CURRICULUM VITAE

ROBERT A. KOMINAR, M.A., LL.B., Ph.D. (cand.) C. Med., Cert. C.F.M., C.P.M.

BACKGROUND

Robert Kominar is a lawyer and has been, for over a decade, a full time Arbitrator of accident benefit disputes with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario. He has also, in this capacity, conducted many tort and global mediations. Earlier he was a Faculty professor in two of Royal Roads University’s graduate programs: the Master of Arts in Conflict Analysis and Management and the Master of Arts in Leadership and Training and a sessional professor in Wilfrid Laurier University’s Programs in Organizational Leadership, Contemporary Studies, Law, and Philosophy. Prior to this Robert was a tenured professor for ten years in the Department of Law & Justice at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario.

Robert began his professional life practicing family, civil and criminal litigation for more than 10 years and now practices mediation and arbitration as the Principal of Integrity Dispute Resolution Services. He is a founding member of Axis Family Mediation which provides all mediation services to the Superior Court of Justice (Family Court) in the Hamilton Ontario region. Robert is an experienced conflict resolution trainer who served for multiple years as the Academic Coordinator of the York/Laurentian University Certificate Program in Dispute Resolution in Sudbury, Ontario. He was also the academic coordinator of the same in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario. Robert coordinated the Conflict Resolution Programs at York University in Toronto and at the Universities of Guelph, Brock and the University of Windsor. He has significant practical experience with mediation interventions in family, agricultural, legal, interpersonal, organizational and professional regulatory conflicts.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE & INTERESTS

Robert has worked with parties in thousands of disputes, as mediator, arbitrator, factfinder and counsel. He has had significant experience in the areas of family and employment conflict, as well as in community, commercial, cultural, agricultural and organizational disputes. The following reflect some of his areas of interest and experience:

  • Family breakdown: including parenting issues, financial support, and property valuation assessment/equalization.
  • Child Protection/Adoption Mediation
  • Elder care family issues
  • Property Disputes
  • Professional Discipline matters
  • Personal Injury claims
  • Human Rights Disputes
  • Employment disputes
  • Estate beneficiary conflicts

EDUCATION

B.A. Honours (Philosophy), University of Windsor, 1974

M.A. (Philosophy), University of Windsor, 1975

LL.B. University of Windsor, 1980

Ph.D. Candidate (Ethics & Philosophy of Law), University of Western Ontario.

EMPLOYMENT & OTHER PROFESSIONAL INVOLVEMENT

Lawyer/Mediator: family law, personal injury and human rights. Emphasis on promoting alternatives to litigation. Current.

Arbitrator, Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) (2002-2018)
Arbitrations at FSCO determine disputes between auto insurers and those claiming statutory accident benefits. Arbitrators have concurrent jurisdiction with Superior Court Justices in automobile accident benefit cases.

Sessional Professor, Departments of Organizational Leadership, Contemporary Studies, Philosophy, Law and Society, Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario (2005-2015)

Mediator/Settlement Officer, Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) (2001-2002)
FSCO is responsible for the regulation of all Financial Institutions in Ontario that fall under provincial jurisdiction. All disputes in Ontario between individuals injured in motor vehicle accidents and their accident benefits insurers are required to be mediated prior to arbitration or court action.

Professor, Master’s Program in Conflict Analysis and Management, Royal Roads University, Victoria, British Columbia (2000-2005)
Royal Roads University offers the largest graduate level program in conflict studies in Canada. Robert has served as academic coordinator in the program.

Professor, Master of Arts Program in Leadership and Training, Royal Roads University, Victoria, British Columbia (2001-2004)

Assistant Professor, Department of Law & Justice, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario (1990-1999)
The Department of Law & Justice offers an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Legal Studies. During Robert’s tenure it implemented a Dispute Resolution stream within its degree programs. Along with Laurentian University as a whole, the Department is actively involved in the development of technology that facilitates the delivery of creative, high quality distributed learning.
Robert taught courses in jurisprudence, critical thinking, law and dispute resolution as well as researched and wrote in these areas. He has a number of academic publications and has presented his research in national and international conferences. He has been frequently called on by the media to discuss conflict resolution issues.

Barrister & Solicitor (1982-2020)
Primary areas of interest: personal injury, family matters, wrongful dismissal from employment, civil litigation.

