National Roundtable on Risk Management
The Ontario Trails Council and the Canadian Trails Federation co-hosted a virtual National Roundtable on Risk Management from February 22nd to 23rd 2022.
The Roundtable was sponsored by Intact Public Entities with the
Trail Research Hub providing logistical support.
If you were unable to attend, and would like access to the archived videos and
presenter slides from the Roundtable, please email Patrick Connor,
Executive Director, Ontario Trails Council at execdir@ontariotrails.ca to arrange for payment.
2022 Schedule
The Schedule for the National Roundtable on Risk Management was as follows.
Day 1: Insurance and Legal Liability in Trails and Active Transportation
Panelists will each give a brief presentation (10 to 15 minutes), followed by a facilitated discussion and Q and A Period with all Panelists.
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1:00pm - 1:10pm (EST) Official Welcome 1
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Terri LeRoux, President, Ontario Trails Council
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1:10pm - 2:00pm (EST) Panel Presentations
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Kelsey Johansen, PhD (ABD) - Insuring Ontario's Trails
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Ryan Morasiewicz, JD - Protecting Yourself with Liability Waivers
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Dave Shellnutt, JD - Municipal Trail Liability - What to do if you're involved in a crash and how to advocate for you and your trail
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2:00pm - 2:30pm (EST) Question and Answer Period
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2:30pm - 3:30pm (EST) Region Specific Breakout Rooms for detailed discussions of key insurance and liability issues by jurisdiction.
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Breakout Room 1: Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI & NL)
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Breakout Room 2: Eastern Canada (Ontario & Quebec)
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Breakout Room 3: Central Canada (Manitoba & Saskatchewan)
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Breakout Room 4: Western Canada (Alberta & B.C.)
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Breakout Room 5: Northern Canada (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
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3:30pm - 4:00pm (EST) Re-Group for a collective discussion of additional training and education opportunities and future directions in education, and professional development at the local and national level.
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Patrick Connor, Executive Director, Ontario Trails Council
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Sandra Riches, Executive Director, BC AdventureSmart
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Day 2: Best Practices for Assessing and Managing Risks on Trails
Panelists will each give a brief presentation (10 to 15 minutes), followed by a facilitated discussion and Q and A Period with all Panelists.
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1:00pm - 1:10pm (EST) Official Welcome Day 2
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Jane McCulloch, President, Canadian Trails Federation
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1:10pm - 2:00pm (EST) Panel Presentations
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Brian Anderson - Risk Management at Road and Trail Intersections
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Tracy Eso - Partnerships in Trail Maintenance – Contractual Risk Transfer via User Groups
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Mark Wood - Risk Management on Recreation Trails
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2:00pm - 2:30pm (EST) Question and Answer Period
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2:30pm - 3:30pm (EST) Activity Specific Breakout Rooms for detailed discussions of key risk management issues by trail activity and trail type.
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Breakout Room 1: Risk Management and Motorized Uses
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Breakout Room 2: Risk Management and Non-Motorized Uses
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Breakout Room 3: Risk Management and Mixed Use
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Breakout Room 4: Risk Management and Trail Partnerships
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Breakout Room 5: Risk Management and Trail Design
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3:30pm - 4:00pm (EST) Re-Group for a collective discussion of next steps and future directions in policy, advocacy, and research.
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Facilitator: Jane McCulloch, President, Canadian Trails Federation
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Panelist and Facilitator Bios
The Planning Committee of the 2022 National Roundtable on Risk Management was pleased to host the following Dignified Guests, and Panelists, and acknowledges the support of our breakout room Facilitators throughout the event.
Terri LeRoux
President, Ontario Trails Council
Senior Manager , PARCS, Credit Valley Conservation
Terri LeRoux is the President of the Ontario Trails Council, and the Senior Manager, PARCS (Property, Assets, Recreation and Conservation Areas) with Credit Valley Conservation.
In her role with Credit Valley Conservation, Terri is responsible for the overall management and strategic development of 62 conservation properties comprised of almost 2,800 hectares of land. Responsibilities include conservation land planning, land securement, policy development, management plan development, capital projects, trail management, visitor services, recreational programming, enforcement, business development, field operations, stewardship plans and stakeholder engagement. Terri is also the Executive Director of the Credit Valley Conservation Foundation, a registered environmental charity. In this role, she has helped raise more than fifteen million dollars for critical Credit Valley Conservation projects.
Prior to conservation land management and fundraising, Terri worked as a Provincial Park Warden, Fisheries Officer, and as a member of the Emergency Response Team for five years in Ontario’s Provincial Parks (Presqu’ile and Algonquin).
