Speakers: Building an Ethical Workplace

Marc Tassé

Marc Tassé is a globally recognized expert on corporate misconduct, crisis response, and ethical leadership. He advises CEOs, directors, and other leaders of Fortune 500 companies and global organizations, on responding strategically to sensitive regulatory, governance, and reputational challenges. His success stems from his ability to navigate complex investigations and negotiate with opposing parties. Among other roles, Tassé sits as an external member of the Departmental Audit Committee of Public Safety Canada for a 3-year term.

An award-winning lecturer at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law and at the Telfer Executive MBA program, he has delivered lectures on corporate ethics and financial crimes at Harvard University, and has been frequently quoted in prestigious publications, such as The Wall Street Journal.

Pamela Forward

Pamela Forward is a workplace mediator and researcher. Forward has had a varied career in government (federal public service and advisor to federal cabinet Ministers), business, and health care. Over the years, much of her work has been with people in conflict and crisis situations. As well, she has coached new mediators in Carleton University’s Department of Law Conflict Resolution Program and law students in the University of Ottawa’s Department of Law.

Her interest in whistleblowing advocacy began in the 1990s when she joined with others to support whistleblowers in the federal public service. She recently completed an in-depth, qualitative case study on whistleblowing regarding drug safety issues at Health Canada, which highlighted many system flaws resulting in reprisals against truthtellers and impunity for wrongdoers. This blend of knowledge and experience has stimulated an abiding interest in supporting conflict-friendly, ethical, and accountable organizations, and inspired the founding of the Whistleblowing Canada Research Society.

Kelly Donovan

While employed as a police officer, Kelly Donovan did what she thought was her obligation and made a disclosure to the board that there were unethical practices within the police force’s internal affairs division. As a result, she faced retaliation. Donovan resigned from policing and has since published two books on whistleblowing. She has advocated for better protections for police whistleblowers in Ontario and effectively influenced law changes so that officers can now anonymously report internal misconduct.

Recipient of the 2019 Ontario Civil Liberties Award, Kelly has become an expert on all issues relating to whistleblowing and suppressive workplace cultures. Even after resigning from the profession, Kelly continued to face reprisal for crossing the “thin blue line.” She now conducts workplace investigations to improve the ethical standard of workplaces across Canada.

Danielle Lafleur

Danielle Lafleur is a Labour Relations Advisor at ACFO-ACAF, where she has spent more than 10 years helping members with their cases and concerns. Prior to joining the team, Danielle articled at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and holds a law degree from the University of Ottawa and a degree in commerce from Laurentian University.

Additionally, Lafleur is a certified emotional intelligence facilitator and has developed and delivers two courses on workplace ethics for public service financial professionals, bringing a mix of deep expertise in rules and codes of conduct with a strong familiarity with the work of ACFO-ACAF members.

Christopher Bauer

Christopher Bauer is a licensed psychologist with over 25 years of experience as a trainer, keynote speaker, and consultant. Between coaching, speaking, and consulting, he has worked with front-line workers, senior executives, and everyone in between. He is also called on regularly to speak on values-driven leadership, management, and customer-service initiatives. Bauer’s articles on building and maintaining great ethics have appeared in such journals as CEO Refresher, CFO Magazine, Financial Executive, Internal Auditor, and many others.

His latest book is titled “Better Ethics NOW: How to Avoid the Ethics Disaster You Never Saw Coming.” He also publishes a free “Weekly Ethics Thought” seen by thousands of readers worldwide. Because of his unique contribution to preventing ethics problems, Christopher Bauer has been recognized with the prestigious Certified Fraud Specialist designation by the Association of Certified Fraud Specialists.