• Can the process be made more efficient?
• - use of case management methods and pre-hearing conferences
  - joint submissions on penalty
  - meeting time limits
• Ensuring procedural fairness
  - will we see the introduction of procedural rules where they currently do not exist?
  - selection of adjudicators: is there structural bias where one party selects the adjudicator?
  - avoiding conflicts of interest
• How does police discipline law differ from employment law?
• Is ADR becoming more prevalent?
• How do panels across the country strive for comparable penalties for comparable offences?
• What are adjudicators looking for from counsel?
• The jurisdiction of the hearing officer
  - can he or she order disclosure, particulars etc?
• The courts’ approaches to reviewing decisions of police hearing officers/adjudicators
• Is there ever an argument for in camera hearings?
• Recent case law

2:30
Refreshment Break

2:45
Current Issues at Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU)
Joseph Markson, Markson MacDonald
Ian Scott, Director, Special Investigations Unit

• How are stakeholders responding to changes implemented in the wake of the Ontario Ombudsman’s report?
  - jurisdiction
  - mandate
• The right to counsel in SIU investigations
• An update on judicial guidance on the rules governing police officers during SIU investigations
• Should police counsel be involved in preparing or editing officers’ notes?
• Will Manitoba and other provinces follow the Ontario model?
• Will the Braidwood Inquiry lead to changes in the B.C. model?
• The Ontario Ombudsman’s office’s follow-up investigation of the SIU’s progress in implementing previous recommendations

3:45
Co-Chair’s Closing Remarks

4:00
Conference Concludes