DETAILED DESCRIPTION Of Community and work experience and background of ERNEST G. TANNIS, updated January 11, 2006
· Received the Gordon Henderson Award from the County of Carleton Law Association in 1994, the highest prestige of the legal community for community service by a lawyer, presented at the Hall of Honour at Parliament Hill, Ottawa.
· Wrote the first book in Canada on ADR – “Alternative Dispute Resolution That Works” (Captus Press, York University Campus, 1989), with the foreword written by the late Gordon Henderson, who was described in his lifetime as the “lawyer’s lawyer” in Canada, which book emanated from a presentation to the annual County of County Litigation Update Conference in 1988, and which book was acknowledged by experts in ADR world-wide as the then most current and complete review of ADR internationally; Mr. Henderson was also the first Honorary Chair of REACH, a charitable organization for disabled persons in seeking justice and providing education, described elsewhere
(It may be noted that he assigned the royalties of this book to CICR)
(Book can be found in most libraries in Canada and can be retrieved through inter-library transfer from the Ottawa Public Library Non-Fiction 347.7109 T167)
· Mr. Raymond Hnatyshyn, former Governor General of Canada, became the second Honorary Chair of Reach (www.reach.ca), and before his passing, he had agreed to write the forward to a second book on ADR Mr. Tannis was working on, yet to be completed
· Honorary Counsel and recently appointed First Vice-President of Circle of Canadians/Circle des Canadiennes (www.circleofcanadians.ca); as a co-founder also, he has played a vital role in the Circle’s development and programs over the past two years, including events described elsewhere in this detailed outline
· Received the Angel Award in 2001, recognizing those in the community working ‘behind the scenes’, from Capital Style Magazine, and acknowledged leaders in the community at the Museum of Nature
· Referred to in the Canadian Lawyers Magazine as the ‘Godfather of ADR” in the Ottawa area, in context of Ottawa being the first jurisdiction in Canada in incorporate Court-Annexed Mediation
· Co-founded REACH, a charitable organization to provide educational and legal services for persons with disabilities, in 1981, following his work as a teacher of disabled persons in GR. 9, 10 and 11 at Centennial High School in 1969; the grade 11 student, Rod Carpenter, inspired Reach, as written up in the 20th anniversary milestones (on website)
· Co-Founded the Dispute Resolution Centre of Ottawa Carleton in 1987 which operated for twelve years in community and criminal ADR
· Co-Founded the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution in 1988, still operating out of Saint Paul University Campus, and was Ex. Dir. 1989-1992, during which tenure, he was asked as a condition of the prestigious Donner Foundation grant, to relinquish his law practice to be the Executive Director
· Co-Founded My World, a non-profit organization to assist children in distress from natural catastrophes and civil wars, in 1985
· Co-Founded CFAIR (Citizens Forum Advocating Insurance Review) in 1998, which was recognized by the Government of Ontario as having its “footprints” on the new legislation for Automobile Insurance, and which spearheaded HomeCare Forum which addressed the iniquities of the Community Care Access Centre in Ottawa and Ontario, culminating in appeals for the benefit of this constituency, and Ontario becoming the first Province in Canada having an Automobile Ombudsman
· Was a National Facilitator as part of the HIV Litigation Crisis in Canada, providing public reports from mediation meeting between Plaintiffs’ Counsel of Canada and the Canadian Red Cross Society
· Honorary Counsel to Sken Nen Kowa- an organization for peace in Akwesasne after their civil strife in 1990; convocation of the Law Society of Upper Canada approved his acting as Honorary Counsel
· Honorary Counsel to the Canadian Council of the Blind
· Assisted pro bono many institutions, eg. The Bridlewood Community Church of the Nazarene (Kanata, Ontario), in an innovative project that allowed congregations to dedicate self-directed RRSP’s to the building of their Church, which precedent has been adapted many times, and a contributor to other Christian and other religious groups, Muslim, Jewish, and multi-faith/multi-cultural
· Through the Circle of Canadians, was Master of Ceremonies of a Vigil for the London, England terrorist attacks after 7/7 with representatives
from cultural/security/religious/diplomatic/security groups, with the British High Commissioner present, a Circle of Canadians event
· Also, Master of Ceremonies in Nov./05 held at City Council Chambers in Ottawa on “Understanding Islam: Youth Fighting Extremism”, with a religious panel before a full audience from the public, and a panel of twelve youth asking questions, with speakers including the Mayor and from the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security and the Minister
· Speaker at innumerable conferences on ADR, locally, provincially,, nationally and internationally, for over 30 years, over 200 presentations
· Presenter at innumerable lunch time series on social justice issues, including the convening of many dialogues on social justice, including a cross-section of society on contemporary issues
