Prince George, B.C.- Allan Hope,  one of the founders of the Prince George law firm of Hope-Heinrich, has been appointed to the Canada Industrial Relations Board  as a part-time Vice Chair.

 

Allan Hope has 45 years experience as an arbitrator and mediator in several hundred labour, environmental and commercial disputes. In these situations, he served individually as a neutral third party or as a neutral chair of various boards or commissions. As a conciliation commissioner, he was given the mandate to investigate a dispute between the three railways that make up the bulk of the rail industry in Canada and its unions. He was also appointed as sole arbitrator in numerous collective agreements with B.C. Rail and Alcan, and he was appointed chair of a three-person commission charged with the task of making recommendations with respect to the compensation of provincial court judges.

 

"In an effort to strengthen and improve the management of the CIRB and make it more responsive to local issues and more accessible to organizations, I have decided to establish a regional CIRB panel with part-time appointees in British Columbia," said Minister of Labour Rona Ambrose. "This regional panel will allow stakeholders to present issues locally, improve the timeliness of decisions, as well as avoid time-zone discrepancies. I am very pleased to announce the appointment of these three individuals who will bring a broad spectrum of knowledge and significant expertise to the Board."  The other two to be appointed are William Terence Lineker and Cynthia Catherine Oliver, both have extensive knowledge and expertise dealing with labour relation issues, Lineker’s  experience is with employers, while Oliver has extensive background with employees.

 

The Canada Industrial Relations Board is an independent, representational, quasi-judicial tribunal responsible for the interpretation and administration of Part I (Industrial Relations) and certain provisions of Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) of the Canada Labour Code. The Board's mandate is to contribute to and promote effective industrial relations in any work, undertaking or business that falls within the authority of the Parliament of Canada.