The Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister Responsible for Labour, today announced 11 new appointments to the Labour Relations Board, for two-year terms, as of December 20, 2023.
Janis Byrne and Roseanne Saturley have been appointed as employer representatives, with Gail Hickey, Sean Kennedy and Jacqueline Penney appointed as alternate employer representatives.
David Hammond and Sean Noah have been appointed as employee representatives, with Christina Kennedy, Sharon King, James Martin and Dermot Cain appointed as alternate employee representatives.
Biographical information is provided in the backgrounder below.
All appointments were recommended through the merit-based Independent Appointments Commission process.
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.
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“I am pleased to announce the appointments of Ms. Byrne, Ms. Saturley, Ms. Hickey, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Penney, Ms. Kennedy, Ms. King, Mr. Martin and Mr. Cain to the Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Relations Board. They each bring a wealth of knowledge and extensive industry experience, which I am confident will prove to be invaluable assets to the board. I wish them well and look forward to working together on labour relations matters in the province.”
Honourable Bernard Davis
Minister Responsible for Labour
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BACKGROUNDER
Biographies
Janis Byrne
Janis Byrne has extensive experience as a lawyer and corporate director, working with diverse organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Ms. Byrne is the former general counsel and executive vice president – legal of Pennecon Limited, a position she held for 23 years until her retirement in 2022. With over 25 years of experience in the governance of non-profit and for-profit boards, she has served on numerous boards, including as past chair of the St. John’s Board of Trade, and past president of the Canadian Bar Association (Newfoundland and Labrador branch). Ms. Byrne currently sits as a director of Growler Energy Inc.; director and chair of the People and Culture Committee, Atlantic Lottery Corporation; and director and chair of the Regulatory Committee and member of the Governance and Human Resources Committee of the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation. She is also a director and chair of the Sustainability Committee, Canadian Manganese Company Inc. (NEO: CDMN); along with positions on the boards of Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, and Junior Achievement Newfoundland and Labrador. Ms. Byrne was appointed as Queen’s Counsel in 2020.
Ms. Byrne is a graduate of Memorial University and holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Windsor, Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Ottawa, an Institute of Corporate Directors Designation and an Environment, Social and Governance certification from Competent Boards Canada.
Dermot Cain
Dermot Cain is an experienced professional with a career that spans decades in organized labour, construction, mining, oil and gas and industrial service industries across Canada. Mr. Cain currently serves as the principal officer at Mid-Atlantic Project Solutions Inc., an organization that serves industry clients in developing and building partnerships, outreach, human resource development, preventative mediation and more. He is also a trustee of the Operating Engineers Atlantic Canada Health and Wellness, and Pension boards, as well as an employee alternate member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Relations Board. Prior to this, Mr. Cain was a senior advisor to the project director at Kiewit-Kvaerner Contractors for the Hebron project in the province. Throughout the course of his career, he has held several other leadership roles such as jurisdictional umpire for Newfoundland and Labrador Building Construction Trades Council; Canadian director, International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE); president and business manager of IUOE Local 904 Newfoundland and Labrador; co-chair of the Canadian Operating Engineers Joint Apprenticeship Training Council; president, Northern Pipeline Projects Ltd.; member of the Building and Construction Trades Department, Canadian Board; executive committee member, Canadian Labour Congress; director, board of directors of the Construction Sector Council for Canada; director, board of directors of the Environmental Careers Organization; director, boards of directors of GrowthWorks Canadian Fund and GrowthWorks Commercialization Fund; and director, board of directors of Union Savings benefits programs. He has also previously served on the board of directors of the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Safety Association, Provincial Apprenticeship and Certification Board of Newfoundland and Labrador and the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Canadian Board.
Furthermore, Mr. Cain is also past president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Building and Construction Trades Council; Resource Development Council of Newfoundland and Labrador; Newfoundland and Labrador Building Trades Petroleum Development Association Newfoundland and Labrador Oil Development Allied Trades Council; and vice president of the Canadian Conference of Operating Engineers.
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, as 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.
Gail Hickey
Gail Hickey is an experienced professional in the mining, oil and energy industries, working with government, NGO and post-secondary education systems. Ms. Hickey is the founding executive director of the Office to Advance Women Apprentices, and diversity lead for the construction phase of the ExxonMobil Hebron Topsides Project. In the latter role, she implemented change management models to enhance organizational culture and increase women’s participation in the unionized construction industry. For her exemplary work, Ms. Hickey was awarded the Women of Distinction-Business Category for exceeding operator-set gender diversity goals on the Topsides project. Ms. Hickey also has extensive academic training in occupational health and safety through her graduate studies, where her research focused on the organizational cultural and causal factors that contribute to workplace fatalities in non and unionized work environments. Additionally, she is certified in literacy training, conflict resolution and mediation training, is a Myers-Briggs Certified Trainer with Psychometrics Canada and recently completed the Workplace Investigation Training through the University of New Brunswick.
Ms. Hickey holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Certificate in Business Administration, and a Master of Employment Relations from Memorial University.
Christina Kennedy
Christina Kennedy has an extensive career as a practicing lawyer in the provinces of Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador. Ms. Kennedy has worked at the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees from 2006, practicing in all aspects of labour law, and has represented Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association since 2020. She was appointed to the Labour Relations Board as a regular employee representative in 2017 for a two-year term and was reappointed for another two-year term in 2019.
