CBA Executive

In 2011, Trinda L. Ernst, Q.C., became the fifth woman to assume the presidency of the CBA. Called to the bar in 1984, she was named Queen’s Counsel in 2000. A member of the CBA for 28 years, she has been a partner since 1992 in the 10-lawyer firm of Waterbury Newton. She practises wills and estates, elder law, corporate/commercial law, and real estate law. An active member of the CBA nationally, she is currently vice-chair of the Women Lawyers Forum and a member of the Elder Law Section Executive Committee. She chaired the Resolutions, Constitution and By-laws Committee and the Law Day Standing Committee. At CBA-Nova Scotia, she is currently an elected member of Council and was Branch President in 1999-2000.

Robert Brun, Q.C.
First Vice-President

Mr. Brun is a Past President of the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and a Bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia. He is a member of the Justice Review Task Force and the CBA National Task Force on Conflicts of Interest. Mr. Brun was called to the Bar in 1978 and practiced for five years with the Workers’ Compensation Board of BC prior to joining Harris & Brun as a founding partner in 1984. He has a special interest in personal injury and workers’ compensation law and is also experienced in the fields of insurance and administrative law. He has conducted many trials and appeals in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Court of Appeal of British Columbia and Supreme Court of Canada. He is a frequent guest lecturer at seminars for lawyers put on by Continuing Legal Education, the Canadian Bar Association and the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia.

Fred Headon
Second Vice-President

Fred Headon, Senior Counsel - Labour and Employment Law - at Montreal-based Air Canada, is the first in-house counsel elected as Second Vice-President of the Canadian Bar Association. Prior to joining Air Canada, Mr. Headon has worked in private practice in Montreal in labour, employment, human rights, privacy, and administrative law, as well as civil litigation. A frequent guest speaker at conferences, he also taught Social Law and Administrative Law at the Law Faculty of the National University of Rwanda. In addition to representing clients before a number of administrative tribunals, Fred Headon has appeared before the Superior Court of Quebec, the Federal Court, the Quebec and Federal Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mr. Headon is a member of the CBA/Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB) committee on Joint Policy Statement on Audit Inquiries. The work of this committee is critical in light of new International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) which started to come into effect in Canada in December, 2010. Since 2007, Mr. Headon has sat on the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association's (CCCA) Board of Directors. He is currently a member of the CCCA’s Executive Committee and has been a frequent speaker at both CBA and CCCA events.

Annette Horst
Treasurer

Annette Horst began her career articling with Legal Aid Manitoba at the Northland Community Law Centre in The Pas in the areas of criminal and family law. Ms Horst became a member of the Manitoba Bar Association Council while practising in Brandon and continued her involvement from The Pas, joining the Executive Committee in 2006. She chaired the YL-CBA in 2006-2007. She served on the MBA Mid-Winter Organizing Committee for five years and is a past chair of the MBA Young Lawyers. Ms. Horst has been a Learning Group Facilitator for the Law Society of Manitoba bar course and currently sits on the Law Society of Manitoba’s Committee on Paralegals. Annette Horst received her undergraduate degree from Brandon University in 1995 and her law degree from the University of Manitoba in 1998. She was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1999.

Rod Snow
Past President

A native of Nova Scotia, Rod Snow received his LL.B. from Dalhousie Law School before moving west for his LL.M. He currently practises in the Whitehorse office of Davis LLP as a Corporate/Commercial/M&A solicitor, with emphasis in mining, aboriginal, and environmental law. He served as an executive member and President of the CBA’s Yukon branch, a member of the CBA National Board of Directors and, most recently, as a member of the CBA Communications Committee.

John Hoyles, CAE
Chief Executive Officer

Originally from Val d'Or, Québec, John Hoyles completed an English degree at the University of Ottawa and attended Osgoode Hall Law School. Mr. Hoyles assumed the position of CBA Executive Director in 1996, and is currently the Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Hoyles has held numerous positions prior to joining the CBA, including: founding partner of Byck, Hoyles & Grant, Barristers and Solicitors; Acting Crown Attorney in Ontario; Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the GST Consumer Information Office; and Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the National Capital Commission.