BASS ASSOCIATES - Key Persons
Mr. Bass graduated from the University of Waterloo with an honours degree in mathematics and computer science. He then spent three and one-half years in labour relations with The Metropolitan Toronto School Board. He was the Board's key resource in preparing data in support of the Board's positions in negotiations with teachers. Following that, Mr. Bass became the Director of Research and Information and a senior negotiator with the Ontario Hospital Association. In addition, he also developed an interactive computerized data system in support of province-wide bargaining and contract administration in that sector, including a total compensation model to accurately measure settlement costs for the numerous participants. In his role of Director of Research, Mr. Bass sat as the OHA representative on many central bargaining teams including those involving OPSEU, SEIU and CUPE. Mr. Bass graduated to the role of chief spokesman in negotiations and at arbitration in the 1980/81 set of hospital central negotiations with CUPE and SEIU.
Job Titles:
- Labour and Employment Lawyer
Donna Walrond is a labour and employment lawyer at Bass Associates Professional Corporation.
Donna holds a Specialized Honours degree in Public Policy and Administration from York University. Donna is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2008.
Prior to joining Bass Associates, Donna worked as an in-house lawyer for large municipal employers in the education and transportation sectors. In these settings, Donna has provided legal advice and representation on complex matters with unions and non-unionized employees.
Donna has also worked as an in-house lawyer specializing in pay equity and interest arbitration for a large union representing broader public sector employees throughout Ontario in the health care sector for a number of years.
Donna is a problem solver and has a passion for assisting parties achieve resolutions to workplace conflicts that are practical and take into consideration the complexities of government regulation and good labour relations.
Donna has appeared in numerous hearings including grievance and interest arbitrations, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal and the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
Donna's practice covers all aspects of the employment relationship with unionized and non-unionized employees. This includes regularly providing advice on pay equity, discipline, performance management, human rights, harassment and collective agreement interpretation.
The consultants are supported by Judy Edwards, our researcher skilled in labour market analysis, including total compensation costing, collective agreement comparisons and labour market indicators. Judy worked as a senior labour relations research officer at the Ontario Hospital Association before joined Bass Research Services in 1982.
Malcolm Winter earned his Masters Degree in Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Queens University in Kingston , Ontario in 1984. Prior to studying at Queens he pursued a Masters Degree in Freshwater Biology from Trent University in Peterborough Ontario. The MBA focused his presentation, research and analytical skills he had developed while at Trent.
Throughout his career, which has spanned over thirty years, he has moved from being a labour relations generalist in a large Tertiary Care Hospital in Kingston to advising and representing clients in both the public and private sectors in a number of roles including:
Mary-Claire Bass is a labour and employment lawyer at Bass Associates.
Mary-Claire has an Honours Commerce degree from the University of Guelph. She worked at the Ontario Public Service in the Treasury Board Secretariat. In this role, she actively participated in major bargaining rounds for the government.
She then obtained her legal degree from the University of Bristol. She completed her Articles at Bass Associates and was called to the bar in June 2019.
At Bass Associates, Mary-Claire provides legal and labour relations services to clients in the full range of employment and labour matters. Her current practice includes the negotiation of collective agreements, interest arbitration, rights arbitration, pay equity analysis and representing clients at the Labour Relations Board and pay equity matters.
Meg Fitzpatrick works as part of the research team to provide in-depth support for collective bargaining and arbitration briefs in both public sector and nursing home files. Meg joined Bass Associates in 2013 after completing her Master of Information degree at the University of Toronto. She also specializes in internal information management, database analysis, and comparative analysis of collective agreements. As a volunteer with WAV at the Hospital for Sick Children, Meg provides time outside of work to support various fundraising initiatives.
Melissa Keeshan is a labour and employment lawyer at Bass Associates P.C.
Melissa obtained her two law degrees (a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Civil Law) from McGill University in 2016 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2017. While obtaining her law degrees, Melissa worked as a summer intern at the Samuel-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic and as a research assistant for the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Privacy Association.
Melissa also worked in legal publishing for 10 years. Melissa worked as a freelance editor and writer for Carswell (Thomson Reuters)'s HR, Payroll, OH&S and Records Retention department from 2014 to 2016, contributing to a variety of human resources, labour, and employment law publications including Human Resources Management in Canada, The TDG (Transportation of Dangerous Goods) Compliance Manual: Clear Language Edition, and The Employment Law Report. She also worked as a freelance production editor on LexisNexis Canada's premiere legal encyclopedia, Halsbury's Laws of Canada, from 2006-2013.
At Bass Associates, Melissa provides legal and labour relations services to clients in the full range of employment and labour matters. Her current practice includes the negotiation of collective agreements, interest arbitration, rights arbitration, and representing clients at the Ontario Labour Relations Board and the Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal.
Michael Allen was called to the Ontario Bar in 1987, and has practiced labour and employment law in a number of settings since then. Michael has had notable success in pay equity, collective bargaining and has taught at university level. Over 35 years of practice, he has represented employers in the Courts and before tribunals including in grievance arbitrations.
Michael joined Bass Associates in 1995. He provides a variety of legal services to clients who range from health care to advertising to trucking. Michael has been the spokesperson for many clients of the firm in collective bargaining, including interest arbitration in the health care sector, and in Children's Mental Health.
For the past decade, Michael has represented a group of 250 nursing homes as lead counsel at the Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal. Elsewhere in the pay equity landscape he has worked with employers and their unions to collaboratively develop pay equity plans and to maintain them.
Michael has taught courses on the Art of Negotiation at the University of Toronto
Of recent note, he was counsel in a case before the Pay Equity Hearing Tribunal which successfully excluded unions from the maintenance of Pay Equity for bargaining units.
Mr. Wood has been with Bass Associates since 2007 and currently represents numerous nursing home and retirement home clients. He has extensive experience with interest arbitration, collective bargaining, grievance resolution and organizing activities.
Prior to his employment with Bass Associates, Mr. Wood was employed as a Senior Research Associate at the Conference Board of Canada, as Director of Research at Service Employees International Union and as an Analyst for the Government of Ontario.
Ryan has achieved significant success in his many rounds of collective bargaining and interest arbitration at Bass Associates. While capturing the broad range of Bass Associates clients, he has placed a particular focus on the Retirement Home Sector and Home Care providers.
Ryan works out of the Ottawa office and his clients take him across Canada.
Mr. Wood holds a BA in Economics from Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Quebec, a Masters in Industrial Relations from Queen's University in Kingston and a Masters in Economics from Queen's University in Kingston.