CONFERENCE ■ EDUCATION ■ REPRESENTATION MAY 2012 ■ PAGE ONE

MAY 2012

MESSAGE FROM RIMS CANADA COUNCIL CHAIRBETTY CLARKE

The RIMS Canada Council addresses theinterests of Canadian RIMS members andtheir chapters in support of RIMS mission –“To Advance Risk Management for YourOrganization’s Success”.

We believe that this new mission statementbetter identifies the RCC’s purpose. Weare an important standing committee ofRIMS, formed to concentrate on the needsof our Canadian members.

The 2012 RIMS Annual Conference inPhiladelphia was in full swing during theprinting of this edition of the newsletter. Weare pleased to advise that two of our RCCExecutive attended this very interesting andinformative conference and they will nodoubt have feedback for the rest of us, whowere not able to attend. However, don’t de-spair as the annual RIMS Canada Confer-ence this year has yet to take place. Word isthat our friends in Saskatoon are well on theway to provide us with a great conferenceand venue September 9-12. If you have notdone so already be sure to book your ho-tel for this year’s conference. To find outmore information about the

RIMS Canada Conference, visit the officialwebsite http://rimscanadaconference.ca.We look forward to networking with youin Saskatoon.

The RIMS Canada Council meets face toface twice a year, once in January to reviewour goals and develop the action plan andonce in September to review the progressionof these goals. There are also regular confer-ence calls at least bi-monthly. Therefore, any

issues you may have forreferral to the

RIMS Canada Council can receive promptattention as may be necessary. We are for-tunate to have a variety of talents making upthe RIMS Canada Council with a currentmix of seasoned and new dynamic mem-bers representing the chapters.

The subcommittees of the RIMS CanadaCouncil, the National Conference Com-mittee (NCC), the Communications andExternal Affairs Committee (CEA) and theNational Education Committee (NEC)continue to run in full gear. All of theRCC’s strategic goals are reviewed annuallyfor completion and or amendment includ-ing any new goal developments. March isthe time for the subcommittees to cometogether. It is at this time that they assigntasks to their members based on the RCC’sgoals. This ensures we are all well on theway to success in achieving our goals andrepresenting our members needs for 2012.

Betty Clarke

Brought to you by the RIMS CANADA COUNCIL

A s all of you look forward tospring, I look forward to work-ing with the RIMS Canada

Council (RCC) in my new capacity asChair. My appointment was effective Jan-uary 1, 2012. I am very pleased and hon-oured to have received this appointment. I take pride in the fact that my peers choseme for such an important and challengingrole. I promise to do my very best to repre-sent the RCC, its subcommittees and of course RIMS. I have big shoes to fill following behind Tino Brambilla, KimHunton and Glen Frederick, just to name afew of the previous dedicated RCC Chairs.

The RCC is very pleased to provide RIMSmembers in Canada with regular updatesvia this newsletter. We welcome our neweditor of this newsletter, Carrie Green, avery dedicated volunteer of the RCC, nowback with us as a member of the Commu-nications and External Affairs Committee.We need to say a big thank you to MelissaFerreira who did such a fabulous job withthe design and issuance of so many previ-ous editions of this newsletter. Melissa man-aged the RIMS Canada Newsletter since itsmost recent inception as a hard copynewsletter in September, 2006.

We are delighted to have very special newsto share with you in this edition. The RIMSCanada Council held our bi-annual strate-gic planning session on January 27-28 inVictoria. One of the major accomplishmentsfrom this meeting is that the RCC identi-fied the need to amend our mission state-ment in order to better address the needs ofour members. I am pleased, on behalf of theRCC and its voting members to announcethat our new mission statement is:

HORIZONS 2012September 9-12

Saskatoon, Saskatchewanrimscanadaconference.ca

HORIZONS 2012:

CONFERENCE ■ EDUCATION ■ REPRESENTATION

www.rimscanada.ca

MAY 2012 ■ PAGE TWO

C ome to beautiful Saskatoon,Saskatchewan for the 2012 RIMSCanada Conference, Horizons

2012, Where Today’s Risks meet Tomor-row’s Solutions!

Our chapter is buzzing with activity as wework together to ensure an amazing time ishad by all. Saskatoon is one of the fastestgrowing cities in Canada. In fact, RBCand the Conference Board of Canada pre-dict Saskatchewan will see the highest eco-nomic growth in Canada in 2012.

Horizons 2012 will be held in the newly ex-panded and renovated TCU Place(http://www.tcuplace.com/) in the heart ofdowntown Saskatoon – now a truly firstclass convention centre. You might evenbump elbows with your favourite countrymusic entertainer, as TCU Place is hostingvarious Canadian Country Music Awards

events September 8th & 9th!

Our Program Committee has confirmedseveral leading risk practitioners as keynotespeakers, including: Hans Laessoe, LEGO;Dan Kugler, Snap-On Tools; Carol Fox,RIMS; and Craig Tilford, TELUS. Staytuned to our website for a full descriptionof the program, including topics for con-current sessions.

We are confident that our social events willentertain and surprise you, and leave youwanting a little more of that famous

Saskatchewan hospitality!

