Transparency • Accountability - assessorsinstitute.ca · Trust • Transparency ... Sean is a career assessor with more than 25 year’s experience in all aspects of real property

Institute of Municipal Assessors59TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

SINCE 1957Knowledge Judgment

DELTA OTTAWA CITY CENTER | OTTAWA, ONTARIOJune 14, 15 & 16, 2015

Education • Excellence • Professionalism

ORGANIZERS AND SPEAKER BIOS

Trust • Transparency • Accountability …The Values of Tomorrow

Page 1 Trust • Transparency • Accountability … The Values of Tomorrow

2015 CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS 59TH ANNUAL CONFERENCESINCE 1957Knowledge Judgment

Conference OrganizersSean Martin, M.I.M.A., President, IMASean is a career assessor with more than 25 year’s experience in all aspects of real property assessment. He is a graduate of Memorial University’s School of Business and the College of the North Atlantic. Since 1997, he has been the Executive Director of the Municipal Assessment Agency, responsible for providing assessment services to 224 municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Sean is a fully accredited member of the Institute of Municipal Assessors and holds the M.I.M.A. designa-tion. He is also a member of the International Association of Assessing Officers. He has presented papers on assessment to various groups, including the International Property Tax Institute, IAAO annual conferences, and

State/Provincial conferences.

Twila Roberts, M.I.M.A., Conference Co-ChairTwila Roberts is a Property Valuation Specialist for the Office of the Chief Assessor, hospitality services with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation in Ontario. Twila has worked for the public service in assess-ment since 1989. Twila’s current valuation portfolio includes all the gaming properties in Ontario, professional sports stadiums, CN Tower, CNE, Ontario Place, Canada’s Wonderland and various other properties.

Twila holds accreditation with the Institute of Municipal Assessors (M.I.M.A) and Royal Institution of Char-tered Surveyors (MRICS). She is the chair of the membership committee and is a past president of the Insti-tute of Municipal Assessors. Twila has been a presenter at various conferences and seminars.

Robert Butterworth, Q.C., M.I.M.A. (Hon.), Conference Co-ChairBob Butterworth joined the firm of Walker West Longo LLP as Counsel on May 1, 2014. He was a Vice-Chair of the Assessment Review Board (ARB) from 2002 until April 2014, following 30 years in the practice of law in the Town of Perth.

Bob was also a part time member of the ARB from 1997 to 2002. He has been a frequent presenter at training programs in assessment and in adjudication offered by the ARB, the Environment and Land Tribunals Ontario, the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators (SOAR), the Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals (CCAT), the Osgoode Professional Development Centre (York University) and the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI).

He has also presented at programs offered by the County of Lanark Law Association, the Carleton County Law Association and the Ministry of Natural Resources. An active life long volunteer, he has served as a member and Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors at Trent University, a Director of SOAR, member and Chair of the Board of Governors of Algonquin College, Councilor of the Township of North Elmsley, member and Chair of the Town of Perth Planning Board, Chair of the Committee of Adjustment for the Township of North Elmsley, member of the Ontario Council of Health and member and Chair of the Rideau Valley District Health Council.

Bob is a past President of the County of Lanark Law Association. He received a Bicentennial Medal in 1984 from the On-tario Government in recognition of his volunteer service. Bob was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1984 and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from St. Patrick’s College and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of British Columbia. Bob is currently an M.I.M.A. (Hon) Member of the IMA.

David A. James, A.I.M.A., Fundraising Co-ChairDavid is currently a Director of Sales for iLOOKABOUT. Prior, he has held numerous Senior management positions with P.S. Johnson Legal Services Professional Corporation, Senior Manager, Business Development, Altus Group, Executive Director, DuCharme, McMillen Canada Ltd., Senior Manager, Property Tax & Lease Ad-ministration, Bank of Montreal, Manager, Property Tax, Bell Canada/Nexacor Realty Management.

David holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, Urban Geography, from York University, is a paralegal with The Law Society of Upper Canada and holds an A.I.M.A. designation with the Institute of Municipal Assessors (IMA). He is a strong supporter of the IMA and has been a Co-Chair of the IMA Fundraising program for over 10 years.

59TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2015 CONFERENCE ORGANIZERSSINCE 1957Knowledge Judgment

Trust • Transparency • Accountability … The Values of Tomorrow Page 2

Carey Stein, M.I.M.A., Fundraising Co-ChairCarey is the Manager of Assessment & Tax Administration for Cadillac Fairview, a Professor in the Real Proper-ty Administration (RPA) program at Seneca College and a frequent speaker at professional development semi-nars and events. Carey’s education includes an Honours B.A from the University of Western Ontario, a diploma in Real Property Administration from Seneca College and a certificate in Real Property Assessment from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.

He is a fully accredited member of the Institute of Municipal Assessors (M.I.M.A. designation) and serves as Fundraising Co-Chair of its Annual Conference and on its Communication Services Committee. Carey is a

member of the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI), Canadian Property Tax Association (CPTA) and the Policy & Advocacy Advisory Group of the Financial District BIA.

Sabrina Mandarello, A.I.M.A., Golf Tournament Co-ChairSabrina has been an active member of the Institute of Municipal Assessors (IMA) for over 20 years holding an A.I.M.A designation. Sabrina has held several progressive positions with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation and in her current capacity as Manager of Valuation and Customer Relations, she leads a team covering one of the highest profile portfolios in North Toronto.