Kelsey Johansen, PhD, MES-NBRT
Lecturer, Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo
Chair, The Trail Research Hub
Kelsey Johansen is a Lecturer in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, at the University of Waterloo, where she teaches in the areas of outdoor recreation, tourism development, and therapeutic recreation. Her research interests include trails as a mechanism for rural community tourism development, transformative placemaking through trails, and regenerative tourism, and insurance and risk management in the trails sector. Kelsey is the Principal Investigator on the Trails and Social Enterprise Research Project, a longitudinal study exploring the awareness and use of the principles of social enterprise and collective impact in the Canadian trails industry and associated sectors. She recently partnered with the Ontario Trails Council to design and undertake the Insuring Ontario's Trails Survey which explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on securing insurance within Ontario's trail sector and well as key risk management issues facing the Ontario trails industry and the wider trails sector.
Kelsey is the Chair of the Trail Research Hub, a network comprised of dedicated trail researchers and practitioners from academia, industry and community, who undertake research, and education and outreach initiatives to support sustainable trail development, construction, and maintenance across Canada while establishing best practice guidelines for trails governance and management.
Kelsey also serves as the Publicity Director for the Voyageur Trail Association, as the Treasurer of the Ontario Trails Council and on the Board of the Canadian Trails Federation. An avid trail rider, snowshoer and canoeist, Kelsey has traveled many trails throughout Northwestern Ontario, Southern Ontario, and Northern Quebec (Canada), Germany (National Park Harz and the Konigsee), the Shetland Islands, the South Island of Aotearoa / New Zealand (including the Mackenzie Basin, Aoraki / Mount Cook, and Franz Josef Glacier) and the forests of Sweden, including Tyresta National Park.
Ryan Morasiewicz, JD
Outdoor Adventure and Insurance Defense Lawyer, Sound Law, LLP
Research and Rescue Ground Search Leader
Ryan Morasiewicz is an Outdoor/Adventure and Insurance Defense lawyer practicing in Squamish, BC. He has extensive experience in risk management in the outdoors industry, insurance, and injury litigation. Ryan has significant courtroom experience, both a trial and appeal, including appearing as defence counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada in the leading case on tort law causation, Clements v. Clements. Outside of the office, Ryan is a Ground Search Team Leader with North Shore Rescue, the oldest and busiest volunteer mountain Search and Rescue team in Canada, and together with his German Shepherd, Neiko, is one of only 18 civilian RCMP PDS-validated wilderness K9 search dog teams in British Columbia.
Dave Shellnutt, JD
Founder, The Biking Lawyer, LLP
Dave is a dedicated advocate for individuals who have suffered injuries and injustice. Dave has 8 years of personal injury law experience and is founder of the Biking Lawyer LLP and the Toronto Bike Brigade. Dave advocates on all fronts for his clients and the cycling community. In the courts, in the press, with insurers, treatment providers, and government, including the city and police, where necessary.
Patrick Connor, BA Hons, CAE, SSA
Executive Director, Ontario Trails Council
President, Canadian Recreational Horse and Rider Association
Patrick Connor is the Executive Director of the Ontario Trails Council and is a leader in trails with over 20 years of experience at the local, regional, provincial and national level. His extensive trail development experience is aided by a unique practice-based methodology that has developed his keen understanding of community trail planning processes in Canada.
Patrick is a Canadian Society of Association Executives Accredited Non-Profit Executive, President of the Canadian Horse and Rider Association, Past President of the Canadian Trails Federation, Past Chair of the National Trails Coalition, A Member of Economic Developers Association of Canada and a supporter of other community justice and betterment initiatives
Sandra Riches
Executive Director, BC AdventureSmart
Sandra Riches has been involved in outdoor recreation management, provincial and national incident prevention since 1992. She has two children (son 23 yrs, daughter 20 yrs) and loves to ski and mountain bike.
Her eventful career began with the Outdoor Recreation Management Program at Capilano University in North Vancouver, British Columbia. She quickly kicked off her career with BC Parks as a Park Ranger & Senior Ranger. Fast forward to today, Sandra's now entering her 18th year with BC AdventureSmart, as the Executive Director.
Sandra works closely with BC’s 79 Search and Rescue groups, consisting of 3,000 volunteers. Her work expands to collaboration with industry partners, provincial & national Parks, Tourism, the Search and Rescue Volunteers Association of Canada and Public Safety Canada, all helping to reduce the number and severity of incidents in British Columbia and across Canada.
Jane McCulloch
President, Canadian Trails Federation
Principal, Terminus Consulting
Jane McCulloch is a recognized voice in trails and trail culture in Canada, from coast to coast to coast. Jane has been the Principal consultant of Terminus Consulting since 2017, where she focuses on trail tourism, community / stakeholder engagement, and product development.
Jane is passionate about the advancement of trail and cycling infrastructure in Canada and has had the opportunity to see the evolution of many trails from initial ideas, through development, to successful tourism and active transportation products.