The exhibit hall is over 60% sold, and fill-ing quickly. Our industry partners con-tinue to show their support, and all 104 ex-hibit booths will be eager to engageattendees. The exhibit hall will be alivewith activity and surprises - it will be THEplace to be!

Our six feature conference hotels - theDelta Bessborough, Sheraton Cavalier,Radisson, Parktown, Hilton Garden Inn,and the James Hotel - are located in beau-

tiful downtown Saskatoon within a 15minute walk of TCU Place. Shuttlebuses will take you between TCU Placeand all conference hotels. Please re-member that all conference room blockhotel reservations must be bookedthrough the on-line reservation system athttp://www.rimscanadaconference.ca/

Horizons 2012 will go green as the firstRIMS Canada Conference to eliminate thehard copy advance program in an effort togo paperless! Keep an eye out for email no-tifications, as we keep you informed of newdevelopments and the advanced electronicprogram as it becomes available.

The Saskatchewan Chapter of RIMS, ourco-chairs and our team of volunteers are ex-cited to invite you to join us in Saskatoonat the 2012 RIMS Canada Conference fromSeptember 9 – 12, 2012.

WHERE TODAY’S RISKS MEET TOMORROW’S SOLUTIONS

T he RIMS Canada Council(RCC) is a standing committeeof the Risk and Insurance Man-

agement Society, Inc. (RIMS), one of 18committees and councils that report to theRIMS Board of Directors. The councilrepresents RIMS’ ten Canadian chaptersand more than 1,100 Canadian members. Itaddresses the Canadian activities and strate-gic initiatives of RIMS, ensuring that prod-ucts and services provided by RIMS ad-dress the needs of Canadian members andchapters while supporting the Mission andStrategic Plan of RIMS. The mandate of theRCC includes developing and implement-ing strategies to:

• increase the recognition of risk man-agement as a profession within Canada

• enhance professional development opportunities for RIMS members inCanada

• increase the visibility of RIMS and theRCC before Canadian policymakers

• grow RIMS membership in Canada

• leverage the RIMS Canada Confer-ence to communicate RIMS and RCCactivities and accomplishments inter-nally to members and externally tomedia, governments and other groups

• support effective volunteer successionplanning

• promote the education activities avail-able to Canadian risk managers withRIMS Professional Development Department, particularly those thatsupport and complement the RIMSFellow designation.

The RCC and its subcommittees are aunique structure within RIMS. Unlikeother RIMS committees which appointtheir members, each member of the RIMSCanada Council represents his or her chap-ter, and serves on the chapter’s Board of Directors. The RCC members communi-cate chapter needs and activities to theRCC, and communicate RCC initiativesand activities back to their chapter. Each ofthe Canadian chapters has one vote on theRIMS Canada Council.

The RCC Executive is made up of a Chair,Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Past-Chair. The Chair and Vice-Chair must beapproved annually by the RIMS Board ofDirectors. In 2011, the RCC decided totransition to a new chapter representationmodel. In the new structure, members ofthe RCC Executive do not have to be theRCC representative for their chapter. If achapter member is serving on the RCC executive, the chapter can decide to send

another representative as its voting RCCmember. Executive members must havetwo years of previous experience either aschapter RCC representatives or subcom-mittee chairs. The transition to this newmodel will be complete in 2013.

Further support for the RCC comes fromthe RIMS Staff Liaison, RIMS Board ofDirectors Liaison and the RIMS CanadianConsultant.

The RCC is responsible for overall gover-nance, goal setting and communication toand from the chapters, and its three sub-committees are responsible for implement-ing the goals. The three subcommittees arethe National Conference Committee(NCC), National Education Committee(NEC) and Communications and ExternalAffairs Committee (CEA). The chairs of thethree subcommittees attend all RCC meet-ings. Each subcommittee also has a liaisonfrom the RCC to assist and mentor theChair, and to bring the RCC perspective tothe committee. Subcommittee members areselected each year and serve two-year terms.Members are selected for their skill sets andexperience, and to maintain a broad repre-sentation from the ten Canadian chapters.

The RCC is not a separate legal entity; it ispart of RIMS. Although the RCC controlsits own funds in coordination with RIMS

Chief Financial Officer, its financial state-ments are reported to and are part of theRIMS budgetary process and financial reporting, and the RCC’s money is held intrust for the Canadian chapters.

The RCC follows a yearly calendar formeetings and planning. In January of eachyear, all RCC and subcommittee memberterms begin, and the RCC holds its annualplanning meeting. In order to visit eachCanadian chapter, the planning meeting isusually held in the city where the RIMSCanada Conference will be held in the fol-lowing calendar year. The RCC subcom-mittees hold their planning meetings in lateFebruary or early March of each year.RCC and subcommittee members oftensee each other at the RIMS Annual Con-ference in April or May, and help hostCanada Night, an annual gathering forCanadians participating in the conference.The RIMS Canada Conference is held inSeptember or October, and the RCC andthe subcommittees hold in-person meetingsprior to the conference. In October, theRCC Chair and Vice-Chair are approvedby the RIMS Board of Directors for the fol-lowing year. Nominations for subcom-mittee members for the following year takeplace in November and December. TheRCC and the subcommittees also meet byconference call throughout the year.

