Heather Ann McConnell is a mediator and arbitrator specializing in labour, employment, and human rights disputes. She brings creativity and tenacity to solving workplace disputes and delivering practical results for workplace parties. She is a graduate of the Arbitrator Development Program run by the Ministry of Labour and OLMAA (Ontario Labour-Management Arbitrator’s Association).

Heather Ann also holds certificates in Foundations in Adjudicative Tribunal Competencies from the Ontario Bar Association; Adjudication for Administrative Agencies, Boards and Tribunals from Osgoode Hall Professional Development and the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators; and Restorative Justice Conferencing from the International Institute for Restorative Practices.

She was called to the bar in 2007, after receiving her Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School, where she received the Charles Humphrey prize for Labour. She also holds two degrees from the University of Toronto – a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) and a Master of Arts from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE).

Before becoming an Arbitrator, Heather Ann was a partner in a leading labour law firm in Toronto, where she regularly appeared before boards and tribunals in the areas of labour, human rights, occupational health and safety, education, professional regulation, and administrative law. She also served as a neutral third-party, conducting workplace harassment and discrimination investigations.

In her role as counsel, Heather Ann was a seasoned negotiator at mediation, at the bargaining table, and in rights and interest arbitration in the public and private sectors. She was well respected on both sides of the aisle and had a reputation for ensuring that opportunities for resolution were fully canvassed at every stage of a legal proceeding.