Sabrina has been a strong supporter of education and is also an IMA course marker, she is the IMA Dis-trict 4 Director and was a member of the IMA Membership Committee. Sabrina also Co-Chaired the 2011 IMA Annual Conference and has Co-Chaired the Golf Scholarship Tournament for the last 4 years and has enjoyed every moment.

Lee Taylor, M.I.M.A. (Hon), Golf Tournament Co-ChairAs Executive Director of the Business Development department, Lee leverages his past executive sales, marketing and product management experience to create and deliver value add products and services to the commercial markets. In this role, Lee’s primary responsibility is to source and realize alternative sources of revenue from the commercial arena to offset MPAC’s levies charged to the Municipalities of Ontario. Lee is also a member of the Executive Management Group at MPAC that provides strategic oversight to the operations of the company.

Lee’s educational background includes the University of Guelph (Honor’s Science), Mohawk Collage (Civil Engineering), University of Toronto (Certificate in Business Management) as well as Strategic Negotiations and Advanced Man-agement from the John F. Kennedy School of Business, Harvard University. Lee has Co-Chaired the IMA Scholarship Golf Tour-nament for the last 4 years and is currently an M.I.M.A. (Hon) Member of the IMA.

Sylvain St. Denis, M.I.M.A., Hospitality Entertainment ChairSylvain has worked in the assessment profession and has been an active member of the Institute of Munici-pal Assessors (IMA) for the past 27 years, holding a M.IM.A. accredited designation. Sylvain holds a diploma in Assessment Administration from St. Lawrence College, a Certificate in Real Property Assessment from the University of British Columbia, and a Paralegal License from The Law Society of Upper Canada. Sylvain served on the IMA Board of Directors from 1995 to 2000 and was President of the IMA for the 2005-2006 year. He is currently employed by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (Trenton/Bancroft Office) as a Valuation and Customer Relations Manager.


2015 SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERS 59TH ANNUAL CONFERENCESINCE 1957Knowledge Judgment

Speakers and Presenters (in alphabetical order)

Volunteers provide the lifeblood of the IMA. We are extremely grateful for the contributions of everyone who contributed time and talent to make this year’s IMA Conference a memorable event for all!

Bob Butterworth Sean Martin Twila Roberts Mario Vittiglio

Dr. Pedro Antunes, Deputy Chief Economist and Executive Director, Economic Outlook and Analysis,The Conference Board of Canada.As the Board’s Executive Director, Economic Outlook and Analysis and Deputy Chief Economist, Pedro An-tunes is responsible for managing a team of economists in producing the Conference Board’s medium and long-term economic forecasts along with other economic indicators and reports. Pedro is a spokesperson for the Conference Board and does presentations on the forecast to clients and the public and is often cited in the media.

Pedro joined the Conference Board as an economist in 1991 after working with the Canadian Forecasting Group at the Bank of Canada. He has moved progressively into more senior positions since joining the Board. Prior to his current role, he was Director of the Conference Board’s National and Provincial forecast team; and was responsible for custom research work and economic analysis.

In addition to the regular forecast publications, Pedro has been researching the impact of demographic change on the fiscal sustainability of health care, productivity, and long-term economic growth. Pedro also worked on several international projects, helping decision-makers in Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan and Ukraine develop appropriate forecasting and policy analysis tools.

Jeff Arnott, M.I.M.A., Vice President and Managing Director, Altus Group, OttawaJeff Arnott is Vice President, Realty Tax Consulting at Altus Group in Ottawa, Ontario. He received his diploma in Property Assessment and Real Estate Appraisal from Loyalist College in Belleville before becoming a Prop-erty Assessor for the Ministry of Finance in 1998. After his five-year career as an assessor with the Govern-ment of Ontario and the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, Jeff accepted a position with Derbyshire Consultants in Ottawa, now known as Altus Group.

Jeff Arnott is a member of the Canadian Property Tax Association (CPTA), an accredited member of the Institute of Municipal Assessors of Ontario (designation M.I.M.A.), and a member of the Building Owners and Managers Association - Ottawa Chapter.

Dean Ball, Chair, Board of Directors, Municipal Assessment Agency, NLMayor Dean Ball is the Chair of the Municipal Assessment Agency Board of Directors. He has served on the Agency’s Board since 2008, and has also served as Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee and Vice-Chair.

Mr. Ball has been the Mayor of Deer Lake since 2011 and has served on the council since 1992. In the past 23 years, Mayor Ball has witnessed considerable change in municipal governance, largely through his active involvement on municipal committees such as Finance, Environment and Housing, Waste Management and Recreation. He is also a busy entrepreneur in his home area, running businesses in the hardware, self-storage, land development and automotive sectors. Mayor Ball has been married for 30 years to his beautiful wife Brenda and they have two sons. Nowadays, he revels in his role as a grandfather to four-year-old Tiffany.

Glen Beyaert, Property Valuation Specialist, MPACHas worked in the property assessment profession for 25 years. Glen is currently holding a position with the Assessment Standards and Mass Appraisal Department with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. Glen is also a member of the Appraisal Institute of Canada.

59TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2015 SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERSSINCE 1957Knowledge Judgment


Mark Conway, Barry Lyon ConsultingMark Conway is an urban planner and land economist with over 30 years’ experience urban development. Mark has worked for both the public sector and the private sector including senior roles with the City of Toron-to managing the redevelopment of its waterfront.

With Dillon Consulting, Mark was involved with major real estate development initiatives including Pacific Place in Vancouver. Between 1996 and 1999 Mark worked on assignment with the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) to help guide the redevelopment of former Soviet Military Bases in Latvia. For the past 16 years he has been a partner at N. Barry Lyon Consulting Limited specializing in development feasibility,

real estate asset management and disposition strategies. Mark’s advisory services is divided equally between all levels of government and private sector interests. Mark was a lead

advisor on the revitalization of the Regent Park Community and on the Pan Am Games Athletes Village in Toronto. In Ottawa, Mark has been advising Canada Lands on a 5,000 unit master planned community on the former Rockcliffe Canadian Forces Base and is currently an advisor to the National Capital Commission on the disposition of LeBreton Flats.

Jeff G. Cowan, WeirFoulds, LLPHe acts as counsel before administrative tribunals and the trial and appellate courts in many aspects of pub-lic law, including professional self-regulation and discipline, judicial review of government decision-making, freedom of information and privacy matters, municipal and provincial planning and environmental approvals, municipal assessment and taxation, health, education, alcohol and gaming, legislative drafting and govern-ment relations, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In addition, Jeff regularly litigates in matters relating to real property, including purchase and sale disputes, lease and contract interpretation, expropria-tion, valuation, taxation, boundary and ownership issues, Aboriginal land claims, and arbitration proceedings,

including acting as an arbitrator.Jeff has argued many of the leading cases – including in the Supreme Court of Canada – in the areas of tribunal jurisdiction

and independence, Ministerial discretion, standard of judicial review, equality rights, constitutionality and interpretation of taxa-tion and valuation legislation and remedies, freedom of information, aboriginal land claims and remedies, ownership of waterfront property, and the interpretation of commercial leases.

Michael J. Crosbie, QC, McInnes Cooper, St. John’s, NLMichael is a Partner in our St. John’s office whose practice is focused on real property law,municipal tax law and related litigation. He has a keen interest in litigation, interest-basednegotiation and mediation techniques and has litigated real estate, mortgage, guarantee, landuse, zoning, municipal tax sale, municipal assessment, and expropriation cases.

Michael has acted for Mortgagees in numerous security realizations, particularly powers of sale. He has chaired an Expropriation Panel and has been a frequent presenter at Canadian Property Tax Association and Appraisal Institute of Canada Conferences. Michael has been particularly involved in Municipal Tax Assessment

and Expropriation cases involving appraisal issues such as value in use, value to owner, market value, enterprise value, ransom strips, marriage value and blackmail value. Michael was counsel in 3263083 Canada Ltd. (Labatt Brewery) v. St. John’s (City) (2005), 245 Nfld. & P.E.I.R., affirmed 205 N.L.C.A. 76 and in Gander International Airport Authority v. Gander (Town) 2008 N.L.T.D. 181, both of which are leading cases in municipal tax assessment law in Canada. In the Gander Airport case, Michael had the tax assessment reduced from $24,000,000 to $1. Michael has litigated assessment cases in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Michael was named Queen’s Counsel in April, 2010.

Carl Davis, Conway Davis GryskiCalled to the Bar, 1977. Education: LL.B. Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, 1975; B.A. (Hons.) Glendon College York University, 1970 (Public Finance, Economics & Political Science).Professional Experience: Conway Davis Gryski, 1996-present; Chernos, Conway, 1984-1996; Feigman & Chernos, 1977-1984.

Mr. Davis is recognized as one of the leading practitioners in the area of assessment and municipal tax-ation. He has acted as counsel - at all levels of Courts and at the Assessment Review Board and the Ontario

Municipal Board - on some of the most important cases involving assessment issues. His practice has taken him to all assess-

ment regions in the Province, and has included all property types. He currently specializes in utility and large commercial and retail properties.

In addition to his counsel work, Mr. Davis’ advice is often sought by other counsel, and by parties in both the public and private sectors, on matters relating to municipal assessment and taxation.

Related Experience: Mr. Davis has written papers and has been an invited speaker on the topic of municipal assessment and taxation for various organizations including: the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association, the Institute of Municipal Assessors, and private continuing education providers. He is a co-author of the “Assessor and the Courts” prepared for the Institute of Municipal Assessors.

Memberships: Institute of Municipal Assessors, International Property Tax Institute.

Dennis Eberhard, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Leader, SmartCentres- Ottawa, OntarioDennis oversees the company’s shopping centre development activities in Quebec, Eastern Ontario and At-lantic Canada. Dennis joined SmartCentres in 2002. His responsibilities include leading a team of shopping centre professionals in land acquisitions, design, development approvals, leasing and construction project management.

Prior to SmartCentres, Dennis initially worked for such notable retail companies as Bank of Nova Scotia, Hudson’s Bay Company, Zellers and K-mart where he focused on new store development and acquisitions across Canada. He later went on to hold executive positions with Trinity Development Group and later with

PenEquity Management Corporation where he managed the development approvals, leasing and construction of Kanata Cen-trum, a 100 acre mixed use development project in Ottawa, Ontario.