RIMS CANADA COUNCILMANDATE AND STRUCTURE

CONFERENCE ■ EDUCATION ■ REPRESENTATION MAY 2012 ■ PAGE THREE

www.rimscanada.ca

T he RIMS Canadian Consultantprovides strategic and manage-rial support to the RIMS Canada

Council (RCC) and its subcommittees andvolunteers to help them achieve their strate-gic goals. Bonnie Wasser has been the RIMSCanadian Consultant since 2003.

Her services include specific tasks related tothe RCC’s goals, including volunteer suc-cession and training, policy developmentand maintenance, membership develop-ment, professional development, advocacyand raising the profile of risk managementin Canada. She maintains the RIMS inCanada website and helps produce thisnewsletter. She has collaborated with RCC

volunteers to write submissions to severalfederal and provincial government propos-als expressing the views of Canadian riskmanagers, helped organize two CanadianQuality Forums, and worked to leveragethe RIMS Canada Conference to raise theprofile of RIMS and the RCC. Bonnieworks closely with the RIMS staff in theNew York office, and liaises with theRIMS Director of Membership and Chap-ter Services and the RCC Chair. She alsoworks directly with the subcommitteechairs and volunteers.Bonnie comments, “Over the years that Ihave worked with the RCC and CanadianRIMS chapters, I have seen an almost dou-bling of RIMS membership in Canada, and a

ernance and professional development as wellas internal and external communications andgovernment relations.

Bonnie has worked as an association man-agement professional since 1989. She holdsan MBA from the Ivey School of Business atthe University of Western Ontario, and pre-viously was the General Manager of Attrac-tions Ontario and Senior Vice-President ofthe Canadian Marketing Association. Shehas completed consulting assignments forthe Canadian Academy of Sport Medicineand the International Federation of RiskManagement Associations, and is cur-rently authoring a book on marketing forCanadian associations for the CanadianSociety of Association Executives.

RIMS CANADIAN CONSULTANT

THE 2012 RIMS CANADA COUNCIL:NEW CHAIR, NEW MEMBERS, NEW MISSION & GOALS

T he RIMS Canada Council(RCC) introduces a new Chair,new members, and announces

a new mission statement and goals for2012-2014.

In January 2012, Betty Clarke, City of St.John’s (Newfoundland and LabradorChapter) succeeded Tino Brambilla as theChair of the RCC and welcomed the fol-lowing new members to the Council:

• Paul Provis, Oxford Properties(Ontario Chapter)

• Valerie Barber, Province of Manitoba(Manitoba Chapter); and

• Michel Pontbriand, Desjardins Group(Quebec Chapter)

Betty’s first job as Chair was to host theRCC at its annual planning meeting. Heldin Victoria, British Columbia on January27 and 28, the meeting included a strategicplanning session to review the RCC’s mission and objectives to maximize thevalue of RIMS membership in Canada.

Facilitated by Jill Levy, RIMS Director ofMembership and Chapter Services, thestrategic planning session allowed theRCC to review its 2010-2012 goals andobjectives, identify its target audience,

review its mission statement, and developnew objectives for 2012-2014. One out-come from this meeting was agreementthat the current RCC mission statementneeded to better align itself with the newRIMS mission statement and to better articulate its mandate to support the Canadian RIMS Chapters and the Cana-dian risk management community.

The RCC updated and approved the fol-lowing mission statement in February 2012:

The RIMS Canada Council addresses theinterests of Canadian RIMS members andtheir chapters in support of RIMS mission- “To Advance Risk Management for YourOrganization’s Success”.

To support the new mission statement, theRCC adopted the following goals for theRCC in 2012-2014:

1. Achieve effective volunteer leadership

2. Cultivate a vibrant, informed and en-gaged membership

3. Develop and deliver risk managementeducation, thought leadership, toolsand resources

4. Increase the influence, advocacy andprofile of risk management in Canadaas part of the Risk and Insurance Man-agement Society, Inc.

At the strategic planning session, the RCCalso developed Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Specific(S.M.A.R.T) objectives to enable the 2012-2014 goals to come to fruition.

In March, the RCC held its annual sub-committee planning meetings and tasked itsthree subcommittees (National ConferenceCommittee, National Education Commit-tee, and Communications and External Affairs Committee) to develop action plansbased on the S.M.A.R.T objectives.

“I would like to thank all of the RCC

for a job well done. A special thank

you is extended to Jill Levy, our facili-

tator, for keeping us on track and

focused on the tasks at hand. While I

believe in hard work, I also believe in

taking the time to implement humour

and light heartedness throughout

each busy day.”

