The Honorable Bernard Davis, Minister Responsible for Labour, today announced the appointment of Greg French, Q.C. and Vivian Arenillas, as Chair and Vice-chair of the Labour Relations Board respectively. Both appointments are effective immediately and are for five-year terms. David Conway completed his service as Chair of the Board as of March 6, 2022.
Biographical information is provided in the backgrounder below.
The Labour Relations Board is an independent, quasi-judicial body which contributes to and promotes harmonious labour relations in Newfoundland and Labrador by adjudicating and mediating a variety of employment and labour relations matters.
These appointments were recommended though the merit-based Independent Appointments Commission process.
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“I am pleased to announce the appointments of Mr. French and Ms. Arenillas to the Labour Relations Board. Their experience and expertise will be invaluable to the Board as they work to support important employment and labour relations matters. I also thank Mr. Conway for his commitment and contributions during his tenure as Board Chair.”
Honourable Bernard Davis
Minister Responsible for Labour
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BACKGROUNDER
Biographies of Recent Appointments to the Labour Relations Board
Greg French, Q.C., Chair
Greg French has been practicing law for 24 years. Most recently, Mr. French operated French Law Offices and prior to that he was in-house counsel at Memorial University. He started his career at Curtis Dawe. Mr. French was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2018. He has been the Chair of the Teachers’ Certification Review Panel, the Chief Adjudicator of the RNC adjudication panel, and a board member of the Legal Aid Commission. He holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick, and a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) (Co-op) from Dalhousie University. Mr. French is also a serving officer in the Canadian Armed Forces Primary Reserve.
Vivian Arenillas, Vice-Chair
After several years in private practice as a lawyer, Vivian Arenillas spent thirteen years as a labour relations professional in the public and private sector. Ms. Arenillas has worked for both management and a union, having first worked for the Newfoundland and Labrador Health Boards Association providing labour relations advice to management of the four Regional Health Authorities, and then for the Canadian Merchant Service Guild, a union representing ships’ Officers in the marine industry. She has been the lead negotiator for twelve collective agreements, including several first agreements, and has either advised on or presented at a wide variety of arbitrations and Labour Board matters and other federal and provincial administrative tribunals. Ms. Arenillas holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) and a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology and Anthropology) from Memorial University, and a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University.