Dennis has over 29 years of experience in the shopping centre and land development industry. He holds a Hon. B.A. in Ur-ban Geography from Wilfred Laurier University and a M.A. in Urban Geography from the University of Western, Ontario

Shirley Fulton-Deugo, Owner, Fulton’s Maple SyrupShirley Fulton-Deugo is a 4th generation syrup producer, having taken over the reins from her parents, Leonard and Hazel Fulton in 1980. Shirley has grown the business from a small, local seasonal business to one that now welcomes international groups year round.

Since her husband, George, passed away in 2007, her son Scott has taken over maple syrup production. Shirley and Scott take a great deal of pride in their forest management, their dedication to educating their visi-tors on the benefits of maple as well as sharing their 400 acres of natural forest.

Shirley is a innovative leader in the Ontario maple syrup industry, is active in the local business community and a well respected business woman and speaker. Shirley is especially proud of the 5th and 6th generation family members who work alongside her in the family business.

Franco Gisonni, M.I.M.A. Valuation Quality Specialist, MPAC Franco is an accredited M.I.M.A. member with the Institute of Municipal Assessor and is also a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada Law Society holding a (P1) Paralegal license. He is well recognized within the development land community and has conducted extensive research on the Residual Land Proforma technique and how to use this technique to justify feasibility.

Dr. Randal N.M. Graham, Professor, University of Western Ontario, Faculty of LawProfessor Graham was appointed to the University of Western Ontario’s Faculty of Law in 2002, and was granted tenure in 2004. In 2005 he was granted the title of “Faculty Scholar” in recognition of the international impact of his writing and research. He is the first Western Law professor to hold that title. In 2006 he was also awarded Western’s “University Wide” teaching award in recognition of his efforts in the classroom. Professor Graham’s principal teaching and research interests include Statutory Interpretation, Legal Theory, Legal Ethics and Microeconomics. He has written three books and numerous articles on these topics. All three of his books have been adopted as mandatory reading at law schools across Canada.

Professor Graham currently holds the Goodmans LLP Faculty Fellowship in Legal Ethics. In 2012 he was appointed Chair of the Law Faculty’s LLM, MSL and PhD programs.


2015 SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERS 59TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE SINCE 1957Knowledge Judgment

59TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2015 SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERS SINCE 1957Knowledge Judgment


In addition to serving on Western’s Faculty of Law, Dr. Graham has been an Assistant Professor at the University of New Brunswick (2000-2002), an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School (1996-2005), an Affiliated Scholar with Goodmans LLP (1998-2000); a commercial lawyer at Goodmans LLP (1997-1998); a Law Clerk to Mr. Justice Sopinka of the Supreme Court of Canada (1995-1996); and an Editorial Assistant to Justice Sopinka in connection with “The Law of Evidence in Canada” (1996-1997). Dr. Graham continues to act as a litigation strategist and technical consultant in matters dealing with his primary research areas.

Dan Gray, Vice President, Leasing, Bentall Kennedy (Canada) LPDan is Bentall Kennedy’s Vice President in the Ottawa regional office responsible for leasing and development activities, reporting directly to the EVP, Eastern Canada. He has twenty-three years of real estate experience, of which the last fifteen have been in expanding roles with Bentall Kennedy.

Bentall Kennedy acts for prominent public and corporate pension funds, life insurance companies, en-dowments and other funds. In Canada, we offer a comprehensive, integrated menu of asset and portfolio management, property management, leasing and development services. In the US, we provide a full range of investment advisory services to clients coast-to-coast. Our continent-wide platform is executed by more than

1,300 employees at 14 offices located across Canada and in key US markets. In Ottawa we are responsible for management of approximately 3.0 M square feet of CBD and suburban A Class office space.

Dan holds a Business degree from Bishop’s University, a Business Administration diploma from Algonquin College, an RPA designation from BOMA, and an Ontario Real Estate Brokers license

Maurice Habraken, Director, Altus RVA, OttawaMaurice Habraken is a director providing a range of consulting and valuation services for both private and public sector clients. He has worked as a real estate appraiser for more than 15 years and has extensive expe-rience in the valuation of high-profile office, retail, and industrial properties. Maurice forms an integral part of the valuation and consulting team and has a strong background in lease analysis, financial auditing and cash flow modeling with the use of Argus software. He also has experience in the valuation of partial takings; having assisted on a number of expropriation files throughout his career. Maurice has also appeared as an expert wit-ness at Ontario Municipal Board mediations.

Francis J.F. Handy, Mediator and Trainer Francis J. F. Handy began his professional career with Osler Hoskin & Harcourt, acting as counsel in a number of hearings over professional discipline, land use and development, commercial litigation, workplace, and reg-ulatory disputes. In 1994, he co-founded Stitt Feld Handy Houston, a law firm focused on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). This firm and its corporate affiliates, including the Stitt Feld Handy Group, became a leading ADR organization, and Frank’s Mediation, ADR, and ADR training practice dates from that time. In 2004 he and his partner, Allan Stitt, merged that firm with ADR Chambers to create Canada’s largest and leading ADR train-ing and service provider. Frank migrated to Australia in late 2010, and is now Principal of The Trillium Group,

the Australian organization first established as part of Stitt Feld Handy Group in 1999. Frank has conducted many facilitations, mediations, and arbitrations in a a variety of public, corporate and commercial con-

texts. He has dealt with matters as varied as large scale public interest issues and individual workplace complaints, regulatory and disciplinary matters, varied administrative law issues, commercial and private litigation matters. He has also been Vice-Chair of the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Tribunal and Board of Negotiation.