Ms. Kennedy holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) from Memorial University and a Bachelor of Laws from University of New Brunswick.
Sean Kennedy
Sean Kennedy has a career spanning over two decades that started as a plant engineer with British Petroleum Limited in 1997. In 1999, he switched to the manufacturing industry and started his employment with Molson Coors Beverage Company in their Edmonton brewery, where he held several roles of increasing complexity and was able to hone his skills in project management, unionized workforce leadership, collective agreement bargaining/administration and industrial relations. Now in his 25th year with the company, Mr. Kennedy is currently the general manager of Molson Coors Beverage Company’s Atlantic Canada operations, which necessitates leadership of breweries in St. John’s, N.L. and Moncton, N.B. as well as distribution of Molson Coors’ products in all four Atlantic provinces. Additionally, he holds the role of chair of the Provincial Advisory Board for the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) and is a member of the St. Patrick’s Mercy Home Foundation board of directors, having served as the past chair of the Elizabeth Park Elementary School Council.
Mr. Kennedy holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Memorial University, a Master of Business Administration from Alberta, a Supply Chain Management Professional designation, along with Power Engineering and Lean Certifications.
Sharon King
Sharon King began her career at the Waterford Hospital in late 1970s, where she quickly became a union activist with the local union. Soon after, she got involved with the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees, where she delved into her union education and leadership skills. Ms. King started her career with the Association of Allied Health Professionals (AAHP) in 1988 and became the executive director in the early ‘90s. She continued her union education into grievances, arbitration and mediation for 28 years with AAHP, and held the role of chief negotiator with the organization in addition to managing union affairs on behalf of its 800-plus members. As AAHP representative, Ms. King was one of the founding members of the Canadian Health Professionals Secretariat, a national body that represents allied health professionals across the country. She retired from AAHP in 2013.
James Martin
James Martin has been involved in the construction industry in Newfoundland and Labrador for more than 20 years and is a red seal electrician. Mr. Martin joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical workers (IBEW) in 2010 and has worked on some of the largest, most complex projects in North America. He served as treasurer for the IBEW Local 2330 executive board between 2018 and 2022, when he was elected as the business manager/financial secretary. Mr. Martin currently holds this position and represents 1,200 unionized electricians in Newfoundland and Labrador, along with being a trustee on the IBEW Local 1620/2330 health and welfare trusts. He also serves on the executive board of TradesNL, Newfoundland and Labrador’s building and construction trades council promoting and coordinating the interests of 14 building and construction trades unions and their international affiliates operating in the province. Mr. Martin is on the board of directors of the TradesNL Member Addiction and Rehabilitation Program, and Member and Family Assistance Program.
Mr. Martin is currently enrolled in the School of Labour Studies at McMaster University.
Sean Noah
Sean Noah has over 30 years’ experience in the provincial education system, having worked as a teacher and administrator in eastern, central and Labrador school districts. Mr. Noah has varied experience in collective bargaining, pension investment and group insurance services, having chaired provincial committees in related areas, along with school administration, teacher allocation and membership benefits and services. He is a past president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association and a past vice-president of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF). At CTF, he worked with board members to promote policies that would improve access to the teaching profession, including fair labour practices as well as recognition procedures for foreign teaching credentials and work experience. Mr. Noah has also served as the Atlantic Canadian representative on the CTF board of trustees for several years, assessing the efficacy of teaching projects in developing countries sponsored by the federation. At the national level, he has chaired work focusing on the protection of human rights for children, as well as the promotion of diversity and equity in education. Mr. Noah was appointed to the Labour Relations Board in 2017 as an employee representative. He was subsequently reappointed to the board in 2019, 2021 and 2023, participating in the adjudication of hundreds of labour relations cases throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr. Noah holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Education, and a Master of Teaching from Memorial University.
Jacqueline Penney
Jacqueline Penney is practicing lawyer in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia. Ms. Penney has significant experience appearing before courts, tribunals and boards, and acting in quasi-judicial capacity as a member of several provincial and federal tribunals, boards and commissions. Since June 2009, she has been the corporate counsel for Marine Atlantic Inc. and was a partner with law firm McInnes Cooper prior to May 2009. Ms. Penney was appointed to the Labour Relations Board as an alternate employer representative in 2013. She was subsequently appointed to the board as a regular employer representative for a two-year term in 2017 and reappointed in 2019 for an additional two-year term.
Ms. Penney holds a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University.
Roseanne Saturley
Roseanne Saturley has held leadership roles in the human resources and labour relations sectors, achieving successful results in projects related to recruitment and selection, change management, employee relations, collective bargaining and training and development. Ms. Saturley has significant experience working with diverse cultures and groups across Canada and the Middle East, where she was extensively involved in dispute resolution and conflict management. Throughout her career, she has worked in positions with NORDCO Limited, the Workers’ Compensation Board (WorkplaceNL), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the College of the North Atlantic (CNA). She has also completed extensive training related to labour relations, mediation and staff development. One of her proudest accomplishments was the work she performed in establishing the human resources infrastructure for CNA’s campus in Doha, Qatar. Ms. Saturley was initially appointed to the Labour Relations Board as an employer representative in March 2018 and has since been involved in numerous panels with the board across a broad spectrum of issues.
Ms. Saturley holds a Bachelor of Arts in English literature, sociology and business from Memorial University.