Partner Toronto 416 360.2897 cedwards@heenan.caCall to the BarOntario, 1986 Areas of ExpertiseOccupational Health & Safety Workers' Compensation Employment Litigation Labour & Employment Law Labour Relations Board Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Human Rights | | Cheryl A. Edwards Cheryl A. Edwards is Lead in the firm’s OHS & Workers’ Compensation practice group. She brings a highly focused, strategic and practical approach to workplace safety management, problems and litigation for provincial, national and international clients of the firm. A former Ontario Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Prosecutor, Cheryl has been recognized as one of the best OHS and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) lawyers in Canada on the National Post "Best Lawyers in Canada" list, and as a leading Canadian occupational health and safety practitioner by Lexpert for over 10 years.
Cheryl has extensive experience representing employers, constructors, supervisors and officers and directors at OHS regulatory trials, complaints, inquests and appeals. She also advises and conducts litigation in labour relations and employment matters, including grievance arbitration, employment standards, wrongful dismissal, human rights and workers’ compensation matters. She was partner at a boutique labour and employment firm before joining Heenan Blaikie.
Drawing on her extensive knowledge of occupational health and safety law, Cheryl routinely assists clients with proactive OHS measures. These include advice on policy development and compliance with OHS and WSIB requirements. Cheryl has conducted health and safety “due diligence” audits for organizations of all sizes and their management. She assists with the immediate issues arising from a serious workplace accident, but also develops proactive Accident Response Plans and strategies to minimize the legal consequences of accidents. She also conducts practical and interactive in-house seminars and training sessions. Her in-house training seminars provide guidance on such topics as meeting Canadian OHS due diligence standards, dealing with workplace violence requirements, OHS standards when using contractors, discipline for safety infractions.
Specialized in-house training seminars that Cheryl has developed and can customize in length and content for organizations include:
- When Can You Discipline for Safety?: Responding to Safety Infractions and the Exercise of Safety-Related Rights
- The Contracting Conundrum: OHS Liabilities, Due Diligence and the Need for Contractor Safety Programs
- Contracting For Services and Construction Projects: A Course For Federally Regulated Employers
- Construction at Industrial Establishments: How to Get Into the Construction Business While Staying Out of Hot Water
- There’s an OHS Inspector at the Door!: Are You Prepared With an Accident Response Plan
- Workplace Violence and Harassment: A Ten Point Policy and Prevention Strategy
- Health and Safety in the Boardroom: Briefing on Corporate and Personal OHS and Bill C-45 Responsibilities and Prevention Strategies
- OHS Due Diligence for Supervisors: Best Practices to Meet Court Standards
Cheryl is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and writes extensively for specialized OHS publications and magazines, and trade publications. She has delivered and published hundreds of OHS-related papers and articles throughout her career. She is a regular writer for OHS and industry publications including Canadian Occupational Safety magazine, OHS Canada magazine, Building Ontario magazine, Coverings and Wood Industry magazine, Canadian HR Reporter, Ontario OH&S Law Report, OH&S Safety Compliance Insider and the creator and past editor of Canadian Occupational Health and Safety Cases. Education
LL.B., York University (Osgoode Hall Law School), 1984 Professional Affiliations
American Bar Association Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers (CACE) Canadian Labour Law Association (CLLA) Global Occupational Safety and Health Network International Organization of Employers Ontario Bar Association The Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario)