Frank has designed and conducted training programs in Australia, Canada, the US, the UK, the Caribbean, and Africa, for the public and a number of corporations, institutions, government agencies and other organizations. His areas of experience include culture change, dispute management techniques and tools, conflict coaching, mediation, negotiation, and difficult con-versation management. In addition, Frank has lectured in courses in Negotiation, Mediation and ADR at a number of universities. Other aspects of his practice include workplace grievance and complaint investigations, as well as dispute resolution systems design and recommendations on compliance with policy and procedures. In Australia he has designed and facilitated programs with Telstra, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, Australia Post, the Australian Tax Office, Qantas, Worksafe, and QBE, as well as organizations of a similar size and scope in Canada and other countries.

Larry Hummel, M.I.M.A. Larry Hummel is the Chief Assessor with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). As MPAC’s Chief Assessor, Larry is responsible for the valuation of all 4.9 million properties in Ontario, being North Ameri-ca’s largest assessment jurisdiction.

Having graduated from the University of Toronto and being an accredited member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS), Larry is an internationally recognized assessment professional with extensive experience in operations and strategic development at the executive level. He has a diploma in Urban Affairs and Real Estate from Fanshawe College and has completed the University of British Columbia’s Certificate

Program in Real Property Assessment. Larry is the 2013-2014 President of the Institute of Municipal Assessors (IMA) and sits on the Education and Advisory Boards

of the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI), and Valuation Standards Committee of the Chinese Appraisal Society. Larry is a former Chair of the IMA’s Education Committee, and the Steering Committee of the Real Estate Degree Program of York Univer-sity. He is a distinguished speaker and a skilled negotiator with an industry wide reputation for integrity.

Giselle Kakamousias, President, Canadian Property Tax Association Giselle Kakamousias has 22 years’ experience in the field of commercial real estate valuation and property tax. Over the course of her career, Giselle has overseen the filing and resolution of tens of thousands of appeals covering every Province in Canada.

She is currently Vice President, Property Tax at Turner Drake & Partners Ltd. in Halifax, joining the firm in 1993 after graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in Accounting) from Dalhousie University. She also holds a Diploma in Urban Land Economics from the University of British Columbia (with specialization in Appraisal), is an Accredited Appraiser (AACI) with the Appriaisal Institute of Canada, and is a member of the

Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.Giselle is very active in the real estate, assessment, and taxation communities, and has held numerous volunteer positions at

the Nova Scotia Real Estate Appraisers’ Association, the Halifax Chamber of Commerce (where she has sat on its Municipal Af-fairs Committee since 2006), Halifax Regional Municipality (where she was commercial representative on its Tax Reform Commit-tee) , the Canadian Self Storage Association (where she chairs its Atlantic Canadian Tax Project), eFocus on Municipal Assess-ment and Taxation (serving as a member of its Advisory Panel), the Property Valuation Services Corporation, and the Canadian Property Tax Association, where she currently serves as President.

Justice Peter Lauwers, The Court of Appeal for Ontario Justice Peter Lauwers was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario on December 13, 2012, having served on the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Central East Region since July, 2008. He presided over cases in all the areas of the Superior Court’s operations including civil, criminal, family, and class actions. He also served on the Divisional Court.

Before being appointed, Justice Lauwers was a partner at Miller Thomson LLP. He practiced in the areas of civil litigation, constitutional law, human rights, and administrative law including education, municipal and labour law and appeared at every level of court including the Supreme Court of Canada.

As a lawyer Justice Lauwers lectured in his areas of expertise to, among others, the Canadian Institute, Insight, the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Bar Association, the Centre for Cultural Renewal, McGill University, and the Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy, and published widely.

Since his judicial appointment Justice Lauwers has spoken at events sponsored by the Ontario Bar Association, the Ad-vocates’ Society, the Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association, the Canadian Defense Lawyers, Osgoode Hall Law School, the Medi-co-Legal Society of Toronto, the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and the National Judicial Institute.

Justice Lauwers received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto in 1978 and a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in 1983. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1980.





Angus MacKay, Solicitor, City of Toronto, Legal Services DivisionAngus MacKay is a lawyer with the City of Toronto for the City’s Revenue Services Division. His practice is ex-clusively in assessment and property tax litigation. He has appeared before the Assessment Review Board and the Federal Dispute Advisory Panel as well as the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and the Divisional Court.

He was co-counsel for the City of Toronto’s interventions before the Supreme Court of Canada for the Montreal and Halifax federal payments in lieu of tax appeals. He was a presenter at the Ontario Municipal Tax and Revenue Association’s 2012 Annual Conference. Angus has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen’s Uni-versity and is a graduate of the University of Ottawa’s common law J.D. programme.

Dan Mathieson, Municipal Property Assessment Corporation Dan Mathieson is in his fourth term as Mayor of Stratford, Ontario, and sits on numerous Boards and Commit-tees in healthcare, municipal affairs, law enforcement, athletics, not-for-profits, universities and colleges.

