Speakers:
Gadhi Cruz, Senior Legal Counsel & Canada Location Head, Senior Vice President, Group Operations, Legal & Compliance, Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd, Canadian Branch;
2025-2026 Chair Legal Annual Meeting Advisory Council
Kate Walker, Senior Legal Counsel, Lead: Market Conduct & Anti-Fraud, CLHIA

This session will explore CLHIA’s current advocacy focus, and the challenges and opportunities facing insurers in a rapidly evolving environment.
The conversation will include a special video message from Stephen Frank, President and CEO of CLHIA.

Speakers:
Giulia Ahmadi, Vice President & General Counsel, CLHIA
Gadhi Cruz, Senior Legal Counsel & Canada Location Head, Senior Vice President, Group Operations, Legal & Compliance, Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd, Canadian Branch

Speaker:
Frédéric Plamondon, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

Speakers (TBC)

Moderator: Meaghan Obee Tower, Partner, Stikeman Elliott LLP

Speakers:
Laurie Livingston, Partner, Dentons
Kate Walker, Senior Legal Counsel, Lead: Market Conduct & Anti-Fraud, CLHIA

Speaker:
Matthew Maslow, Director, Innovation & Navigate Leader, eDiscovery, Legal Project Solutions, Deloitte.

This off-site session combines professional development with cultural learning and reflection. Attendees will hear from Marilyn Poitras, lawyer, negotiator, professor, film producer, and most importantly a community builder. During this talk, Marilyn will explore themes of connection, leadership, and the evolving relationship between law, community, and reconciliation.

The program continues with guided tours of Wanuskewin Heritage Park, where participants will learn about the history, cultures, and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples of the Northern Plains. Together, these experiences provide valuable context for understanding the broader social and cultural environment in which legal and policy decisions are made today.

3pm-4pm Connecting with Indigenous Peoples with Professionalism Speaker:
Marilyn Poitras, Ethical Space Designer, Public Speaker, Positive Deviant

Please make your own reservation.

Sponsor Prize draws

Panel 1
Speakers:
Lynne Chlala, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canda
Isabelle Durand, Senior Vice President and Head of Legal Services, Procurement & Data Governance, Industrial Alliance
Sloane Litchen, SVP & General Counsel, Sun Life

Moderator: Jacques Waite, Corporate Director, Litigation, Industrial Alliance


Panel 2
Giulia Ahmadi, Vice-President & General Counsel, CLHIA
Lynne Chlala, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canada
Speaker (TBC)

Moderator: Jacques Waite, Corporate Director, Litigation, Industrial Alliance

Speakers:
Eli Monas, Partner, Torys LLP
Melissa Prado, Partner, Gowling WLG

Speakers:
Brent McNicol, AVP, Field Leader Effectiveness, SLFD, Sun Life
Jonathan Turner, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd.
Laura Wallace, Sr. Manager, Fraud Risk Management, Manulife

Moderator: David Grad, EVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Chief Compliance Officer and Ombudsman, Primerica Life Insurance Company of Canada

Speakers:
Anne-Marie Levesque, AVP & Senior Counsel, Litigation, Sun Life
Laura Wallace, Sr. Manager, Fraud Risk Management, Manulife

Speakers:
Kristen Doyle, Senior Counsel, Manulife
Michael Wolpert, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Speakers:
Shawna Sykes, VP, Compliance and Chief Compliance Officer Enterprise Compliance, The Co-operators Group Limited
Cindy Zhang, Lawyer, McCarthy Tétrault

Speakers:
Ross McGowan, Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Zev Smith, Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Speakers:
Donna Spagnolo, Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Cindy Zhang, Lawyer, McCarthy Tétrault
Speaker (TBC)

Speakers:
Marc-André Chartrand, Senior Counsel, Litigation, Law Department, Canada Life
Speaker (TBC)

Speaker:
Beard Winter LLP - speaker TBC
Speaker: TBC

Speakers:
Gadhi Cruz, Senior Legal Counsel & Canada Location Head, Senior Vice President, Group Operations, Legal & Compliance, Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd, Canadian Branch
Gord Goodman, Partner, Cassels Brock and Blackwell LLP
Colin Simpson, EVP, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, Equitable 

Speakers:
Roisin Hutchison, Partner, Walker Sorensen LLP
Speaker (TBC)

Connect with colleagues from across the industry during an evening of networking, great food and fun at the Marquis Hall Events Centre on the University of Saskatchewan campus.

Speakers:
Pascale Caron, Lawyer, Donati Maisonneuve
Sandra Hawes, Partner, Miller Thomson, LLP
Jason Larsen, Senior Counsel, Litigation, Law Department, Canada Life

Moderator: David Fenicky, Partner, Davies Howe LLP

Speakers:
Koker Christensen, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Felicia Yifan Jin, Lawyer, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Speakers:
Alida Brydon, Senior Counsel, Retail Advice & Solutions, Sun Life 
Madchen Funk, Senior Legal Counsel & Advisory, Equitable Life 
Speaker: TBC

Speaker:
Jacques Waite, Corporate Director, Litigation, Industrial Alliance, 2026-2027 Chair Legal Annual Meeting Advisory Council