Betty Clarke

steady growth in the quality of the RCC’sachievements. What has not changed is thededication and commitment of RIMS vol-unteers – I am constantly impressed by theirhard work and accomplishments”.The Canadian Consultant role evolved fromthe earlier role of Director, Legislative Af-fairs. When Lloyd Hackett, a former riskmanager, retired from this position in 2002,RIMS and the RCC evaluated the supportrequired to achieve the RCC’s goals and forthe further development of the subcommit-tee structure. They decided to broaden therole to include support of all of the RCC’s ac-tivities rather than just the legislative area, andto contract with a Canadian association pro-fessional with experience in non-profit gov-

Top Row, left to right: Tino Brambilla, Val Barber, Paul Provis, Betty Clarke, Jill Levy, BonnieWasser, Jeff SchaafsmaMiddle Row, left to right: Steve Pottle, Robert Cartwright, Karin McDonald, Kim HuntonBottom Row, left to right: Roman Parzei, Michel Pontbriand, Ren Lips, Lynda Lyttle, JacquieRocheleau, Sue Mepham

By Steve Pottle, Chair CEA

CONFERENCE ■ EDUCATION ■ REPRESENTATION MAY 2012 ■ PAGE FOUR

By Bev Duthoit, NCC Member/Co-Chair Winnipeg 2014

NATIONAL CONFERENCE COMMITTEE (NCC)

By Lynda Lyttle, NEC Chair

NATIONAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE (NEC)

www.rimscanada.ca

RCC SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES

T he National Conference Com-

mittee (NCC) acts as a resource

to each conference’s Local Or-

ganizing Committee (LOC) and as a liaison

between the LOC, the National Event

Planner and the RIMS Canada Council.

The committee is comprised of current and

future conference co-chairs as well as mem-

bers with previous experience working on

RIMS Canada Conferences. Our current

committee includes:

Karin McDonald, ChairHydro One

April Savchuk, Vice-ChairCatlin Canada

Patrick Ryan, SecretaryNewfoundland Power

Roman Parzei, RCC LiasonCity of Brampton

Doug Brown, Co-Chair Saskatoon 2012 City of Regina

Steve Matterson, Co-Chair Victoria 2013BC Ferries

Bev Duthoit, Co-Chair Winnipeg 2014MTS Allstream

Janet Stein, Conference Program Task ForceUniversity of Calgary

We would like to thank our outgoing mem-

bers, Kim Hunton (City of Ottawa) and

Barbara Carscadden (retired) who chaired

the very successful Ottawa conference in

2011. We would also like to welcome our

newest member, Janet Stein (University of

Calgary) who will be chairing the new

Conference Program Task Force.

Our group recently had some lively and

very productive meetings at the RIMS

Canada Council subcommittee sessions in

Montreal on March 2-3, 2012. We also had

the opportunity to meet with members of

the National Education Committee and

the Communications & External Affairs

Committee. All these committee mem-

bers are an entertaining and hard working

group of professionals. During the year,

the NCC has monthly conference calls to

ensure our group remains focused on the

issues and that there is ample opportunity

for current conference chairs to bring for-

ward their LOC’s issues and concerns.

The NCC is pleased to report signifi-

cant progress on several initiatives that

have been under development these

past few months:

As noted above, the Conference Program

Task Force is off the ground running as

Janet works to build her committee with

representation from across the country. We

are very pleased to have Janet lead this ini-

tiative and are looking forward to support-

ing her efforts in this critical component of

the annual RIMS Canada Conferences.

living document that acts as the key re-

source for LOC’s.

Consideration is being given to implement-

ing an information gathering system such as

bar-code scanning equipment for use at ses-

sions and the exhibit hall in order to provide

LOC’s with important attendance data that

will assist the LOC in making various space

planning and financial decisions.

In recognition of the need to keep confer-

ence sponsors and exhibitors engaged and

participating with the RIMS Canada Con-

ference, the NCC has dedicated two mem-

bers to meet face to face with key industry

partners to ensure that we are hearing their

concerns and effectively addressing their

issues wherever possible.

We are also happy to report that our

relationship with the National Event Plan-

ner, POP Kollaborative continues to be a

very valuable resource for current and

future LOC’s. Their advice and assistance

provides vital support during the conference

planning stage as well during the event itself.

We are looking forward to seeing you all at

the 2012 RIMS Canada Conference in

Saskatoon in September!

Work continues on the conference brand-

ing strategy (in conjunction with the

Communications and External Affairs

Committee) focusing on signage at the

conference sites, design of the conference

website as well as the presentation of the

conference exhibit booth.

Further refinements are being made to the

Conference Planning Manual which is the

The National Education Committee

(NEC) met in Montreal March 2nd and

3rd and reviewed the strategic goals and

objectives of the RIMS Canada Council

(RCC) in support of the RIMS Mission

statement to advance risk management for

your organization’s success. The areas of

education that were identified for our com-

mittee included: increasing available Pro-

fessional Development speakers and tools

for chapter meetings; identify risk manage-

ment education opportunities for university

students by the end of 2013; develop an

outreach program for non-risk manage-

ment students by the end of 2012. The

committee identified a number of meas-

urement criteria that will be used in the re-

porting of committee activities.

We are working with the Communications

& External Affairs Committee (CEA) to

finalize a bilingual brochure promoting

both the CRM and RF designations. We

anticipate this will be distributed to current

students of Risk Management programs

Continued on page 5 ...

