ICC Canada - Arbitration Committee Annual Conference 2025

08-09 Oct 2025

Ottawa English
Start: 08.00 (ET) | End: 18:30 (ET)

Join us for the ICC Canada Arbitration Committee Annual Conference at the National Arts Centre, located in Ottawa, Ontario on October 8-9, 2025. The ICC Canada Arbitration Committee's long-standing annual conference brings together international dispute resolution practitioners, corporate counsel and arbitrators based around the world for interactive discussion and debate on cutting-edge topics in international dispute resolution, not to mention a hefty dose of merriment, libations and camaraderie among friends old and new.

Objective/Who should attend?

This year’s conference will kick-off on October 8 with a joint YCAP and ICC Canada Arbitration Committee welcome reception, which will take place at Dentons’ offices. It is generously sponsored by Dentons and PwC.

The main Conference will take place on October 9, 2025 from 8:00 am to 6:30 pm at the National Arts Centre. This year’s conference theme is “The Great Disruption: Dispute Resolution in a Multipolar World” and will feature panels on:

  • Economic nationalism, climate change and armed conflict in international arbitration
  • Critical minerals
  • NAFTA’s legacy
  • Resource nationalism (who wants to be a millionaire game show)

There will be lots of time for networking during breakfast, lunch, coffee breaks and the cocktail reception.

There will also be a dinner held in the evening of October 9, after the main Conference which requires an additional ticket.

The annual general meeting (open only to Members of the ICC Canada Arbitration Committee) will take place on October 10, hosted at BLG’s Ottawa office.

A detailed conference programme will be available soon. This year’s conference co-chairs are Benedict S Wray, Counsel at BLG and Emily Sherkey, Senior Associate at Torys LLP.

Day 1
Day 2

15:45-17:00

YCAP – ICC YAAF 2025 Fall Symposium: Multi-Jurisdictional Strategy in Commercial Arbitration

Hosted by Dentons Ottawa, 99 Bank St, Suite 1420, Ottawa ON K1P 1H4 (details to be provided by YCAP; separate registration required)

18:00

Joint Young Canadian Arbitration Practitioners, ICC Canada Arbitration Committee and ICC Young Arbitration and ADR Forum Welcome Reception 

Hosted by Dentons Ottawa

Dentons Ottawa

99 Bank St. Suite 1420

Ottawa ON K1P 1H4

8:00-9:00

Registration and Breakfast


  • National Arts Centre 

1 Elgin St, Ottawa, K1P 5W1

Canada Room

9:00-9:10

Welcome Remarks

  • Craig Chiasson, ICC Canada Arbitration Committee Chair; Partner, BLG, Vancouver

9:10-10:00

Keynote Speech 

  • John Hannaford, former Clerk, Privy Council, Ottawa

Moderator Q+A

  • Myriam Seers; former Chair, ICC Canada Arbitration Committee; Co-founder, Agora, Toronto

10:00-11:15

Session #2 – When Everything Hits at Once: navigating economic nationalism, climate change and armed conflict in international arbitration

Moderator: 

  • Junior Sirivar, Partner, Blakes, Toronto

Panelists

  • Heather Clark, Senior Associate, Norton Rose, Quebec
  • Dr. Raed Fathallah, Partner, Bredin Prat, Paris
  • Hugh Meighen, Partner, BLG, Toronto
  • Lee Rovinescu, Partner, Freshfields, New York
  • Robert Volterra, Partner, Volterra Fietta, London

11:15-11:30 

Morning Coffee Break

11:30-12:45

Session #3 – Critical Minerals in Crisis: Supply Chains, Sanctions and Corruption in the Clean Energy Race

Moderator: 

  • Alexandra Logvin, Counsel, Fasken, Ottawa

Panelists:

  • Christina Beharry, Partner, Foley Hoag, Washington, D.C.
  • Chris Milburn, Managing Director, Secretariat, Toronto
  • Todd Wetmore, Founding Partner, Three Crowns, Paris
  • Professor Elizabeth Whitsitt, FCIArb; Associate Professor, University of Calgary, Calgary

12:45-14:00

Lunch Break 

14:00-15:20

Session #4 – NAFTA’s Legacy: Canada’s Enduring Impact on International Law

Moderator: 

