Neil Edwards

Dir. of Quality Assurance, MIT (Global) Consulting Group Inc.

Neil P. Edwards (“Neil”) is a partner in the MIT (Global) Consulting Group Inc. He is currently the MIT Director, Quality Assurance. He ensures that all services provided by MIT meet the highest quality standards based on our clients’ and customers’ needs.

Neil is a social worker by profession. He is also a human rights specialist and practitioner whohas led and conducted investigations and mediations within major institutions and organizations. He is a knowledgeable, skilled and competent human rights practitioner, investigator and mediator honed through his years of leading and conducting investigations and resolving workplace disputes and conflicts.

Neil is a former career public servant with the Ontario Public Service (“OPS”) and held several managerial and leadership positions in the OPS. He has over 30 years’ experience and expertise in the public and private sectors in middle and senior management in areas such as administrative law, social justice, and human rights/equality rights analysis and policy related work/implementation; including human rights case management.

Neil was also the Director of Mediation and Investigation, Ministry of the Attorney General, Ontario Human Rights Commission (“Commission”). In this position, he played key roles in the development of several Commission policies for interpreting and applying the Code to complaints (now “Applications”) alleging breaches of the Code. For example, the Commission’s: “Policy and Guidelines on Racism and Racial Discrimination” and “Policy and Guidelines on Disability and the Duty to Accommodate.” In 2003, he was the recipient of the Commission’s Employee Excellence Award in Leadership.

Neil specializes in leading and providing services in mediation, complex and systemic workplace investigations, human rights training and development, human rights policy development and implementation, human rights organizational systems’ designs, performance management and coaching, mentoring and workplace restoration

Neil possesses extensive and advanced knowledge of and application of human rights/equality rights theory, case law, and methods and standards.  His specialization and expertise are in the interpretation and application of human rights laws and other legislation; for example, the Ontario Human Rights Code, Canadian Human Act, Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act [Bill 168], Employment Standards Act; Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA); and Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

Neil possesses advanced specialization and expertise in conducting individual, complex, and systemic investigations in large multi-faceted unionized organizations, and in the interpretation and application of collective agreements, and internal organizational workplace anti-discrimination and harassment policies. He also provides coaching, mentoring, sensitivity training and workplace restoration for major educational institutions and not-for-profit organizations.

Neil’s experience and expertise include advanced and superior knowledge about and application of jurisprudence to issues and complaints of discrimination, harassment, and poisoned work environment. As a human rights practitioner and specialist, Neil lectures publicly on human rights issues and particularly, the Human Rights Code. He also delivers human rights education in general to employers, service providers and a variety of organizations, institutions and community groups in Ontario and other provinces to assist them in the prevention of human rights issues, enabling diversity and inclusion.

Neil’s formal educational achievements include degrees from Concordia University in Montreal and the University of Toronto; and a myriad of professional courses and development.