Left to right: Steve Matterson, Bev Duthoit, Janet Stein, Karin McDonald, Roman Parzei, Patrick Ryan. Missing: April Savchuk, Doug Brown.

Left to right: Tino Brambilla, Lynda Lyttle, Tony Lackey, Darius Delon, Bill Baker, Jean-Francois Baril, David Beal, Vanessa MacLean, Betty Clarke

The Communications and External Affairs Committee (CEA) mandatefocuses on internal communications, ex-ternal communications and governmentrelations.

The committee facilitates informationsharing internally among CanadianRIMS members, Canadian RIMS chap-ters, the RIMS Canada Council (RCC)and RIMS. It promotes recognition ofRIMS and the risk management pro-fession within Canada. It supportsRIMS and the RCC in building rela-tionships with and promoting the po-sition of the membership to Canadiangovernment, regulatory organizationsand other bodies.

Before looking ahead to what you canexpect from the CEA in 2012, I wouldlike to acknowledge the work of twomembers of the CEA who stepped

CONFERENCE ■ EDUCATION ■ REPRESENTATION MAY 2012 ■ PAGE FIVE

www.rimscanada.ca

By Steve Pottle, Chair CEA

COMMUNICATIONS AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (CEA)

NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE (NEC)... from page 4

(via the instructors and institutions) as wellas in the conference bags in Saskatoon inSeptember, 2012. We have agreed to pro-vide support to the CEA with educationalcontent for their initiative to promote riskmanagement in business publications.

We had discussions with the National Con-ference Committee (NCC) during ourmeetings and one of our committee mem-bers, Tony Lackey, has agreed to work withthe NCC’s newly struck task force on pro-gramming at the annual conference. We arevery excited about this opportunity as it al-lows us to contribute to our strategic goalsat the same time.

We also had discussions with the McGan-non Foundation in Ottawa last Septemberand another of our committee members,Jean Francois Baril, agreed to work with theMcGannon Foundation to promote riskmanagement education to students.

The committee will continue to communi-cate with the Canadian chapters this year toencourage and promote the financing anddevelopment of education related work-shops, speakers and webinars. The com-mittee will facilitate the ability of a chapterto request a RIMS PD workshop in theircity or to hold any other professional development initiative related to risk man-agement by providing funding up to $2,000

per chapter to be used towards the costs re-lated to workshop attendance. As part ofour strategic goals we will also be develop-ing a “Speakers Bureau” and popular we-binars to share with the chapters that needassistance in their programming.

The committee will continue to keep intouch with educational institutionsthroughout the year looking for opportu-nities to promote risk management learningopportunities at the post-secondary level.

Our current committee members are:

Lynda Lyttle, ChairStantec

Bill Baker Lilydale, Inc.

Jean-Francois BarilConcordia University

David BealOntario School Boards Insurance Exchange

Darius DelonTonko Realty Advisors Ltd.

Vanessa MacLeanEmpire Company Limited

Tony LackeyCarleton University

Tino Brambilla, RCC Liaison

Manitoba Hydro

We are looking forward to delivering on

our strategic goals for 2012 and 2013.

chapters through our semi-annualnewsletter and through a series of di-rected outreach programs to chapterofficers. We will also offer best prac-tices through the RIMS CanadaCouncil website.

• Improve the content and layout of theRCC and Conference websites to enhance member satisfaction and increased use.

• Develop bilingual RIMS marketing ma-terials for use by all Canadian Chapters.

• Work with the National ConferenceCommittee to develop stronger andmore consistent branding strategiesfor the RIMS Canada Conference.

• Work with the National EducationCommittee to promote the CRM andRF designations through internal and ex-ternal focused communication channels.

• Enhance industry partner engagementthrough increased activities at chapterevents and continue to host the RIMSCanada Quality Forums.

The next two years promise to be excit-ing and busy ones for the Communica-tions and External Affairs subcommittee!

down in 2011, Melissa Ferreira, TorontoTransit Commission (Ontario Chapter),and Cathy Myles, Epcor Utilities Inc.(Northern Alberta Chapter). I would

like to thank Melissa and Cathy for theirdedication and support of the CEA dur-ing their respective terms which endedin December 2011. Many of our past ac-complishments would not have beenpossible without the support of thesehard working individuals.

In 2012, the CEA roster consists of:

Steve Pottle, ChairYork University

Virginia Tutino, Vice ChairBombardier Transportation

Gail Cullen, SecretaryNalcor Energy

Sue Mepham, RCC LiaisonProvince of Saskatchewan

Tim Lucko Province of Manitoba

Andrew Coward University of Victoria

Ginny Brooks Sun Life Global Investments

Carrie Green CURIE

As you have read throughout thisnewsletter, the RIMS Canada Councilhas a new mission statement and newstrategic goals for 2012-2014. TheCEA met in Montreal in March to de-velop objectives to support the RCCstrategic goals. Some of the CEA’s ob-jectives for 2012-2014 to deliver onthese goals include:

• Continue to create a stronger networkof information sharing of best prac-tices and ideas between the Canadian