He is currently Chair of the Ontario Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), a member of the Board of Directors of Festival Hydro and Rhyzome Networks, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Kings Univer-sity College at the University of Western Ontario and the Advisory Board of the University of Waterloo-Stratford Campus. Dan is also a Governor on the Board of i-Canada and is on the Advisory Board for Walsh University – Institute for the Study of the Intelligent Community.

In 2012, Dan was chosen by the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) to receive the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, paying tribute to community leaders whose endeavors have set them apart as technology innovators.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Guelph and a Masters of Public Administration Degree from the University of Western Ontario.

Connie Mesih, President, Ontario Municipal Tax Revenue AssociationConnie Mesih is the Director of Revenue and Materiel Management for the City of Mississauga. Connie’s port-folio includes property taxation, billing and collection of miscellaneous revenues, collection of defaulted Provin-cial Offences Act fines and procurement of goods and services for the City. Her involvement in the property assessment and taxation field has spanned over 20 years.

Connie joined the Board of Directors of the Ontario Municipal Tax and Revenue Association in 2002 and currently serves as OMTRA’s President. She sits on the Education Committee and has contributed to educa-tional material for the Municipal Tax Administration and Real Property Administration programs offered through

Seneca College. Over the years, Connie has participated on numerous intergovernmental committees and working groups on assessment and taxation.

Connie has been with the City of Mississauga for 29 years. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant and also holds a Certified Municipal Tax Professional designation.

Paul Muldoon, Associate Chair, Assessment Review Board Paul Muldoon has been a full-time Vice-Chair of the Environmental Review Tribunal since 2006. He is a former Adjunct Professor at the School of Environment, University of Toronto and a former member of York Univer-sity’s Faculty of Environmental Studies. Mr. Muldoon’s community involvement has included serving as a member of the Expert Panel on Groundwater for the Council of Canadian Academies and as a former member of Environment Canada’s Environmental Protection Advisory Committee. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from McMaster University, a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Laws degree from McGill University.

J. Bradford (Brad) Nixon, SolicitorBrad’s practice encompasses a variety of assessment and property taxation matters for both private and pub-lic sector clients throughout Ontario and Canada.

Brad represents taxpayers before the Assessment Review Board and Superior Courts in valuation and classification disputes for all types of properties including commercial, industrial, pipeline and multi-residential. He advises clients on all matters relating to assessment and municipal taxation.

Brad has extensive political experience at the Ontario Legislature both in senior political staff positions and as a Member of the Provincial Parliament from 1987-1990 (including a term as Parliamentary Assistant to



the Minister of Financial Institutions). Brad is a Past President of the Canadian Property Tax Association. He has completed the Ontario Securities course and is an affiliate member of The Appraisal Institute and of the Institute of Municipal Assessors.

Jennifer Pereira, Legal Counsel, City of Ottawa Jennifer Pereira is legal counsel with the City of Ottawa’s Corporate Commercial Law Branch and practices in all areas of municipal law, focusing in the areas of municipal finance, assessment and taxation. Jennifer pro-vides advice to City staff and elected officials on matters relating to municipal law, finance and taxation. Jenni-fer appears before the Assessment Review Board and is a member of the Assessment Review Board’s Stake-holders Committee. She has written and been a speaker on the topic of municipal assessment and taxation for various organizations. Jennifer is also currently a panel member of the Legal Aid Area Committee in Ottawa.

Kathleen D. Poole, Nixon Fleet & Poole LLPFor close to five years, Kathleen represented clients in the State of California (including a number of fortune 500 companies) in all aspects of employment law, from compliance to advice to litigating in state and federal court. Kathleen was a member of a three-person trial team that won a unanimous jury verdict in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Kathleen’s practice now encompasses a variety of assessment and property taxation matters for both private and public sector clients throughout Ontario and Canada.

Kathleen represents taxpayers and municipalities before the Assessment Review Board and Superior Courts in valuation disputes for all types of properties including office buildings and industrial properties. She advises clients on all matters relating to assessment and municipal taxation.

Kathleen’s education includes: J.D. – UCLA School of Law (2003) – top 10% of class and B.A. – University of British Colum-bia (2000)

Sandi Prendergast, M.I.M.A. Senior Director, Operations Manager, Altus Group

Sandi graduated from the Municipal Administration and Assessment program at Fanshawe College in London, and began her career at the Ministry of Finance in 1993. She joined Derbyshire Consultants (now Altus Group) in 1996, and is presently Senior Director and Operations Manager for Altus’ tax consulting practice in London, Ontario. Sandi provides advice on property assessment and taxation issues to owners and managers of a wide variety of business properties. Sandi has appeared as an expert witness at tribunal hearings and arbitra-tions, has chaired both the Continuing Professional Development and Accreditation committees of the Insti-

tute of Municipal Assessors (IMA), and has appeared as a speaker on valuation and professional issues at IMA, CPTA and Law Society events.

Sandi is an Accredited Member of the Institute of Municipal Assessors (M.I.M.A.) and a licensed paralegal with the Law Society of Upper Canada. She is currently the 3rd Vice President of the Institute of Municipal Assessors.

Phil L. Sanford, Solicitor, McCarthy Tétrault, Toronto, ON Phillip Sanford is a partner in our Municipal Group in Toronto. His practice focuses on municipal property tax appeals, property tax recovery disputes and commercial rent review arbitrations.

Mr. Sanford represents many of Ontario’s largest commercial and industrial enterprises. He also advises various municipalities and Crown corporations.