Publications and Conferences Author, "Report critical of federal occupational health and safety enforcement", International Law Office newsletter, June 23, 2010. Co-author, "From Proclamation To Implementation: Facing the Challenges of Complying With The Bill 168 OHSA Amendments", OHS & Workers' Compensation Management Update, May 17, 2010. Co-author, "Corporate criminal liability for workplace accidents", International Law Office newsletter, April 14, 2010 Co-author, “OH&S Corporate Criminal Liability Rears its Head Again in Canada”, March 7, 2010 Co-author, "Ontario’s New OHSA Provisions Requiring Violence and Harassment Prevention Programs”, Nuts and Bolts, the Ontario Bar Association Construction Law Section newsletter, Volume 24, No. 3, February 2010 Co-Author, “Court rules B.C. mental stress requirements violate Charter”, Canadian Occupational Safety, January 22, 2010 Speaker, “Preventing Workplace Violence and Harassment: Evolving Approaches in Ontario including New Bill 168 Provisions”, OOHNA Lunch N Learn Webinars 2010, Ontario Occupational Health Nurses Association, January 20, 2010 Co-Chair, Annual Health and Safety Conference, Lancaster House, November 5, 2009 Co-Presenter, “You’ve Had an Accident – Now What Do You Do?"; “Do’s and Don’ts of Accident Response, – A Dramatization”, OHS Compliance Summit 2009, Bongarde Media, October 14, 2009 Co-Author, "Court Upholds Use of Solicitor-Client Privileged Internal OH&S Accident Investigation Reports by Employers, Not Enforcers", Nuts and Bolts, Construction Law Section newsletter, Ontario Bar Association, Volume 24, No. 1, October 2009 Keynote Speaker, “OH&S Due Diligence: A Practical Discussion”, Health and Safety Day, Mines and Aggregates Safety and Health Association, September 24, 2009 Panellist, “Pandemic Influenza – HR Strategies and Legal Issues”, Ontario Hospital Association Webcast, July 8, 2009 Presenter, “Preventing Workplace Violence: Evolving Approaches in Ontario”, Employers’ Advocacy Council, June 2009 Panellist, “Dealing with Pandemic Outbreaks: Legal Implications for the Workplace”, Lancaster House Audio Conference, May 29, 2009 Conference Co-Chair and presenter, “New and Evolving Approaches to Legislating and Enforcing Workplace Violence as an OH&S Issue in Ontario”, conference entitled “Managing Workplace Violence, Bullying and Harassment”, Canadian Institute, May 21-22, 2009 Presenter along with US and Mexican labour and employment counsel, “Preparing the Workplace for a Pandemic”, Littler Mendelson Webinar, May 5, 2009 Annual “Ministry of Labour Mock Trial”– Co-Developer of Mock Trial and Presenter as Defence Counsel, Industrial Accident Prevention Association, Annual Health & Safety Conference & Trade Show, April 2000 through to and including April 2009 Participant in machine guarding Panel, “On the Side of the Law”, IAPA Annual Conference and Trade Show, Health and Safety Canada 2009, April 21-22, 2009 Presenter, “Workplace Violence: Evolving Obligations and Worker Rights in Ontario”, IAPA Conference and Trade Show, Health and Safety Canada 2009, April 21, 2009 Presenter, “Beyond Regulatory OHS Enforcement: Criminal Law Risk for Organization and Executives”, International Organization of Employers’ Global Safety and Health Network Inaugural Meeting, Geneva, March 30-31, 2009 Presenter, “Workplace Violence as a Multi-Faceted Legal Issue”, Ontario Hospital Association in Partnership with Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and Health Force Ontario Conference titled “Preventing Workplace Violence: Violence is Not Part of the Job”, March 3, 2009 “Discipline as an Essential Part of OHS Due Diligence,” Speaker, Occupational Health and Safety Conference, The Canadian Institute, Calgary, November 17 and 18, 2008 “Tackling Workplace Violence and Harassment as a Health and Safety Problem”, Panellist and Advisory Committee member at the Health & Safety Conference, Lancaster House, November 13, 2008 Presenter, “Is Senior Management Zeroing in on Zero?: Senior Management OH&S Responsibilities and Risks”, Municipal Health and Safety Association’s 3rd Annual Health and Safety Conference entitled “Zero in on Zero”, October 29, 2008 Presenter, “Managing Violence, Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace: Ensuring the Right to a Safe Working Environment”, Advanced Forum on Employment Law, Canadian Institute, October 16-17, 2008 Presenter, “Workplace Safety: Violence at Work”, teleseminar, panel discussing workers' compensation, human rights, OH&S and criminal aspects of violence, The Law Society of Upper Canada, October 16, 2008 Presenter, “OH&S Fundamentals in a Post C-45 World”, Wellington Medical Centre Safety Group Presentation, September 24, 2008 Presenter, “There is an OHS Inspector at the Door – Strengthening Your Tools”, Education Safety Association of Ontario Annual Health and Safety Conference, May 30, 