Back Row, left to right: Carrie Green, Andrew Coward, Tim Lucko, Steve PottleFront, left to right: Virginia Tutino, Gail Cullen, Sue Mepham, Betty Clarke,Ginny Brooks

“Give yourselves a pat on the back for

adding such value to the RCC’s new Mis-

sion Statement. Each of you contributed

greatly over the weekend in helping set

those S.M.A.R.T. objectives required by the

RCC and each of its committees. These ob-

jectives are imperative for us to reach the

new goals we have set. This will allow us

to better serve our RIMS Canadian mem-

bers while adding to the prestige of RIMS

as a whole. It became very apparent to me

in having the privilege of watching all of

you work that the RCC is very fortunate in

having such exceptional subcommittee

chairs and team members. What a won-

derful knowledgeable group to work and

network with. This creates not only great

work for the RCC but is a real perk for us

as individuals in expanding our day to day

professional growth.”

Betty Clarke

www.rimscanada.ca

I n the September, 2011 publication

of this newsletter, I commented on

a recent decision of the British Co-

lumbia Supreme Court in which the court

enforced a waiver of liability in favour of

the operator of a zipline at Whistler Moun-

tain. The case was called Loychuk v.

Cougar Mountain Adventures Ltd. It

was, in my opinion, correctly decided.

However, I questioned whether, from a

broader risk management perspective, it

was prudent to seek a judicial determina-

tion in a case such as this where a partici-

pant’s safety was left entirely within the

control of an operator. Specifically, those

who employ waivers as part of their risk

management arsenal may now be justifi-

ably concerned that the perceived injustice

arising from this decision might send up

glaring signals to advocates of legislative

reform. On March 15, 2012, the Court of

Appeal weighed in on this issue and in a

unanimous decision upheld the enforce-

ability of the waiver (Loychuk v. Cougar

Mountain Adventures Ltd., 2012 BCCA

122). In so doing, the Court rejected ar-

guments of the plaintiffs grounded in

public policy and unconscionability.

The case involved two plaintiffs, Loychuckand Westgeest. They were injured whenWestgeest was allowed to be sent down azipline by Cougar Mountain employees ata time when Loychuck, who had immedi-ately preceded her, was suspended on theline before reaching the bottom. Althoughthe guides employed by the operator were

in communication by walkie-talkie, the in-dividual directing Westgeest was not ad-vised that Loychuck had become sus-pended in mid-course. Westgeest wasallowed to proceed down the line and cameinto collision with Loychuck at consider-able speed and without any ability to stopherself or slow her descent. The opera-tor’s employees were clearly negligent andso the only defence available to the opera-tor was the waiver of liability that each ofthe plaintiffs had signed prior to the com-mencement of the activity.

In dismissing the action, the trial judgemade a finding that the plaintiffs were wellaware of what they were signing and its le-gal effect. He also found that the defendanthad taken the necessary steps to bring thecontents of the release to the attention ofthe plaintiffs and that there was sufficienttime afforded to the plaintiffs to read it.The appeal focussed, however, on the issueof whether the Release was uncon-scionable or otherwise unenforceable atcommon law on policy grounds. In ad-dressing the issue of unconscionability,

CONFERENCE ■ EDUCATION ■ REPRESENTATION MAY 2012 ■ PAGE SIX

COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS WAIVER

the Court first made it clear that there is nopower-imbalance where a person wishesto engage in an inherently risky recre-ational activity that is controlled or oper-ated by another. Equally clear in law isthat it is not unfair for the operator to re-quire a release or waiver as a condition ofparticipating in such an activity. Previousdecisions have held that such agreementsdo not in any way diverge from commu-nity standards of commercial morality.

The Court then went on to considerwhether there was an overriding publicpolicy for not enforcing the release. Specif-ically, the court had to address the questionof whether in circumstances where the par-ticipant’s safety was left entirely in thehands of the operator, public policy dictatesthat waivers should not be applicable. Thepublic policy concern is that the reliance ona waiver, and resultant immunity from lia-bility, potentially discourages operatorsfrom employing proper safety practices,particularly where they involve financialcost. The Court considered several LawReform Commission reports dealing withthe issue of contractual fairness with re-spect to waivers. It concluded that none ofthe reports established an overriding pub-lic policy that would justify “judicial nulli-fication of an agreement knowingly andvoluntarily entered into by a person wish-ing to engage in an inherently risky recre-ational activity.” The court referred exten-sively to the decision of the Supreme Courtof Canada in Tercon Contractors Ltd. v.British Columbia (Transportation andHighways), 2010 SCC 4, which dealt with

the issue of unconscionability. In that de-cision, the Supreme Court of Canada heldthat while a residual power of the courts todecline enforcement of contracts may ex-ist, such power “will rarely be exercised”.Indeed, the court in Tercon suggested thatit should only be exercised in circum-stances where the person relying on a re-lease has knowingly or recklessly put thepublic in danger by providing a substan-dard product or service. In other words,

the conduct would have to be so repre-hensible that it would be contrary to pub-lic policy and the public interest to allowthe offending party to avoid liabilitythrough an exclusion or waiver.

