Law Enforcement Review Board 

The principal activity of the board is to hear appeals for both citizens and police officers separate and apart from the police service involved. The principal objective of the board is independent and impartial review.  At the request of the minister, the board may also investigate any matter relating to policing.  Individuals who can appeal are:

• A citizen
• A police officer
• A peace officer

Once the board has made a decision about an appeal, it is binding. The only further appeal that can be made is to the Court of Appeal and only if the board made a legal error in its decision (also called point of law).

The Law Enforcement Review Board is made up of members from the public, who are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. The members represent a broad range of experience in the community. The chair of the board must be an active member of the Law society.  

Law Enforcement Review Board
c/o Board Secretary
1502 City Centre Place
10025-102 A Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta  T5J 2Z2

Board Members for 2011

John Phillips was appointed Chair of the Law Enforcement Review Board on June 14, 2007. Mr. Phillips practiced law for 33 years and has extensive experience in family law, criminal law and civil litigation. He is a Registered Collaborative Family Lawyer and has completed studies in interest based conflict resolution with the Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society. Mr. Phillips has been a consultant for the Métis Nation of Alberta and a Senior Advisor, Métis Relations for the Province of Alberta. Mr. Phillips is past Chair of the Calgary Aboriginal Urban Affairs Committee, an advisory body of the City of Calgary and has held various positions including Chair of the Provincial Métis Justice Committee of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Vice Chair of the Judiciary Council of the Métis Nation of Alberta, and the National Parole Board as an Aboriginal part-time members. Mr. Phillips is active in the community where he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vertigo Mystery Theatre, is a member of the Mensa Canada Society and was a member of the Senate of the University of Calgary. Mr. Phillips served as a commissioned officer in the combat support services of the Canadian Army Reserve. Mr. Phillips is also the Co-Chair of the Calgary and Area Child and Family Services Authority.

Joseph (Archie) Arcand has 30 years experience with Alberta Family and Social Services. During that time he was the provincial representative during negotiations for a tri-partite agreement between the federal and provincial governments and Band Councils in northern Alberta for the delivery of services to band members. Mr. Arcand has also served in numerous capacities on school, recreation and Native Friendship boards.

Christine S. Enns was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 2002. While in private practice she has represented clients in a wide variety of matters including those before the Labour Relations Board and the Immigration Review Board and has been involved in various types of dispute resolution including mediation and Judicial Dispute Resolution. As a Human Rights Officer with the Alberta Human Rights Commission, Ms. Enns conducted investigations into discrimination complaints, negotiated resolutions and made recommendations regarding merit and settlement for use by the Director of the Commission. Ms. Enns has volunteered at the Edmonton Community Legal Centre since 2005 where she has provided legal services to low income individuals in the Edmonton area. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Ms. Enns was a professional musician and performed as a flute and piccolo player with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra between 1991 and 2005. Ms. Enns is currently practicing primarily in the area of intellectual property law.

Ron Everard has practised law for over 30 years. He has acted as an advocate in many different kinds of cases, including prosecutions for the Government of Canada, as a criminal defence counsel, and as a civil litigator. Mr. Everard has appeared before all levels of courts in Alberta and also before various administrative tribunals. He is a trained and experienced arbitrator and mediator, and as a trained neutral has helped to successfully resolve numerous disputes. Mr. Everard is presently a Commissioner for the Appeals Commission of the Worker’s Compensation Board. He previously served for five years as a Trustee of the Calgary District Hospital Group and for a one year term as a Member of the Development Appeal Board for the City of Calgary. In the years 2004-2011, Mr. Everard served as an elected Bencher of the Law Society of Alberta, and in that role he participated either as a Member or the Chair of many discipline and other hearings.

Wayne Jacques, CA, was involved in the forest products industry for 27 years, including eight years as Vice President responsible for the Alberta Operations of the Canfor Corporation. He served as MLA for Grande Prairie-Wapiti from 1993 to 2001. His service included the MLA Committee reviewing the Police Act and the Steering Committee developing Policing Standards for Municipal Police Forces. Mr. Jacques currently serves as a Lay Bencher of the Law Society of Alberta. Mr. Jacques has been actively involved in his community including the Peace Country Health Authority Board of Governors, Alberta Transportation Safety Board, Alderman for the City of Grande Prairie, Vice President of the Grande Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce, Board member of the Grande Prairie Regional College Foundation and Director of the Grande Prairie Rotary Club.