Mr. Sanford is a frequent lecturer before public, educational and professional associations, including the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Institute of Municipal Assessors and the Canadian Property Tax Association.

He is a member of the Advocate’s Society and frequently appears before the Assessment Review Board, Ontario Municipal Board a

Mr. Sanford received his BA from Carleton University in 1972 and his LLB from the University of Ottawa in 1976. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1978.



Malcolm Stadig, M.I.M.A.Malcolm Stadig is the Manager of Advisory Services with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation in Ontario.

Malcolm offers the unique perspective as both an accredited appraiser and a certified assessor along with having held positions with both public sector property assessment entities and private sector tax consulting firms.

Malcolm holds accreditations with the International Association of Assessing Officers (CAE), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS), American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and the Institute of Munici-

pal Assessors (MIMA). He is also an instructor with the International Property Tax Institute for a workshop dealing with the cost approach and authored an article for the Journal of Property Tax Assessment & Administration titled ‘Estimating Depreciation for Property Assessment Purposes’

Jody Urquhart, Professional Key Note Speaker Jody is passionate about spreading the message of the importance of fun at work. A motivational speaker for over 16 years, Jody speaks at over 60 organizations and associations every year, and is a top keynote speaker.

Jody’s trademark is to deliver very funny motivational speeches, humour is a key part of her audience connection. A former stand up comedian, Jody ONLY uses clean humor and original content catered to the audience.

Jody is author of the book All Work & No SAY. Her mission is to help motivate people to derive more meaning, fun and satisfaction from their work.

Jody is a featured guest speaker for the GE Healthcare Tip-TV program, broadcast in over 2600 healthcare facilities. Her insights and expertise earned her the 2008 Bronze Award in the 29th Annual Telly Awards for excellence in programming this presentation.

Jack Walker, Q.CCommitted to education Jack has assisted the tribunals, their members and professional associations in the organization of seminars, working groups, lectures and classes dealing with the Rules of Practice, mediation, jurisprudence, the hearing process and decision writing. Jack has acted on behalf of a number of associations in discussions with the legislative and executive branches relative to establishing equitable principles in the assessment and classification of their lands.

These include the National Golf Course Owners Association, the Ontario Waste Management Association, the Association of Rooming House Owners associations representing large industry, pulp and paper mills, self

storage owners, and property owners such as fast food retail stores, department stores, religious institutions aggregate proper-ties, automotive manufacturers, and billboard owners.

John Watling, M.I.M.A., Valuation Manager Centralized Properties, MPACJohn currently has over 28 years of experience in the property assessment profession holding a number of positions with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. He currently holds the title of Valuation Man-ager – Office Buildings with the Office of the Chief Assessor. With responsibilities for establishing directive, developing guidelines, training, valuing and defending a portfolio of office properties throughout Ontario with a total assessed value of $40B.

He holds a diploma in Real Estate Appraisal and Assessment from St. Lawrence College as well as a certificate in Real Property Assessment from the University of British Columbia. He is an accredited M.I.M.A.

member of the Institute of Municipal Assessors and a Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.



Mayor Jim Watson, City of OttawaMayor Watson has dedicated most of his career to public service in Canada’s capital.

First elected as a Councillor in 1991, he was re-elected in 1994. Three years later, he was elected as the youngest Mayor in Ottawa’s history with 82% of the popular vote.

Following the amalgamation of Ottawa and surrounding communities, Mayor Watson was appointed the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Tourism Commission, a federal crown corporation.

In 2003, he was elected as the Member of Provincial Parliament for Ottawa West-Nepean and immediately appointed to cabinet as Minister of Consumer and Business services.

In 2005, he was appointed as Ontario’s first Minister of Health Promotion and he successfully implemented the Smoke Free Ontario Act.

Re-elected as MPP in 2007, he was promoted to Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. In that portfolio, Watson signed the largest Federal-Provincial Housing agreement in Ontario’s History. In addition, he co-authored an historic agreement between the Province and Ontario’s 444 municipalities that saw over $1.5 billion in social service costs removed from local property taxes.

Following his time in provincial politics, Watson was elected Mayor of the City of Ottawa in October 2010.In his first term as Mayor, Watson oversaw the beginning of construction of the Confederation Line light rail transit line and

the successful completion of the Lansdowne Park redevelopment. Watson brought renewed fiscal discipline to City Hall, bringing in the lowest tax changes several years while investing in renewed infrastructure, new community facilities and transit improve-ments in all parts of the city.

Mayor Watson’s first term saw the opening of the Shaw Centre, the EY Centre, TD Place, the revitalized Lansdowne Park, the Vimy Memorial Bridge, the Richcraft Sensplex East, Minto Recreation Complex – Barrhaven, the Francois Dupuis Recreation Centre, and the Richcraft Recration Complex – Kanata.

An active member of his community, Watson has served on the boards or as honourary chair of several community organi-zations, including the Riverside Hospital, the National Arts Centre, the Christmas Exchange of Ottawa and the Forum for Young Canadians. He served as chair of United Way’s 2002 campaign, which raised a record $21 million.

An avid volunteer with several groups, he has helped serve meals at the Shepherds of Good Hope, a local soup kitchen. His commitment to those less fortunate was evident when, in August of 2000, he contributed his entire municipal severance payment of $31,000 to Ottawa’s Union Mission for Men.