The facts of this case were such that thecourt did not see a need for judicial inter-vention into the voluntary contractual rela-tionship that existed between the plaintiffsand the defendant. The court was “not con-vinced that where a participant is injuredthrough the negligence of an operator, thereis such a difference between situations whereparticipants have some measure of controland those where they do not, that the latterrises to this high level of public policy.”

In concluding that the circumstances of thiscase did not warrant “judicial nullification”of the waiver agreement, the court made apoint of stating that if there are policy rea-sons why such releases should be unen-forceable, then any change in the law isproperly a matter for the Legislature.

In the result, we now have an appellate de-cision which enforces a release of liabilityeven in circumstances where the plaintiffswere subjected to the complete control ofthe negligent operator and had no means attheir disposal to avoid harm. The decisionsuggests that judicial intervention into suchagreements should not occur except wherethe operator knowingly or recklessly putsthe public in danger. Of course, if conductdescends to this level, the participant wouldprobably have a valid argument that therelease wording (which excuses negligent,but not reckless or intentional conduct) isnot sufficiently broad to release the opera-tor of liability. In such circumstances, apublic policy analysis would not be neces-sary. The court’s comments about a changein law being a matter for the legislatureagain raises the spectre of waking the sleep-ing lion of legislative reform. In the mean-time, it appears the release of liability willcontinue to win the day in our courtrooms.

Bruno De Vita is a partner with the Van-couver law firm of Alexander HolburnBeaudin & Lang LLP (www.ahbl.ca). Heis recognized in both Lexpert and BestLawyers in Canada as a leading practi-tioner in the area of insurance law. Alexan-der Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP is amember of The Arc Group of Canada, anetwork of independent insurance law firmsacross Canada (www.thearcgroup.ca).

By Bruno DeVitaLELELELEGIGIGIGIG SLSLSSLSLSLSLATATATATATATTIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVVVVEE EE E E E E E E RRRRRRRRRERERERERERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRR FOFOFOFOFOFFOFOFFOOOOOFOFOFOF RMRMRMRMRMRMMRMRRRMRMRMRMRRRRMRRMRMRMRMRMRMRMMRMRMMRMMMRRRRMM

CONFERENCE ■ EDUCATION ■ REPRESENTATION MAY 2012 ■ PAGE SEVEN

www.rimscanada.ca

A lthough Manitoba has had sub-stantial floods in 1995, 1996,1997, 2006 and 2009, the differ-

ence between those events and the 2011flood was one of magnitude and scope.The 2011 flood happened in multiple areason the Red, Assiniboine, Souris and

Saskatchewan Rivers, as well as Lake Man-itoba and Lake St. Martin, to name a few,and some of these affected areas faced un-precedented flooding.

The first challenge was to know what wascoming. However, flood forecasting can bedifficult. Many factors can influence thesize of a flood event and nature can changethe situation at a moment’s notice due toprecipitation events that cannot accuratelybe predicted very far in advance, or un-characteristic quick spring melts.

In the fall of 2010, the December and Janu-ary flood outlooks showed soil moisturelevels and existing water levels across theprovince were high. Combined with highsnowfall levels, the potential for severe flood-ing existed throughout much of theprovince. Staff readied themselves for action.

Once the outlook was established, the nextstep in preparation was to create a responseplan(s) to meet the flood challenge. The2011 flood response team was prepared touse technology in new ways, such as hav-ing Aquadams ready for deployment inrapid response trailers, using Hesco barri-ers for temporary flood protection, andpushing existing technology to new per-formance heights.

Occurring simultaneously was the updat-ing of threat assessments to the existing

FLOOD RESPONSE IN MANITOBA

By Tim Lucko, MaRIMS

vertical and horizontal infrastructure in ar-eas of historic flooding. The resulting threatin 2011 was cause to increase the scope ofthe assessments to ensure the flood proof-ing activities were reflective of the floodoutlooks in non-traditional hazard areas.

The work invested in preparation and plan-ning, as well as learning from past experi-ences, permitted staff to be creative and in-novative when facing challenges on apreviously unseen scope. Having experi-enced managers with historic flood responsemanagement skills proved invaluable. Theirability to predict effective mitigation strate-gies resulted in the reduction of losses thatcould have proven catastrophic. The newlessons learned have been documented toensure future teams can avail themselves ofbest practices and innovations developed inthe 2011 flood season.

The flood response also saw unprecedentedresources applied. There was volunteer

employee participation from across all sec-tors of government, and participation bythe military, local government and floodevacuees, to mention a few. The relation-ships among stakeholders, when faced withnearly impossible challenges, must beforged before the causal event to ensure aneffective, timely and co-ordinated response.

It is likely, or even inevitable, that Manitobawill face flooding again. The 2011 floodtested and validated the already strongflood protection systems. This eventshowed the depth and value of ongoingemergency response planning, the testing ofthe plans and the value in challenging his-torical assumptions.

For information on the flood, you can go tothe Government of Manitoba website athttp://www.gov.mb.ca/flooding/2011/in-dex.html

2011 RIMS CANADA QUALITY FORUM

R IMS and the RIMS CanadaCouncil held the 2nd RIMSCanada Quality Forum

event in November 2011 in Toronto.