Brian Anderson
Chair, Ontario Trails Council Risk Management Committee
Road Specialist, Intact Public Entities
Intact Public Entities assists client municipalities with their road safety issues, supported by Brian’s experience building, maintaining, and managing municipal infrastructure.
Prior to joining Intact Public Entities, Brian worked for both urban and rural municipalities as well as the Ministry of Transportation and the Ontario Good Roads Association. Brian has authored numerous papers and guidelines for municipal infrastructure management and has trained municipal staff across the province on topics that include asset management principles, minimum maintenance standards and road safety.
Brian’s knowledge of needs studies, his work on asset management planning and his road construction and maintenance background qualifies him as IPE’s go to person for roads
Tracy Eso. CIP, CRM, ACI
Risk Assessment and Solutions Manager, Intact Public Entities
Tracy Eso is a Risk Assessment and Solutions Manager with expertise in insurance claims, risk management, and captive insurance. Though relatively new to Intact Public Entities, she has been in insurance industry for over 20 years. She works with the claims team and the risk management department where she creates risk management / claims solutions for a variety of clients and continues to champion the belief that the best risk management practices can be determined by closely examining past claims experiences. Tracy is passionate about delivering unique customer service solutions within the risk management / risk transfer space.
Tracy is an instructor for the Insurance Institute of Canada teaching future insurance professionals in the industry. She has spoken at several different conferences on topics ranging from Insurance Fraud to Liability Claims.
Mark Wood
Trail Consultant, Trail Holistics
After a decade consulting with Land Managers on Vancouver's North Shore to rebuild over 70kms of severely degraded and impacted trails, Mark launched Trail Holistics in 2017 to expand his field of expertise province wide. His team now works with Provincial and regional governments to assess, build and improve trail networks.
Currently working with the City of Langford on the Jordie Lunn Memorial Bike Park, conceivably the most progressive urban bike park ever built in Canada, his work continues to advance effective risk management strategies through the creation of comprehensive Safety Plans. Mark continues to work with Land Managers, professional and volunteer trail builders delivering a series of educational workshops.
Kirsten Spence
Community Liaison and Researcher, Trail Research Hub
Principal, Quercwood Consulting
Kirsten has been employed by the Trails Community for most of her working life. A graduate of Lakehead University’s Geography Program, Kirsten has worked for many different trail organizations throughout Canada including Trans Canada Trail, the National Trails Coalition and Park-To-Park Trail Association. Prior to working in the trails sector, she worked for Ontario Parks as a Park Technician and Park Warden at a water access only Provincial Park on Georgian Bay.
Based in Northern Ontario, Kirsten Spence is the principal of Quercwood Consulting, a personalized consulting company specializing in trail development, trail and management planning, operations, and project management. Currently, her main account as Project Coordinator, has her overseeing the development and implementation of the Lake Superior Group of Seven Trail Association project in Marathon, Ontario. This project is connecting the painting sites of the Group of Seven with a hiking trail that is also part of the Voyageur Trail. Kirsten is also involved with the Trail Research Hub's Trails and Social Enterprise Project through the University of Waterloo.
An avid hiker, a few of the long-distance trails Kirsten has completed are the Long Traverse in Gros Morne National Park, hiking rim to rim across the Grand Canyon, and the Silhouette Trail in Killarney Provincial Park.
Courtney Duckett
Intern, Ontario Trails Council
Research Assistant, Trail Research Hub
Through the Co-Op program at the University of Waterloo, where she is studying Geography and Environmental Management, Courtney is supporting the Ontario Trails Council, as the Marketing and Communications Intern, assisting with social media content creation, the 2022 membership drive, and supporting the 2022 National Roundtable on Risk Management. Courtney is also a Research Assistant with the Trail Research Hub's Trails and Social Enterprise Research Project.
Courtney has a passion for outdoor recreation and tourism, and she spends most of her free time participating in hikes, camping, and accessing water trails by canoe or kayak. Courtney has goals to continue working in the trails and recreation sector and is exploring environmental enforcement career options having held summer positions with Ontario Parks.
Sara Skabowski
Research Assistant, Trail Research Hub
Through the University of Waterloo, where she is studying urban planning with a specialization in environmental management and planning, Sara is a Research Assistant with the Trail Research Hub's Grand Watershed Trail Tourism Research Project. Sara has previous co-op work experience as a planner working for municipalities and private consulting firms. Sara will be graduating in Spring 2022 and intends to continue her graduate studies in Europe after which she aspires to work for Parks Canada.
Sara is a passionate outdoor enthusiast and an active hiker. She spends most of her spare time hiking the less travelled trails and camping in the back country, including thru-hiking the Juan De Fuca, West Coast Trail, and East Coast Trail.
If you were unable to attend, and would like access to the archived videos and
presenter slides from the Roundtable, please email Patrick Connor,
Executive Director, Ontario Trails Council at execdir@ontariotrails.ca to arrange for payment.