· Adjunct Professor at Carleton University Faculty of Law and at University of Ottawa on ADR in the early 1990’s
· Previous Instructor with the Law Society Bar Admission on disability issues and Negotiation
· Many interns, both from Canadian and US Universities, and Ottawa High Schools, gained experience and school credits from the various law firms that Mr. Tannis was associated with over the years, and various plaques and other expressions of gratitude have been received from them
· Nominated for the Dunton Alumni award from Carleton University
· Referred to in many newspapers and publications for his various community efforts: eg. (references to newspapers in Canada back to 1985 @ www.newsmagazine.com under his various names . In the Ottawa Citizen, over the years, well over 50 times, interviewed by Adult Learning in Peace Education, in the American Arbitration Journal, in Harvard University Consensus Journal, the “Strategy” magazine of the Canadian Medical Association Publication (Aug./92), the Financial Post (“Masters of Compromise”, highlighting a prominent US mediator with references to Mr. Tannis’s work in Canada), Capital Style Magazine, and many other publications/initiatives in the areas of ADR, disabilities, social justice, legislative reform, precedent setting cases, community development, accommodation, human rights;
· He was also profiled on Canada’s first national newsletter on ADR by
C. C. H. publishers, the “ADR Forum” (Aug/94)
· Written many articles, eg. The Network Interaction for Conflict Resolution, and was an ADR contributor to the National Judicial Institute, the educational body for Judges in Canada, under the auspices of its original Executive Director, Mr. Justice David Marshall, Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, honoured to be an advisor at the beginning
· An attendee at over 100 ADR conferences in Canada, and the USA, and in Europe, having helped organize a few of them in North America, implementing the use of theatre and drama in the teaching of conflict resolution, especially among youth, being asked to represent Canada at the first international conference on Mediation held in the USA, and also in Montreal, Quebec on “lawyers as agents for social change”, a speaker to teachers in Ontario, and in Quebec for the next generation (I hear a New Generation Calling”), a speaker to Ontario Family Court Judges, co-ordinating a “Class Act” workshop in Hamilton Unified Family Court as to life skills training for young people in problem solving at a national ADR conference, the last plenary speaker for PATA (Pacific Asia Tourism Association) hosted by Tourism Canada in Vancouver, 1990, the largest gathering of the Tourism Industry and the first time ADR was a theme for an entire world-wide industry with a positive front-page description of his talk in the daily conference newsletter
· An invited witness to the All-Party Justice Committee of the Province of Ontario in 1990, the first time in its 100-year history that it proceeded by invited witnesses, on the history and application of ADR in Society
(Hansard Official Reports of Debates Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Standing Committee on Administration Of Justice – Alternative Dispute Resolution – 2nd. Session, 34th Parliament, Tues. Bef. 13/90 pg. J52-66)
· Involved in many pilot projects in disability and ADR matters over the decades, too numerous to mention, but some are related here
· Helped spearhead Canada’s first high school peer mediation project in Ottawa (1988) with Woodroofe High School, and in elementary schools, and Canada’s first Court-Annexed Mediation project; this was commemorated in a booklet published at that time, with Mr. Tannis as co-ordinator of the committee, at an event at the Canadian Government Conference Centre, Ottawa, attended by all levels of society
· Attended other Government initiatives as a volunteer, eg. The Civil Justice Conference of the Attorney General of Ontario, 1988, Toronto
· Was the only Canadian member (of a 10-member team) of the first post-strike conflict-resolution project in North America after the mining industry strike in the US (the first time supervisors crossed the picket lines), part of a team of 10 professionals organized by the AAA in Dec. 1994, with the Peabody Coal Company and the Mining Union
· Was the first person in Canada to be involved in a similar post-strike conflict resolution process with POS in Saskatchewan in 2003
· Interaction with various First Nations Communities in Canada and the United States on conflict-resolution, mediation, and reconciliation
· Presenter to many other agencies, eg. Ministry of Consumer and Social Services, Corrections Canada, Co-operative Housing, Algoma Child & Youth Services on ‘Conflict Resolution Skills-working with children and their families’ : “Individual and Global Health-A Conflict Resolution Perspective”, reported in Sault Star April 11/91, Public Works on four-way negotiation (1995) , National Research Council, programs in both Western (eg. Canada’s 2nd. Biannual Conference on Conflict Resolution, Winnipeg, May, 2002) and Eastern Canada (eg. Roundtable on the Economy and Environment, Bactouche, NB, 1994), coast to coast, etc.