The 2011 Quality Forum was attendedby RIMS, RIMS Canada Council lead-ership, Canadian risk practitioners, sen-ior executives from leading Canadian in-surers and brokers, and our industrypartners. The meeting focused on threeareas of discussion:

• Challenges facing the insurance marketfor 2012

• Attracting, developing and retainingtalent across the industry

• The value proposition of RIMS inCanada

Moderated by various representatives ofthe RIMS Canada Council, the two-hourmeeting gave attendees the opportunityto share their insights and opinions on

each topic. Discussion topics included:the challenges faced by the industry andinsurance clients when underpricingrisks, what can be done by all industrypartners to retain and expand the talentpool, and what industry partners wantfrom RIMS in Canada.

The on-going goal of the RIMS CanadaQuality Forum is to provide an oppor-tunity to strengthen the ties between

RIMS in Canada, our industry partners,and cousin associations outside of theannual RIMS Canada Conference. TheQuality Forum also allows the Cana-dian RIMS membership to demonstratethe value of its relationships with indus-try partners and cousin associations andto share ideas and practices for the mu-tual benefit of all members of the insur-ance and risk management communityin Canada.

By Steve Pottle, Chair CEA

www.rimscanada.ca

MAY 2011 ■ PAGE EIGHT

Fundamentals of Insurance Toronto, ON June 11 - 12, 2012

Techniques of Risk Management Toronto, ON June 13 - 14, 2012

Enterprise-Wide Risk Management:Developing and Implementing Ottawa, ON June 18 - 20, 2012

Business Continuity Management:Promote and Protect Enterprise ValueOttawa, ON August 2 - 3, 2012

Cyber Risk: Privacy and DataSecurity Risk ManagementWinnipeg, MB August 13 - 14, 2012

Developing a Risk ManagementProgram for Your Organization Edmonton, AB September 4 - 5, 2012

Integrating ERM & Strategic Planning Saskatoon, SK September 13 - 14, 2012

Accelerating ERM Theory into Practice Calgary, AB October 1 - 3, 2012

Enterprise-Wide Risk Management:Developing and Implementing Toronto, ON October 15 - 17, 2012

Enterprise-Wide Risk Management:Developing and ImplementingMontreal, QC November 5 - 7, 2012

Enterprise-Wide Risk Management:Developing and Implementing Regina, SK November 12 - 14, 2012

Contractual Risk Transfer Richmond (Vancouver), BCNovember 8 - 9, 2012

For a full listing of all RIMS professional development workshops in Canada and the U.S., please visit rims.org.

C anadians were award winners once again at

the RIMS Annual Conference in Philadel-

phia in April.

Former RIMS and Quebec Chapter president Marc

Darby was inducted into the Risk Management Hall of

Fame. Mr. Darby’s career at Bombardier spanned al-

most 30 years when he retired in 1998 as director of

Risk Management and Insurance.

Three Canadian chapters won RIMS Membership

Growth Awards in 2011. The British Columbia Chap-

ter showed the greatest number of new members of all

of RIMS chapters, and grew by almost 20% to win a

Membership Superstar Award. The Northern Alberta

chapter also won a Membership Superstar Award, with

14.5% growth. The Newfoundland and Labrador

chapter was awarded a Membership Star Award for its

8.3% growth. Overall membership in Canada grew to

1,115 members at the end of 2011, an 8% increase over

the end of 2010. Congratulations to all the winning

chapters and welcome to all new members!

CONFERENCE ■ EDUCATION ■ REPRESENTATION MAY 2012 ■ PAGE EIGHT

At the RCC subcommittee meetings in March 2012, KarinMcDonald was presented with the RIMS Canada Council Extraordinary Performance award in recognition for herinnovative work and outstanding performance on the

National Conference Committee.

CANADIANS WINAWARDS AT 2012 RIMSANNUAL CONFERENCE

Editorial Policy

The RIMS Canada Newsletter is a publication

of the RIMS Canada Council and is published

periodically throughout the calendar year. The

opinions expressed are those of the writers and

volunteer members of the RIMS Canada

Newsletter Editorial Committee. Articles sub-

mitted to the RIMS Canada Newsletter for

publication are subject to the approval of the

RIMS Canada Newsletter Editorial Commit-

tee. Approval of such articles is based on news-

worthiness, and perceived benefit to the read-

ership. All decisions of the RIMS Canada

Newsletter Editorial Committee are final and

not subject to appeal. Individuals submitting

articles to the RIMS Canada Newsletter hereby

acknowledge their acceptance of the RIMS

Canada Newsletter Editorial Policy.

Carrie GreenManager, Finance & Administration CURIETel: (905) 336-3366

Bonnie WasserRIMS Canadian ConsultantTel: (416) 636-9745

THANK YOU to all of our newsletter contributors!

The RIMS Canada Newsletter is produced on behalf of the RCC

by PAPPLE GRAPHICS

Editorial Committee

Upcoming RIMS Professional DevelopmentWorkshops in Canada