Charlene Kilburn has extensive administrative tribunal experience as a serving member on Boards such as the Appeals Commission for the Workers’ Compensation Board, the Traffic Safety Board, Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped and the Edmonton Social Allowance Board. Ms. Kilburn is a graduate Registered Nurse from the Regina General Hospital School of Nursing and was Nursing Instructor at the Regina General Hospital and the Winnipeg Grace Hospital. Ms. Kilburn is very involved working within the community. She was Chair of the Ronald McDonald House, President of the Edmonton Figure Skating Club, served on the Board of Directors for the YMCA and the Ice Palace Figure Skating Club, was a member of the Junior League, and was a fundraiser for the Festival of Trees.

Ted Lawson has practiced law since 1999 and is currently in-house counsel for a major insurance company. He has provided a wide range of legal services in the areas of personal injury, commercial and securities litigation, and in the handling of general civil and criminal matters at a variety of levels of court. Mr. Lawson also has experience in mediation and judicial review and is a member of the National Legal Committee.

Sandra LeBlanc has held various directorships, executive, management and in-house consultant positions in private and public international companies. Her expertise is for the acquisition of commercially viable international assets. Ms. LeBlanc has worked on projects throughout the Middle East, North and West Africa, Latin America, the former Soviet Union and Russia. Ms. LeBlanc is a Director and Vice President of Corporate Development with BURJ Petroleum Energy Corporation. Her professional affiliations include the President of the Canadian Arab Business Council, Joint Economic Commission Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and a number of volunteer roles domestic and international.

Patricia Mackenzie of Edmonton has participated in business, government, on boards and in community organizations. This includes Assistant Vice President, Environment, of Telus Corporation; Counsellor, City of Edmonton from 1986-1995; Chair of the Alberta Commission on the Future of Learning; and Vice Chair, Alberta Blue Cross. She is a former President of AUMA (Alberta Urban Municipalities Association) and served on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) where she chaired a number of committees. Ms. Mackenzie holds a designation of ICD.D from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Ellen-Anne O’Donnell is an experienced family lawyer and mediator. Her practice encompassed Alternate Dispute Resolution methods including Collaborative Law, mediation and negotiation. She regularly participated in Judicial Dispute Resolutions and arbitration. She is experienced in all levels of the Alberta Courts and was a Dispute Resolution Officer with the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench from 2001 to 2006. Ms. O’Donnell currently sits on the Board of Directors of Hospice Calgary and is a former president of the Board of Directors of the Elizabeth Fry Society.

Lynn Parish has experience in the practice of law and in mediation and arbitration. She has extensive administrative tribunal experience including in a quasi-judicial capacity as Presiding Officer of the City of Edmonton Subdivision and Development Board. Ms. Parish is also a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta in the area of Client Counselling, Interviewing and Mediation. She has direct experience as a mediator with Alberta Municipal Affairs, Alberta Justice, and the Civil Claims Mediation Program. Ms. Parish also has strong experience and skills in writing decisions and in conflict resolution.

David Rolfe graduated from the University of Calgary with a Masters degree in Clinical Social Work. His career with Children’s Services gave him the opportunity to work extensively with various levels of Law Enforcement. Mr. Rolfe also has experience with a variety of boards and panels, including current appointments to the Provincial Person’s With Developmental Disabilities Appeal Panel and the Southern Alberta Dependant Adults Appeal Panel.

Robert Johnson received a Masters of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee. He has considerable experience participating on governance boards such as the John Howard Society, Youth Volunteer Corps of Canada, Alberta College of Social Workers, and Pathways Community Services. Mr. Johnson is currently a Community Member of the Incident Investigations Branch of Correction Service Canada. He taught Criminology at Mount Royal College and assisted the Knox County Sheriff in developing alternative prison programs in Tennessee.

Colleen Ryan is a lawyer and an adult educator, holding a Masters Degree in Adult Education. Ms. Ryan taught Law and Business Administration courses at NAIT and she recently finished a full time appointment with the National Parole Board. As a lawyer, Ms. Ryan practiced Criminal Law and Civil Litigation. Ms. Ryan has gained extensive experience in Administrative Law and has strong analytical and decision writing skills.

Gerald Smith graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with degrees in Bachelor of Commerce followed by a Bachelor of Law. He has been practicing law since 1993, primarily in the area of civil litigation. He is currently working with a major insurance company as in-house legal counsel. Mr. Smith has appeared before a number of administrative tribunals at both insurance company as in-house le the municipal and provincial level.