In a joint letter, College Employer Council (CEC) CEO Graham Lloyd and OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas urged the government to include College faculty and staff who work with students in Phase II of the vaccine roll-out, along with teachers and other education staff. Colleges and their front-line faculty and staff have all been essential in provincial efforts to keep Ontario’s economy strong during the pandemic.

Pascal Bessette, Chair, Vice-President, Human Resources and Organizational Culture

Pascal Bessette has worked with Colleges for over 17 years, serving in the capacity of Vice-President, Human Resources and Organizational Culture at Collège La Cité since July 2017. Prior to joining La Cité, he held human resource positions with the French Catholic School Board in Toronto, during which time he served as a member of the management bargaining team. In 2019, Pascal chaired the management bargaining team for the negotiation of the first collective agreement for the Part-time Support Staff group. In 2014, Pascal was also part of the management bargaining team for the Full-Time Support Staff group and is currently the management Co-Chair of the Support Staff Employee/Employer Relations Committee (EERC) – Full-Time and Part-Time groups.

Rick Webb has been with Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology since 2004. He has served on numerous provincial committees and was previously the Co-Chair of the Human Resources Coordinating Committee. He has been a management member of the Support Staff EERC since 2007. and has been a member of three Support Staff bargaining teams for management, in 2008 and 2011, 2018. Rick is an active member in his community, serving as the community appointee on the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Board and Chair of the Police Services Bargaining Committee.

Christine Blake has been with Seneca College for over 21 years, first as Manager, Student Services at the Seneca@York campus, then as the Director of Student Services and Dean of Students. Christine is currently the Dean Academic Learning Services, working with the main services at the college including Library, Test Centre, Learning Centre, Student Advising, Career development, and Work Integrated Learning (Seneca Works).  She has worked in partnership with the Seneca service teams to develop resources and supports to help students succeed during this unprecedented time of change in the virtual environment. Christine was a member of the 2014 management bargaining team and is currently a management member of the Support Staff EERC.

David is the Vice President of Human Resources at Georgian College and has more than 20 years of experience in the broader public sector and more than 25 years of extensive professional experience in human resource management and labour relations. David spent 16 years as the senior human resources officer at both the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital and the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre.
In his current role, David is responsible for all aspects of human resource management including labour relations, organizational development, recruitment and selection, and payroll and benefits.

Cathy is a Human Resources Consultant at the College Employer Council (CEC), having previously worked in Labour Relations for the City of Brampton and Sheridan College.

In addition to being a member of the Support Staff management bargaining team, Cathy serves on provincial Support Staff Management Union committees. Cathy holds a Bachelor of Human Resources and Labour Relations from Athabasca University and is a Certified Human Resources Professional.

On August 1, 2019, Graham was appointed as CEO of the College Employer Council (CEC). 
Previously, he was employed with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Ontario’s milk marketing board, where he held several senior leadership roles including most recently its CEO. Graham was also the General Counsel at a multi-national Insurer, and prior to that was a litigator in Toronto.
As a bilingual business leader and lawyer with 25 years of experience, he brings a significant skillset in advocacy, strategic planning, governance, communications, managing complex negotiations, and issues while regularly working with stakeholders, government, and the media.

During his time in the dairy industry, he worked with multiple diverse stakeholders and was actively involved in the negotiation of complex agreements and programs.

Peter McKeracher has been the Vice President of Labour Relations at the College Employer Council (CEC) since 2019 previously serving as the Director of Labour Relations and Director Academic. Prior to joining the CEC, Peter was the Director of Staff Relations at Algonquin College, managing labour relations with both the Academic and Support Staff locals. He also taught law at Durham College, where he was the President of the OPSEU Faculty local for 18 years. 

Robert Little is an employment lawyer with the law firm Hicks Morley.  He advises public and private sector employers on all areas of labour and employment law. He has represented the Colleges in Support Staff bargaining, both Full-Time and Part-Time, since 2000. This is his ninth round of Support Staff negotiations.

Rob has extensive experience in collective bargaining in both the public and private sector, and Robert has appeared as counsel in hundreds of employment law cases before the courts, arbitrators, human rights tribunals, Coroner’s Inquests and the Ontario Labour Relations Board.  He routinely defends employers charged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and chairs the firm’s Occupational Health and Safety practice group.