The Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister Responsible for WorkplaceNL, today announced appointments and reappointments to the WorkplaceNL Board of Directors, for three-year terms, as of December 20, 2023.

John Peddle and Greg Viscount have been reappointed to the Board as chairperson and employer representative, respectively.

New board appointments include James Farrell and David Hammond as worker representatives, along with Patsy Coish-Snow and Wayne Pardy as employer representatives.

Mr. Viscount’s reappointment is based on a recommendation by the Newfoundland and Labrador Employers’ Council Inc. Mr. Farrell’s appointment is based on a recommendation by the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour. All other appointments followed the merit-based appointments process.

Biographical information is provided in the backgrounder below.

WorkplaceNL serves approximately 215,000 workers and 17,500 employers across Newfoundland and Labrador, and administers employer-funded, no-fault workplace injury insurance as directed under the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act, 2022.

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“I am pleased to announce the reappointments of Mr. Peddle and Mr. Viscount, along with the new appointments of Mr. Farrell, Ms. Coish-Snow, Mr. Hammond and Mr. Pardy to the WorkplaceNL Board of Directors. They each bring extensive industry experience and expertise to the Board, and I am confident in their ability to effectively carry out their responsibilities in supporting the well-being of our workforce in the province.”
Honourable Bernard Davis
Minister Responsible for WorkplaceNL

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BACKGROUNDER

Biographies

Patsy Coish-Snow
Patsy Coish-Snow has a career spanning over 40 years, including 18 years in senior executive management roles in the provincial healthcare system where she played key leadership roles in the reorganization and integration of health care organizations in Newfoundland and Labrador. She has successfully facilitated and led many policy, program and system-wide initiatives at regional and provincial levels, resulting in system transformation while ensuring a commitment to safe and quality health care. Ms. Coish-Snow retired from the public sector in 2013 and currently works part-time in contract management. She has been active in board governance roles at local, provincial, and national levels including Director, Canadian College of Health Leaders; Board of Regents, Memorial University; Vice-chair of the Board of the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information; as well as Director, Board of Directors for Workplace NL. Ms. Coish-Snow is also an honorary lifetime member with the Canadian College of Health Care Leaders.

Ms. Coish-Snow holds a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Memorial University, a Master of Health Administration from Dalhousie University and an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

James Farrell
James Farrell is a lawyer and labour relations professional currently working for FFAW-Unifor’s Industrial Division where he advises on all areas of labour law including discipline and discharge, collective bargaining, pensions and benefits, workplace investigations and disability management. Mr. Farrell started his career in 2008 with the Government of the Northwest Territories as a labour relations advisor and has since served as legal counsel to the Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association and the City of Calgary, among other organizations. He has appeared at provincial and appellate levels of court and has experience in grievance arbitration along with a variety of federal and provincial regulatory proceedings. He is a Regional Vice-President of the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers and regularly presents at national conferences on labour law and employment relations. Mr. Farrell is also a community volunteer and plays trumpet in the Gower Community Band.

Mr. Farrell holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Memorial University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Calgary.

David Hammond
David Hammond brings 16 years of experience representing employers and unions as a human resources and labour relations professional. Mr. Hammond began his career in the public sector in 2017 as a human resources consultant with Eastern Health. In 2017, he accepted employment with the Registered Nurses’ Union of Newfoundland and Labrador, where he has held several roles including Labour Relations Officer, Director of Corporate Services and, most recently, interim Executive Director. Concurrently, Mr. Hammond has enjoyed a successful career as a reservist with the Canadian Armed Forces spanning over 25 years. A logistics officer by trade, he is currently the Acting Commanding Officer of both First and Second Battalion at The Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

Mr. Hammond holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Employee Relations from Memorial University, along with the Chartered Professional in Human Resources designation.

Wayne Pardy
Wayne Pardy is an international-award-winning safety professional with over 35 years of experience conducting safety and quality management training, system development, auditing, software implementation and consulting for businesses, governments and labour throughout Canada, United States and Europe. Mr. Pardy is the author/co-author of four books on safety and quality and is currently working with co-author Terri Andrews on his fifth book on safety and quality auditing. He has been active in board governance, including being a past member of the Board of Directors of the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Safety Association, past Chair of the Minister’s Advisory Council on Occupational Health and Safety for Newfoundland and Labrador, and a former advisory board member for the Safety Engineering Technology Program at College of the North Atlantic. Throughout his career, he has guest lectured on safety for the School of Continuing Studies and Professional Development of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, and Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. He has also been a frequent keynote speaker and session leader at many conferences and professional development seminars in Canada and the United States. Mr. Pardy is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for CSA Z100 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems) and CSA Z1010 (Management of Work in Extreme Conditions.) He is also a member of the committee advising the Standards Council of Canada on the development of the ISO standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, ISO 45001.

Mr. Pardy is a graduate of Memorial University and holds professional designations including Advanced Safety Certificate (ASC) from the National Safety Council in Chicago; a Certified Safety Management Practitioner (CSMP); a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP); and an Accredited Quality Auditor.

John Peddle
John Peddle is the president of AMP Associates Ltd., providing consulting services to employers, law firms and individuals in the fields of labour relations, human resources, organizational management, compensation and benefits. Between 1995 and 2008, Mr. Peddle was the Executive Director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Health Boards Association where he provided advice and guidance to chief executive officers and board chairs of the province’s health care organizations on operational and governance issues. During this period, the Transparency and Accountability Legislation was enacted and Mr. Peddle provided trustee education to board members of the healthcare boards. Throughout the course of his career, he has held several board governance roles, including two terms as Chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Employers’ Council, as well as several terms as Chair of their Labour Relations and Workers’ Compensation committees. He has been a Director of the Victorian Order of Nurses Canada for over 10 years, currently chairing their pension committee, overseeing the management and investment of the pension fund for the employees of the organization. Mr. Peddle was first appointed to the WorkplaceNL Board in 2010 as a Director and in 2017 as Chairperson.

Mr. Peddle holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Memorial University, and an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Greg Viscount
Greg Viscount has a career spanning 45 years in business, working in the wholesale and retail food sector and seafood processing. Most recently, he has been working as the General Manager for Ocean Choice International. Mr. Viscount has held the role of Employer Representative on the WorkplaceNL Board of Directors since 2014, as nominated by the Newfoundland and Labrador Employers’ Council (NLEC). In recent years, he has also served as Chair of the NLEC, Chair of the Association of Seafood Producers and as a member of the Board of Directors for One Ocean, an inter-industry liaison organization for fishing and petroleum industries.