His years of active involvement and community service have made him the recipient of several awards and accolades, including Maclean’s magazine’s “100 Young Canadians To Watch,” Carleton University Honours Award, the City of Ottawa’s high-est civic honour, the Key to the City; the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal; the Visionary Award by the Ontario Pharmacists’ Asso-ciation, and the National Leadership Award by the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control for his role in implementing the Smoke Free Ontario Act.

Mayor Watson was recognized for his support of the tourism industry by being named Ottawa Tourism Leader of the Year in 2012. In 2013, he was recognized by the Canadian Housing Renewal Association for his work on breaking the cycle of poverty. In 2014, Mayor Watson was named “Communicator of the Year” by the International Association of Business Communicators’ Ottawa chapter.

Antoni Wisniowski, President and Chief Administrative Officer, Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) In January 2012, Antoni took over the role of President and Chief Administrative Officer with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).

In 2012, he led an inclusive and collaborative process with MPAC’s employees and stakeholders who together, built the foundation for the organization’s 2013-2016 strategic plan and brand strategy. Building and fostering stakeholder partnerships, the innovative use of technology and creating operational efficiencies to drive cost-savings are central themes in each of the plan’s eight outcomes and 18 strategic initiatives.

Using the Rapid Results 100 day execution framework, the organization has already in the first two years of the strategy, realized significant improvements to its processes and operations and seen a dramatic increase in overall engage-ment and satisfaction among its employees With an overarching theme of building communities across Ontario, the four-year strategy is focused on using innovation to drive public sector transformation.

Antoni joined MPAC in 2005 as the Vice-President of Information Technology and led the development of information sys-tems and processes that have enhanced the organization’s transparency and customer service in its delivery of property assess-ment products and services to Ontarians.

His 27-year career has been focused in the public sector where he has held senior management positions within the City of Toronto and with Teranet where he led the development and delivery of the organization’s public sector strategy and service offerings.

Antoni holds Bachelor of Applied Science and Master of Information Science degrees from the University of Toronto.

59TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2015 ENTERTAINMENT SINCE 1957Knowledge Judgment


Entertainment

Mike MianoMike Miano is a singer/entertainer from the Boston area performing regularly in clubs, restaurants, and for private functions.

For the past dozen years or so, he has specialized in performing the easy listening standards of the male crooner musical genre such as the songs made popular by singers like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Ben-nett, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, Perry Como, to name a few plus many, many others. He enjoys singing the songs which were part the soundtrack of the lives of most people who are now over thirty something….songs which tell a story in a manner where the audience can understand every word when they are listening or

still able to carry on a comfortable conversation with someone who is right next to them without having to raise their voice. Mike started out as a drummer in pop groups through high school and college and then played piano and bass for years in

a few different function/dance bands. He was active in community theater performing and/or serving on crew for many pro-ductions both musical and non-musical and also performed some stand-up comedy routines along the way. His last Canadian performance was in 1986 as Father Enzo Simposio which was a comedy parody of the very popular character at that time, Father Guido Sarducci of “Saturday Night Live” fame. It took place at the closing banquet of Northeast Regional Association of Assessing Officers when the late Ian MacMichael was President and the NRAAO Annual Conference was held in St. John, New Brunswick.

It was a few years later in the early 1990’s when the emerging technology made it possible to gain access to a wide variety of pre-recorded musical arrangements that Mike started entertaining as a solo singer in many venues which before could not have had live entertainment featuring that particular style of music. In addition to music and performing, Mike has always maintained a “day job” and has worked his entire career in the property tax field having worked in the City of Hartford, Connecticut Assessor’s office for eleven years beginning in 1975 and also served for seven years for the Town of Hebron, Connecticut as a member and Chairman of what was then known as the Board of Tax Review.

He became a Licensed General Appraiser in 1989 when real estate appraisal licensing became mandatory. He was later employed for seven years as a Senior Manager in the state and local tax practice for a big four accounting firm and has been a Senior Consultant in the Boston offices of Marvin F. Poer and Co., a national property tax consulting company for the past eleven years. Mike has been a member of the IAAO for 38 years having served two terms on the Associate Member Committee, was an IAAO Executive Board mem-ber from 2010 – 2012 and is presently in his second year on the IAAO Planning and Rules Committee. He has been the recipient of two IAAO Presidential Citations and received the IAAO’s Harry Galkin Award at the 2008 IAAO Conference in Reno, Ne-vada. For many years Mike has enjoyed volunteering his musical talents to the IAAO and many of its related groups and affiliates as scheduling allows.

DJ DANDan started playing music at the age of 13 as a volunteer for local community centers for dances. As Dan became of age, he DJ for weddings and Bars. At the Age of 30 Dan fell in love with Karaoke and started “FUN FUN FUN Karaoke” in local Bars every weekend.

When time permits Dan will DJ Music and Karaoke for different events, Birthday Parties, Weddings, Anni-versaries, and Retirement Parties. Dan mostly concentrates on Karaoke.

The Name DJ DAN came about because it is what everyone referred to it as “DJ Dan” and it stuck.

SINCE 1957Knowledge Judgment

Trust • Transparency • Accountability … The Values of Tomorrow

59TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Documents

Transparency • Accountability - assessorsinstitute.ca · Trust • Transparency ... Sean is a career assessor with more than 25 year’s experience in all aspects of real property