Michel Picher, a prominent labour arbitrator and past President of the National Academy of Arbitrators, has been chosen as the 2009 recipient of the Bora Laskin Award. This Award, named after the late Chief Justice Bora Laskin, has been established by the University of Toronto to honour those who have made outstanding contributions to Canadian labour law.

Michel Picher is presented the
2009 Bora Laskin Award
by Anil Verma, Director of CIRHR

Mr. Picher, formerly a law professor at the University of Ottawa and Vice-Chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board, has arbitrated hundreds of disputes, in both official languages, in fields as diverse as professional sports, police and fire services, the railway and airline industries, colleges and universities, and hospitals and health care institutions. Mr. Picher was elected President of the prestigious National Academy of Arbitrators for 2008-09. A graduate of Queen's University and Harvard Law School, he has authored articles on numerous labour law issues, including "Truth, Lies and Videotape: Employee Surveillance at Arbitration" (Canadian Labour and Employment Law Journal), "The Duty to Accommodate at Arbitration" (Labour Arbitration Yearbook), "Adjudicator, Administrator, or Advocate? The Role of the Labour Board in Judicial Review Proceedings" (Canadian Bar Review).

For more information about Michel Picher, go to the Lancaster House website.