Note: For speakers from outside of Vancouver, participation (in-person vs. remote) will not be confirmed until a later date.
Course Introduction and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)
Raymond Lee — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver
Michelle Maniago — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Avichay Sharon — Branch MacMaster LLP, Vancouver
Western Canada Round-Up: 2025-26 Review of Case Law (9:10 – 10:10)
Shelby Liesch — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
John Martens — MLT Aikins LLP, Winnipeg
Gavin Price — Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes LLP, Calgary
Mackinley Sim — McDougall Gauley LLP, Regina
Health Care Costs: Demystifying the Required Process on Settlement for Plaintiffs and Defendants Under Provincial Health Care Costs Recovery Legislation (10:10 – 10:45)
Suzanne M. Maier — Director, Third Party Liability, Primary and Preventative Health Sciences, Government of Alberta, Edmonton
Jacob Todd — Ministry of Attorney General, Victoria
BREAK (10:45 – 11:00)
Claims Administration Issues: Technical Challenges and Ethical Dilemmas for Notice and Settlement Implementation (11:00 – 12:00)
Moderator: Michelle L. Segal — CFM Lawyers LLP, Vancouver
Rick Anderson — National Director Class Action Claims Administration, MNP Ltd., Calgary
Ivan Bobanovic — Vice President, Settlement Administration, Verita Global, London
Michael F. Mooney — Senior Vice President, Verita Global, London
Nicole Sonier — Project Director, Epiq Class Action Services Canada, Inc., Toronto
NETWORKING LUNCH (12:00 – 1:00)
Contemporary Ethical Challenges: Vulnerable Classes (1:00 – 2:00)
Cindy Blackstock, PhD — Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and Professor School of Social Work, McGill University, Ottawa
Mike DiBerardino — Director, Class Action Administration, Deloitte, Toronto
Professor Craig E. Jones, KC — Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops and Branch MacMaster LLP, Vancouver
Class Proceedings and the Law Foundation of BC: Cy-Près and Advancing Access to Justice (2:00 – 2:15)
Josh Paterson, KC — Executive Director, Law Foundation of BC, Vancouver
Learning from the US Experience: Multi District Litigation and Case Management of Class Actions in Other Jurisdictions (2:15 – 3:00)
Honourable Jacqueline Scott Corley — US District Judge, Northern District of California, San Francisco
BREAK (3:00 – 3:15)
30 Years of Class Action Practice in BC (3:15 – 4:00)
- has the CPA delivered on the promise of enhancing access to justice and judicial efficiency?
- reflections on lessons learned, contemporary class actions practice and the challenges going forward
Tracey M. Cohen, KC — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
Reidar M. Mogerman, KC — CFM Lawyers LLP, Vancouver
Keynote Address and Q&A: Reflecting on 30 Years of Class Actions Practice and What's Next (4:00 – 4:50)
Chief Justice Ron A. Skolrood — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
Concluding Remarks (4:50 – 5:00)
Michelle Maniago — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Avichay Sharon — Branch MacMaster LLP, Vancouver
Cocktail Reception, Location TBA, Vancouver (5:00 – 6:00)