Law Society of Ontario

Cornell University, M.S.
Harvard Law School, LL.M.
McGill University, B.A.
University of Toronto, LL.B.

Canadian Bar Association
Canadian Network of Education Human Resources Professionals

Education Practice Group
Employment law
Labour relations
Occupational health and safety
Human rights
Litigation and advocacy

John-Paul is a Partner in the Toronto office. Practising in both English and French, John-Paul leads Mathews Dinsdale’s Education Practice Group.

He is one of Canada’s leading education labour lawyers, with extensive experience advising and representing school boards and educational institutions across Ontario.

John-Paul provides strategic advice and advocacy on a broad range of labour, employment, human rights, governance, and education law matters. He regularly represents clients before arbitrators, the Ontario Labour Relations Board, human rights tribunals, and courts, and has appeared on behalf of school boards in well over a thousand arbitrations  and other proceedings.

A recognized leader in the education sector, John-Paul has represented and advised nearly every public, Catholic, and francophone school board in Ontario, as well as the provincial school board associations and independent schools. He is extensively involved in both central and local collective bargaining under the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act and has acted in significant labour disputes, including province-wide strike and unfair labour practice proceedings.

Drawing on his deep understanding of educational institutions, John-Paul regularly advises school boards on governance, trustee responsibilities, executive compensation, student-related issues, and other complex operational matters. He is frequently called upon to provide practical guidance to chief executive officers and senior administrators navigating challenging workplace and institutional issues.

In addition to his practice, John-Paul is actively involved in legal education and professional development. He teaches Education Law at the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University and has previously taught labour law and industrial relations at George Brown College and Osgoode Hall Law School. He is also a co-founder and director of the Canadian Network of Education Human Resource Professionals, a national organization dedicated to advancing human resources leadership in the education sector. John-Paul is also on the Editorial Board of the Education & Law Journal.

In addition to his law degree from the Univeristy of Toronto, John-Paul holds advanced degrees from Cornell University (Master of Science in Labor Law and Collective Bargaining) and Harvard Law School (Master of Laws).