· Last Plenary Speaker for the former Canadian Federation of Labour when they adopted ADR as part of the Labour-Management Philosophy for Canada (Ottawa Annual meeting, June, 1990)
· Entered into the Record of Honour by the J’Nikira Dinquinesh organization, an African-based non-profit group, that promotes global reconciliation and recognizes those who dedicate themselves to this universal goal in their lives, received at the 5th Annual Reconciliation Day in Ottawa on Feb. 12, 2004; Mr. Tannis asked that his wife be added posthumously to this Honour (enclosed with other materials)
· Assisting in the incorporation of the non-profit group IPSI (International Peace Systems Initiative) in 2003 and in its development over the years
· Presenter with various industries on ADR, including franchising
· Extensive pro bono files, subject to Solicitor-Client privilege
· Extensive intervention at all levels of society between individuals, neighbours, families, institutions, nationally, internationally, including governments, etc. subject to confidentiality, except where permission given to divulge names of parties, not issues, eg. Bosnian Election Society which came to Canada after the war for mediation training, with the support of IFES (International Federation of Election Societies) and he was one of the trainers selected in Canada for this special task
· DIAND (Canada’s Federal Department for Native Affairs) in a national internal matter with CANE (Canadian Association of Native Employees); afterwards the ADM invited Mr. Tannis to write a book for the benefit of not only Government Departments, but professional advisors and the general public, but, for a number of circumstances, although the outline was put together, that project at that time did not materialize, but forms part of the basis for the second book that he is still compiling for future publication; also, from this intervention, he was a plenary speaker at the CANE conference in 2001
· in Akwesasne as mentioned (with all levels of Government, in USA (New York State), Canada (Ontario and Quebec), internal Native Governments and Traditional Council, and provincial, state, and federal (US and Canada) police and security forces, and dozens of levels of jurisdictions both political and legal (for which he was given an honour at a special ceremony by the Native Community) (1990-1992)
· Other current activities include Mr. Ernie Tannis co-hosting an ADR weekly show on Chin Radio 97.9 FM Ottawa (heard over the internet www.chinradio.com) with Gary Michaels, Program Director; on Dec. 29th, 2005, it was the 48th program, including the Mayor of Ottawa doing a year –end review; this is a public service educational program which has included guests, locally, provincially, nationally, and internationally, on subjects affecting individuals, institutions, and global issues on conflict-resolution, and problem-solving for a more peaceful world on the theme: ‘world peace through inner peace”; this show has been continued into the new year, and the radio studio is now seeking to syndicate the program elsewhere
· Some upcoming community events include: in Feb./06, he will be presenting two workshops for the Kiwanis Young People (Circle K) on the ‘Art of Negotiation’ and the ‘Art of Listening’ on Saturday and Sunday; and, in Jan./06, a presentation for ACUGA (Arab Canadian University Graduate Association: www.acuga.com) and the international applications of ADR; he is co-chairing the 25th Anniversary Dinner for Reach in June/06 and an advisor to their next annual national conference on ADR and Disability/Health Care, together with other events with the Circle of Canadians, and various other community events, university guest appearances; etc.
· There are dozens of other non-profit organizations and charities for which Mr. Tannis has assisted in his 30 year career as a lawyer, and in his non-lawyer capacity in many other just causes
· He has spent a great deal of time on faith-based mediation, involved in training sessions on ADR and Religious Texts and Teachings, and value-based ADR for anyone interested in problem-solving from a spiritual, not just materialistic perspective, including respectful disagreements
· In 1969 at Carleton University, he was co-editor of the Students Course Guide, an innovative approach in Ontario for students evaluating courses, and was also involved in an initiative for raising funds for a country in poverty in Africa, and in later years, representing Carleton University at the last CUSA national conference, among other activities
· In 2003, moderated a panel at the bi-annual Pastoral Counselling Conference at Saint Paul University, on the theme of conflict resolution, from which event, one of the panellists (his nephew), delivered a paper, which is to be part of proceedings to be published the Fall of 2006
· In 1984 was the Honorary Legal Counsel for the only authorized commemorative book of Pope Paul II trip to Canada (“The Official Chronicle of the Canadian Visit”), including dealings with the Nuncio and the Canadian Council of Bishops
· Copies of various materials are included in this application, chosen from voluminous documentation selected to fit this nomination, and much more can be provided if requested or required, copious background documentation exists as may be further needed
Ernest G. Tannis, B.A. LL.B. C. Med. He has two children, Derek (33), and Chanda (27) and a grandson, Morgan (5); he is married to Youmna Ismail; he was born in Ottawa, his father (George Tannis) is from Kfarmishky, Lebanon (which he visited for the first time last year), and his maternal (mother born in Montreal) grandfather (Very Rev. Fr. M. Zarbatany) is from Damascus, Syria. (more information about Mr. Ernest Tannis and his practice and philosophy can be found @ www.adrcentre.org) |
PRESENTATION |
The FIRST PART will explore the history, promise and limitations of ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) based on individual, institutional and international levels. The differences between process and content will be emphasized in conflict analysis, principled (interest-based) as different from positional (rights-based) negotiations will be highlighted, and the spectrum of ADR including Courts, Strikes and Wars, will be placed on a broad negotiation continuum. The SECOND PART of the discussion will posit the theories of negotiation as an underlying theme of conflict resolution in general terms only, not dealing with content, but focusing on problem-solving processes, in preparation for the third part, in context of the Middle East situation. In this second segment, the presenter will draw upon actual experiences he has applied on-the-ground in his 30-year career in law and ADR, referring to other colleagues in Canada, the USA and internationally with whom he has worked and learned from in mediation and conflict resolution interventions and training. In the THIRD PART, these other international examples will then be adapted in a unique interactive dialogue with the audience, in a nonpartisan, apolitical approach, facilitating input from the audience on the design of a conflict resolution process for the Middle East. This last part, he hopes, will give a practical sense to the principles. (The true examples, due to the confidentiality of the neutral work, are given with permission of the disputants.) |