Sunday 12 February 2023
Veteran lawyer and community activist Patricia Harewood was recently appointed as a full-time member of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB), effective March 13th, 2023.
The FPSLREB is responsible for administering the collective bargaining and grievance adjudication systems in the federal public service and in Parliament. It is also responsible for the resolution of staffing complaints related to internal appointments and layoffs in the federal public service. It can also receive complaints about appointments that were made to comply with an order in a previous FPSLREB decision, as well as revocations of internal appointments.
Prior to being appointed as a Board member (Adjudicator) to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, Patricia Harewood worked as a labour lawyer and held senior management positions at the Public Service Alliance of Canada. She began her legal career at the Department of Justice where she articled in the Legal Excellence Program and then stayed on at HRSDC legal services as a litigator. Patricia has sat on numerous Boards of not-for-profit organizations, including as Chair of the Board of Match International (now the Equality Fund), Chair of the Board at Centre éducatif Les Débrouillards and vice-chair of the Board at the City for All Women Initiative. She also served as Ombudsperson for the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers and has provided training and workshops on equity and labour rights to diverse audiences. An active “radiohead”, Patricia has been a co-host on CHUO’s Saturday flagship public affairs program, Black on Black, for over twenty years. In her spare time, she loves to play soccer, bake and listen to good music with her kids.