2008 Presenter, “Ask the Expert: Key OH&S and Due Diligence Questions”, 9th Annual Health & Safety Conference of the Education Safety Association of Ontario, May 26-28, 2009 Presenter, “Workplace Violence & Working Alone: Evolving Expectations and Enforcement Trends”, IAPA Annual Conference and Trade Show, April 21, 2008 Presenter, “Trends In Personal Liability For The OH&S Professional”, Canadian Society of Safety Engineers, Toronto Chapter Education Day, February 12, 2008 Conference Co-Chair, Half Day Program on “Occupational Health and Safety Prosecutions: What You Need to Know,” Ontario Bar Association, December 10, 2007 “Civil Claims, OH&S and Criminal Prosecutions in the Courts” – Presenter on Panel at Lancaster House Annual Health and Safety Conference, Update 2007, November 7, 2007 “Impact of OH&S Legislation During a Disaster” – Presentation at First and Second Municipal Health & Safety Association conferences, October 3, 2006 and October 2, 2007 “Contracting for Services: The OH&S Due Diligence Conundrum” – Presenter, Schedule II Employers Group Conference and Trade Show, September 27, 2007 Employer Liability for Contractors under the Occupational Health and Safety Act: A Practical Guide, CLV Special Report, Carswell/Thomson Professional Publishing, Second Edition, 2007 “OH&S Liabilities, Due Diligence, and the Need for Contractor Safety Programs” – Presentation for the Ontario Association of School Business Officials (OASBO), January 25, 2007 “Bill C-45 and Potential D&O Liability: Assessing the Risks of Criminal Prosecution Faced by corporations and their Boards and Management” – Presenter, the Canadian Institute 10th Annual Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Conference, October 31, 2006 OH&S Due Diligence in Ontario: A Practical Guide, CLV Special Report, Carswell/Thomson Professional Publishing, Second Edition, 2006 “Construction at Industrial Establishments” – Co-Presenter on Panel, at Industrial Accident Prevention Association, Annual Health & Safety Conference & Trade Show, May 2, 2006 Corporate and Organizational Liability for OH&S Under Bill C-45, CLV Special Report, Carswell/Thomson Professional Publishing, 2005 “Bill C-45 Criminal Code Amendments and Implications for the Public Sector” – Presentation for The Canadian Institute, 11th Annual Municipal/Provincial Government Liability Conference, February 17, 2005 “Managing Your Business to Maximize Worker Safety and Minimize OH&S Enforcement Costs” – Presenter at Council of Ontario Construction Associations’ Industry Exchange Conference, February 10, 2005 “Occupational Health and Safety-New Criminal Liabilities and Increased Enforcement Initiatives for the Construction Sector” – Presenter, The Canadian Institute, Construction Superconference, November 29, 2004 Conference Co-chair and Presenter – The Canadian Institute, Two-Day Conference, “New Criminal Liability for Organizations Under Bill C-45”, May 3 and 4, 2004 “Occupational Health & Safety Due Diligence: The Future is Now” - Chair and Presenter of Full day Presentation at Voices of the Future, Ontario Occupational Health Nurses Association, 32nd Annual OOHNA Conference, October 1-3, 2003 “Current Occupational Health and Safety Issues Impacting Construction Sites” – Presenter at 12th Annual Construction Superconference, Canadian Institute, December 12-13, 2002 “Taking Due Diligence to a New Dimension” – Presenter at Canadian Society of Safety Engineers Professional Development Conference, November 3-6, 2002 “Occupational Health and Safety: New Requirements and New Employer Rights” – Presenter at 2002 Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Ontario Bar Association, January 24-26, 2002 Conference Co-chair, 10th Annual Worksafe OH&S Conference, and Presenter of “Complying with the New Guidelines for Pre-Start Health and Safety Reviews”, The Canadian Institute, November 26 and 27, 2001 "Violence in the Workplace Forum" - Chair and Presenter, Industrial Accident Prevention Association, Annual Health & Safety Conference & Trade Show, April 10, 2000 Occupational Health and Safety in Ontario: An Employer’s Guide, Loose-leaf text, First Edition 1990, Second Edition 1995, Carswell/Thomson Professional Publishing, Toronto, Ontario Co-Editor and Co-Founder, Canadian Occupational Health and Safety Cases, reporting service for Canadian occupational health and safety case law, Carswell/Thomson Professional Publishing, Toronto, Ontario, September 1989 to February 1994
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