Club President Heather deKok with Pete Desrochers
This week we heard from Pete Desrochers, the President of the Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society (AAMS). Pete began his talk with a unique twist by pretending to take a rather humorous call from the Russian President requesting mediation services. He then proceeded to explain to his caller what mediation is all about.
He told us that mediation is the only non-legal process recognized by the courts. He said that all information provided to a mediator is personal, confidential and privileged and may not be revealed to anyone, even a judge. Once a mediation agreement is signed by the involved parties it is considered legally binding. He said that about ninety five percent of divorce agreements in the US are now mediated, rather than going through the courts. This saves a lot of time and expense. He said that mediation for all types of disputes has an eighty five percent success rate.
Pete told us that in the past this Society provided both professional training, certification and registration for certified arbitrators and mediators in Alberta as well as having a non-profit arm that provided advice and help for the general public. Recent changes made by the Federal Government required them to separate their training, certification and registry functions out into a new entity, the ADR Institute of Alberta.
This leaves the AAMS as an independent Federal non-profit society to provide information, advice and help to the general public. He said that many people are not aware of the services a mediator can provide outside of the legal system, in particular, the privacy afforded by these services.
Pete said that the avenues for not using lawyers to settle disputes are endless. The AAMS believes that no Albertan should fear conflict. The AAMS can help in settlements of many different kinds of disputes such as divorce, child custody, parenting partnerships, wills and estates, elder care, business and professional disagreements, school, government and indigenous group disputes. as well as many others.
They are rolling out a new Lighthouse Initiative which will see various representatives of their group visiting seniors groups, new immigrant groups, drop in centers and even setting up informal sessions in cafes around Edmonton (to be known as the Resolution Cafe) so that people who could use their services will not fall through the cracks. They are currently looking for support in the form of volunteers and funding to be able to expand these services.
We would like to thank Pete for his very interesting and informative talk. Mediation is something every one of us can use at some point in our lives.
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