  • Tina Cicchetti, Independent Arbitrator, Cicchetti Arbitration, Vancouver

Panelists:

  • David Haigh KC, FCIArb; Arbitrator, Calgary
  • Professor Céline Lévesque , Professor, University of Ottawa, Ottawa
  • Meg Kinnear, Founding Member, Low & Kinnear Dispute Resolution, Washington, D.C.
  • Heather Squires, Deputy Director and Senior Counsel, Global Affairs Canada, Ottawa

15:20-15:50

Afternoon Coffee Break

15:50-16:20

Session #5 – Who Wants to Be an Arbitration Millionaire? Resource nationalism throughout the ages

Gameshow Host:

  • Doug Harrison, Arbitrator, FCIArb, Toronto

Contestants:

  • Artem Barsukov, Partner, Bennett Jones, Edmonton
  • Kylann Kidd, Partner, BD&P, Calgary
  • Chris Kinnear Hunter, Partner, Torys, Toronto

16:20–16:40

Concluding Remarks

  • Alison Fitzgerald, ICC Canada Arbitration Committee Vice-Chair; Bennett Jones, Ottawa/Toronto

16:40-18:30

Cocktail Reception

19:00-23:00

Dinner

Restaurant e18hteen

18 York St. Ottawa ON K1N 5T5

Artem Barsukov

Partner, Bennett Jones, Edmonton

Christina Beharry

Partner, Foley Hoag, Washington, D.C.

Craig Chiasson

ICC Canada Arbitration Committee Chair; Partner, BLG, Vancouver

Tina Cicchetti

Independent Arbitrator, Cicchetti Arbitration, Vancouver

Heather Clark

Senior Associate, Norton Rose, Quebec

Dr. Raed Fathallah

Partner, Bredin Prat, Paris

Alison Fitzgerald

ICC Canada Arbitration Committee Vice-Chair; Bennett Jones, Ottawa/Toronto

David Haigh KC

FCIArb; Arbitrator, Calgary

John Hannaford, former Clerk, Privy Council, Ottawa

John Hannaford, former Clerk, Privy Council, Ottawa

Doug Harrison

Arbitrator, FCIArb, Toronto

Professor Céline Lévesque 

Professor, University of Ottawa, Ottawa

Alexandra Logvin

Counsel, Fasken, Ottawa

Chris Kinnear Hunter

Partner, Torys, Toronto

Kylann Kidd

Partner, BD&P, Calgary

Meg Kinnear

Founding Member, Low & Kinnear Dispute Resolution, Washington, D.C.

Hugh Meighen

Partner, BLG, Toronto

Chris Milburn

Managing Director, Secretariat, Toronto

Lee Rovinescu

Partner, Freshfields, New York

Myriam Seers

former Chair, ICC Canada Arbitration Committee; Co-founder, Agora, Toronto

Junior Sirivar

Partner, Blakes, Toronto

Heather Squires

Deputy Director and Senior Counsel, Global Affairs Canada, Ottawa

Robert Volterra

Partner, Volterra Fietta, London

Todd Wetmore

Founding Partner, Three Crowns, Paris

Professor Elizabeth Whitsitt

FCIArb; Associate Professor, University of Calgary, Calgary

Venue

National Arts Center
1 Elgin St
Ottawa, ON K1P 5W1
Canada

Travel info

Take advantage of the Room Block being held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier (1 Rideau Street) if booked by September 8, 2025. The hotel is a 5-minute walk from the Conference venue.

Registration information

Prior registration is required and will be taken by the ICC Canada Arbitration Committee: https://chamber.ca/events/icc-canada-arbitration-committee-annual-conference-2025/

When you click to register for the event above, you leave the ICC website and are redirected to the event co-organizer website. Your personal information will be collected by the event co-organizer in accordance with its own privacy policy. Among other things, the privacy policy provides that the event co-organizer will share your personal 

data with ICC for the purpose of providing event services, in which case the ICC Privacy policy will also apply

For further information please contact

Kiara Williams

Promotion Officer, Arbitration and ADR, North America, ICC Dispute Resolution Services

iccdrs-northam@iccwbo.org

 

For more information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Maggie Patterson at mpatterson@chamber.ca and the conference co-chairs Emily Sherkey at esherkey@torys.com, and Benedict S Wray at bwray@blg.com

Organisers

Partners

Sponsors