Board of Directors

Back Row: Ian Darling, Howard Sapers, Suzanne Belson, Laura Bruneau, Doug Melville. Front Row: Laura Bradbury, Justine Sentenne, Nora Farrell, Kevin Fenwick

• Ian Darling (President)
• Kevin Fenwick (Vice-President)
• Justine Sentenne (Secretary)
• Laura Bruneau (Treasurer)
• Suzanne Belson
• Laura Bradbury
• Nora Farrell
• Doug Melville
• Howard Sapers

Ian Darling joined Tarion in January 2009 to establish the Office of the New Home Buyer Ombudsperson, and brings a strong background in dispute resolution to this role. He most recently served eight years as the Ombudsperson for Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. In April 2009, Ian received Special Contribution Award from the Association of Canadian College and Universities in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Academic Ombudsmanship. Ian has been an active member of the FCO board since 2003. He was Chairperson of the 2005 FCO Conference, and member of the planning committees for the 2007 and 2009 conferences. Ian is a member of the FCO research committee, and served two terms as FCO Vice President.

Kevin Fenwick has been Saskatchewan's Ombudsman since 2004 and is serving his second term on the FCO board. Kevin spent 15 years in private law practice and 14 years as a mediator with Saskatchewan Justice. A collaborative problem solver, Kevin is a proponent of a broad and liberal approach to ombuds work where one size does not fit all and where every recipient of ombuds services deserves to have her or his issue assessed and responded to appropriately.

Justine Sentenne is the Corporate Ombudsman at Hydro-Quebec since 1991. She was a member of the TOA Board of Directors for two terms and is a founding member and secretary of the FCO (Forum of Canadian Ombudsman) Board of Directors. Presently, she is a member of the IOA Membership Committee and served on the NEC Committee of IOA in 2007. Ms. Sentenne has participated in a number of panels and conferences on the Ombudsman profession, as well as training sessions, and is often consulted by various organizations in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada with a view to creating the Ombudsman position. She was a contributor of the TOA Journal and has written numerous articles on the Ombudsman role. Ms. Sentenne has an MBA from UQAM and a certificate of studies at L'ENAP, she also obtained a certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution from the Law Faculty of the University of Windsor.

Laura is the first Ombudsman of the National Capital Commission (NCC) to be appointed. The NCC is a Crown corporation that was created by Parliament in 1959 as the steward of federal lands and buildings in the National Capital Region, with a mandate and mission to build the Capital region into a source of pride and unity for Canadians. Laura has over 16 years experience as a fluently bilingual lawyer specializing in resolving and settling sensitive disputes involving legal and administrative issues Canada-wide.

Suzanne Belson is a founding member of the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman and has been a member of the FCO Board since its creation in 2001. Since 1999, she has been an Investigator with the Department of National Defense/Canadian Forces Ombudsman's Office. Prior to that, Suzanne was the Ombudsperson at Concordia University in Montreal for more than twenty years. She was a founding member and former President of the Association of Canadian College and University Ombudspersons and the first recipient of the Association's Lars A. Mannerheim Distinguished Service Award, named for the first ombudsman, appointed in Sweden in 1809.

Suzanne has planned and organized many conferences and training courses for ombudsman, including the 1996 and 2000 Ombudsman Leadership Forum Conferences, which brought together ombudsmen from across the world working in government, corporations, long-term care facilities and education. As Chair of the FCO Education and Training Committee since 2005, Suzanne has worked with other Committee members to offer unique and much needed and appreciated training for Canadian ombudsman and ombudsman staff.

Laura Bradbury became the WSIB's first Fair Practices Commissioner (Ombudsman) in August, 2003. The Commission inquires into and resolves complaints from workers, employers, and service providers about the fairness of services or treatment they receive from the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (formerly the Workers' Compensation Board) and is responsible for identifying system-wide issues and policy matters. Laura is a lawyer who was an investigator at Ombudsman Ontario in the early 1980's. From 1985 to 2002 she was an adjudicator and tribunal chair in Ontario and British Columbia.

Nora has been active in the field of ombudsmanship in a number of areas: Ombudsperson for Ryerson University for eight years; Ombudsman for the Canadian Franchise Association and International Franchise Association (on a contract basis) for four years; Manager of Investigations/Complaint Resolution for Ombudsman Ontario for five years.

Nora earned a LL.M. (Master of Laws degree) in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University and a M.Ed. (Master of Education) in Adult Education from the University of British Columbia. She is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. Nora also has extensive training and experience in mediation and in the design and delivery of training in effective conflict resolution. She has been active as a volunteer in the literacy field for many years both as an individual tutor and as a board member and Chair of the Foundation for Frontier College, a national literacy organization.

A lawyer by training with over 16 years of experience in financial services, Doug leads the team responsible for investigation and resolution of consumer complaints arising from Canada's banking sector. He also leads the Client Services team handling the intake of all OBSI complaints and inquiries. A trained mediator, Doug currently serves on the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Section Executive of the Ontario Bar Association and is Co-Editor of the OBA's ADR Newsletter.