Dispute Resolution Trainer (1997- 2004)
Coordinator and Trainer in the York/Laurentian Certificate Program in Dispute Resolution. This full academic year program focuses on training dispute resolution professionals to become reflective practitioners, by providing them with both practical skills training as well as the opportunity to read, reflect and dialogue about the emerging profession and ethical responsibilities of dispute resolution. The program, centered at York University, is fast becoming a collaborative effort of a number of Canadian universities. Robert was instrumental to bringing dispute resolution training to Northern Ontario and the Hamilton/Niagara regions. He currently teaches mediation in Windsor, Ontario and Victoria, British Columbia. Robert has designed a course module/examination in civil procedure geared to providing mediators who are not lawyers with the knowledge necessary to gain access to court mediation rosters across Ontario.

Clinical Supervisor (1999-2001)
Laurentian University in partnership with the Mediation Center of Sudbury has set up the first clinical internship program in Conflict Resolution in Ontario. Robert is the Senior Supervisor of the internship program which was created to provide significant supervised experience to conflict resolution professionals in Northern Ontario.

Principal, Integrity Dispute Resolution Services
Integrity Dispute Resolution Services provides mediation and arbitration services throughout Canada. Integrity also provides mediation and negotiation training programs as well as design of organizational conflict management systems. We have provided large group facilitation services to Industry Canada, and the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development as well as a number of Ontario hospitals. Integrity is currently expanding its services to respond to the need organizations have to integrate sustainable dialogue communication processes into their organizational environment, with the view to overcoming traditionally adversarial cultures.

Founding Member, Axis Mediation Group
Axis Mediation is a group of mediators who hold the contract to provide all family mediation services to the Superior Court of Justice in Hamilton and surrounding areas.. Axis also delivers court annexed mandatory information programs (MIPS) for all litigants in family courts within in its catchment area in Ontario.

Certifying Assessor, Family Mediation Canada
All candidates for certification with FMC are evaluated through education and experience criteria as well as video demonstration of mediation skills and written examinations.

Past member of the Board of Directors, Family Mediation Canada

Co-Chair of the Program Committee for Family Mediation Canada’s 1999 National Conference, Toronto Ontario

Past Member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Association for Family Mediation

Past-Chair of the Ethics Committee, Ontario Association for Family Mediation

Past member of the Board of Directors (multiple terms), ADR Institute of Ontario (ADRIO)

Member of the Chartered Mediator Assessment Committee, ADRIO

Member, Ontario Society for the Study of Argumentation

CERTIFICATIONS

Certified as a Comprehensive Family Mediator (Cert. C.F.M.), Family Mediation Canada.
Family Mediation Canada has instituted the most rigorous certification process for mediators in North America. The comprehensive mediator designation is the highest accreditation they currently offer.

Certified as a National Mediator Assessor by Family Mediation Canada

Certified as a Chartered Mediator (C. Med.), ADR Institute of Ontario/Canada

Certified Squaretrade Online Mediator
Square Trade provides all required mediation services for disputes that arise on eBay auction transactions around the globe, as well as online dispute resolution services in other commercial and insurance related cases.

Certified as a Specialist in Openness Adoption Mediation, Ontario (OAFM)

Roster Member, Ontario Mandatory Mediation Program for Civil Litigation, Toronto, Ontario.
The Province of Ontario now requires that most civil litigation cases filed in the Superior courts be mediated before trial.

Certified Roster Member, Ontario Child Protection Mediation Panel, Ministry of Children and Youth Services, Ontario

Roster Member, Ontario Community Care Access Centres Dispute Resolution Facilitator Panel

Appointed as Arbitrator under the Line Fences Act (Ontario) for the City of Hamilton (2008-2019)

Appointed as an Adjudicator member of the Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat, Ministry of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Canada.

Qualified pursuant to National Standing Offer to provide mediation services pursuant to the Farm Debt Mediation Act, through 2022.

Qualified pursuant to National Standing Offer to provide mediation services and conflict resolution training to the Department of National Defense, April 2001 - December 2008.

Qualified pursuant to National Standing Offer to provide mediation services to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, November 3, 2003.

Appointed to provide Independent Third-Party Neutral services to the Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, through 2018.

Appointed as Arbitrator under Line Fences Act (Ontario), 2017 ongoing.

Appointed as a Peer Mentor for the Law Society of Ontario’s Member Assistance Program, focus on mental health issues.

Mediation instructor, Law Society Upper Canada/Financial Services Commission of Ontario.

Chair, arbitration panels, Canadian Pipelines Arbitration Secretariat, 2019 ongoing.

September, 2020

CONTACT

Robert A. Kominar
Integrity Dispute Resolution
864 Beeforth Road
Millgrove Ontario L8B 1C3

905 690 0026

kominar@dialogic.ca