Summary of Experience
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SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE A. PARALYMPIAN (defined as having competed at a Paralympic Games) ☒ Yes or No ☐ B. CAREER List your 3 most recent positions of employment (paid/volunteer) below: 1. Legal Counsel, Office of the Chief Division, Calgary Police Service; 2. Associate Litigation Lawyer, McCarthy Tétrault 3. Articling Student, McCarthy Tétrault C. BOARD EXPERIENCE (not-for-profit, for profit) List your 3 most recent Board positions below: 1. CNIB Foundation Board of Directors: I currently chair the Risk Committee and serve as a member of the Strategy Committee. I was the Chair of the Investment Committee for two years, and also served as a member of the Finance and Risk Management Committee and the Advocacy Committee. In these roles, I have assisted CNIB in moving to an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer model for overseeing the organization’s investments on a day-to-day basis. In the risk area, I have assisted the organization in re- designing its risk register to account for risks in its regular operations and helped to build a special register which addresses risks unique to the current Covid-19 pandemic. Since the Risk Committee was a new committee formed in 2018, I assisted in the drafting of the Terms of Reference and in developing a risk assessment tool to be used by staff in assessing both the frequency and severity of risks that may arise when the organization assesses whether to offer specific programs to the public. 2. Vice-President, International Blind Sports Association: I have held this position since 2017 after serving as Special Advisor to the President for two years. In these roles, I have completed a restructuring of IBSA’s governance structure by redesigning IBSA’s Constitution and Bylaws. I have drafted resolutions to be passed by the members at two general assemblies. I have assisted IBSA’s sports committees in making amendments to their sports rules and in making their rules clear and concise. I have resolved disputes between members with competing interests by both acting as an arbitrator and in deciding applications related to changes in athletes’ nationality. I chair the Governance Committee and serve as a member of the Legal and Ethics Committee. I also chair two ad hoc committees to implement a new classification system for the sport of Judo and to include athlete representation on IBSA’s Executive Board and in its operations generally. I have also attended the IPC General Assembly to present IBSA’s position on the IPC’s governance review process. 3. CPC Board of Directors: I have served as a director for CPC since 2017. In this role, I have served as a member of the Governance Committee and chaired the Stakeholder Relations Committee. The Stakeholder Relations Committee was an ad hoc committee that was established to survey the CPC membership and other stakeholders to identify CPC’s strengths and areas for improvement. The results of the survey have been incorporated into CPC’s operational plans for this quadrennial and will be used to inform the development of the next Strategic Plan. I have assisted CPC staff in the implementation of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent Abuse and Maltreatment in Sport, (UCCMS). This work has involved preparing commentaries for CPC staff on the significance of various provisions and recommending amendments to the UCCMS itself and in the design of the organizational structure of the entity that will administer disputes under the UCCMS. Finally, I served as the Legal Officer for the Canadian Team at the 2018 Paralympic Games in Korea. D. INVOLVEMENT IN COMMUNITY (Municipal, Provincial, National) List your 5 most significant community contributions below: 1. I work for a municipal organization professionally, In that role, I negotiate significant contracts and memoranda of understanding with other municipalities, the Government of Alberta and the federal government. 2. I have defended over 100 human rights disputes between my organization and others over the past 20 years and represented my organization in several significant administrative law disputes, primarily in the area of police discipline. 3. I have made several presentations over the years to the Government of Alberta, including to the Conservative Party Caucus, on amendments to the Blind Persons Rights Act. 4. In 2012, I received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Premier of Alberta for my professional contributions. 5. I have assisted the CNIB in preparing applications before the CRTC regarding the accessibility of Canada’s telecommunications system from a blindness perspective. I have also provided drafting assistance to CNIB on its submissions to the federal government on the design of regulations under the Canadians With Disabilities Act. E. INVOLVEMENT IN SPORT COMMUNITY (Local, Provincial, National, International) List your 5 most significant sport community contributions below: 1. I have described many of my sport contributions in sections c (2) and c (3) above. 2. I serve as a member At Large on the Alberta Amateur Speed Skating Association’s Board of Directors. In that role, I am assisting the organization with governance matters and in implementing the UCCMS. I have also provided extensive assistance in designing a job description for the organization’s new technical director position. 3. Vice-President, Calgary Speed Skating Association: In this role, I have assisted the organization in resolving membership disputes, restructured the organization’s bylaws and in completing other day-to-day tasks assigned to me by the President. F. OTHER (e.g., achievements/awards/previous involvement with the CPC or para sport community) In addition to serving as a member of the CPC Board of Directors, I also acted as the Legal Officer at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. G. LEADERSHIP a. What leadership skills can you demonstrate? Please provide examples for every skill you identify. • Analytical thinking: I worked in partnership with the CEO to produce commentaries on several versions of the UCCMS and on the proposed structure of the process for administering the UCCMS which have formed a good portions of CPC’s overall recommendations to government and other stakeholders. • Coaching: I provide support to five other lawyers in the organization where I work by assisting them in resolving complex legal issues that touch on several different areas of law and in managing interpersonal conflicts with senior management. • Inclusion: I have recently been named to serve on an anti-racism committee which consists of members of the Calgary Police Service and members of the Calgary community to implement an anti-racism strategy for the Calgary Police Service. I was specifically added to this committee to offer of my legal expertise and previous experience in working with community-based groups. I also provide advice on human rights and inclusion issues to my employer on a regular basis which involves engaging others to implement strategies to prevent future complaints. • Risk Management: I have extensive experience in identifying and managing risk. I manage all of the civil disputes between my employer and third parties and make all of the recommendations on which matters should be settled or defended. I have also worked with other colleagues and staff to developed risk registers and overseen how they are administered at a governance level. • Teamwork: I have served on several boards where members have different perspectives, cultural backgrounds and experiences. These experiences are more fully described in sections c (1) through c (3) above. From these experiences I have learned to be more patient and understanding of the views of others. In leading classification consultation meetings for IBSA I have specifically adopted a strategy to allow all stakeholders to share their views. b. What personal or professional experience do you have, if any, with people living with a disability? I am totally blind and have been for life. I have also served on the board of several disability organizations including the Canadian Blind Sports Association, the International Blind Sports Federation, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the CNIB. H. CV/RÉSUMÉ ☒ A copy of my CV résumé is attached (maximum two (2) pages). ROBERT J. FENTON 235 Millrise Drive SW Calgary, Alberta T2Y 2S5 Phone: 403-466-1352 E-mail: [email protected] EDUCATION 2019: Calgary Police Service, Calgary AB: LDP 200 Certificate 2015: University of Calgary and Calgary Police Service, Calgary, AB: Executive Leadership Certificate 2011: University of Calgary, Calgary, AB: Certificate in Professional Management 2011: Calgary Police Service and Canadian Police College, Calgary, AB: Senior Police Administration Certificate 1992: Queen's University, Kingston, ON: Faculty of Law, L.L.B. 1989: Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON: Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) LEGAL WORK EXPERIENCE March 2001 to Present Calgary Police Service, Calgary, AB: Legal Counsel, Office of the Chief February 1994 to February 2001 McCarthy Tétrault, Toronto, ON: Associate civil litigation lawyer June 1992 to June 1993 McCarthy Tétrault, Toronto, ON: Articling Student June 1991 to August 1991: Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General Constitutional Law and Policy Division: Summer Law Student RECENT MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS 2020 - Present: Member of the CNIB Foundation’s Strategy and Programming Committee 2020 - Present: Chair of the International Blind Sports Federation’s Research Implementation Committee to Establish a New Vision Classification System