Join CALU members and guests for a full day event on Tuesday, October 27 offering an unparalleled opportunity to engage with industry experts on technical issues to help deliver leading-edge advice and service to clients. There are two participation options – in person in downtown Toronto at the Ontario Bar Association (20 Toronto St, Toronto, ON) or virtually via livestream.
Download program schedule here
Speakers and moderators
Speaker information subject to change.
Head of Tax, Retirement and Estate Planning, Individual Insurance, Canada
Hemal Balsara is the Head of Tax, Retirement and Estate Planning Services, and he provides tax, retirement, estate and insurance planning support and consultation to advisors regarding complex cases in the affluent and business markets. He leads a team of professionals providing this type of support and consultation across the country.
Hemal joined Manulife Financial in 2011 after spending eight years public accounting including six years in the tax area of a national accounting firm where he researched and analyzed complicated technical tax issues including various tax structuring and estate planning issues, planning for owner manager situations and various corporate and personal tax issues. In addition, prior to specializing in tax, Hemal spent two years in the audit practice.
Hemal has contributed to various publications including the Manulife’s As A Matter of Tax, Federated Press’ Insurance Planning, the Canadian Taxation of Life Insurance, STEP Canada’s Newsletter, and other tax related publications. He has also been a keynote speaker at various industry conferences including STEP Canada’s National Conference, the CALU AGM, CALU Associates, Manulife’s Elite Conference and so on.
Hemal received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and graduated with high distinction. Hemal is a member of the CPA Canada, CPA Ontario, the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and the Family Enterprise Exchange.
Partner, Aird & Berlis
Rachel advises clients on estates, tax and succession planning matters. By asking the right questions and listening carefully, Rachel gets the information she needs to structure her clients’ affairs effectively. She is an active speaker and participant at conferences and professional development events, ensuring she remains a leader on rapidly changing legal tax rules and regulations.
As Co-Leader of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Group and Charities & Not-for-Profit Law Group, and a member of the Tax Group, Rachel’s practice focuses on trusts and estates, personal tax planning, and charities and not-for-profit law. She advises on tax, trusts, estate planning and administration, preparation of wills, power of attorney documents, business succession, and insurance planning. Rachel has significant experience with cross-border planning for clients who have U.S. or other foreign connections. She also works with families with disabled children to plan and structure their estates appropriately and offers advice to charities and donors on planned giving, philanthropic programs, administration of bequests and other gifts.
Rachel frequently writes and speaks on topics involving tax and estate planning, life insurance and business succession planning and charitable giving for audiences such as insurance and financial advisers, accountants, fundraising professionals, and fellow lawyers. She is involved in the community and serves on a number of not-for-profit and charitable boards. Rachel served as Chair of STEP Canada for the 2023-2025 term.
Vice-President, Actuarial Services of Feigelsohn Kellar
Dominik Briault, FCIA, FEA FSA, is Vice-President, Actuarial Services of Feigelsohn Kellar, having joined the firm in January 2017. Feigelsohn Kellar is a Toronto-based transition-planning firm. Our unique approach is based on early experience working in the insurance industry with affluent families. We saw that these families were not receiving the adequate care required to empower their future generations. Feigelsohn Kellar emerged in 1994 to provide that integrated care, expertise and service. As active listeners and experienced financial professionals, our varied skill sets have made us an excellent team.
Prior to joining Feigelsohn Kellar, Dominik spent 15 years with London Life / Great-West Life / Canada Life where he held key positions in individual life insurance participating product development and pricing, segregated fund product development and pricing, group retirement product development and pricing and pension plans and employee benefits valuation and administration. Prior to leaving the Great-West Life group of companies, Dominik was the Assistant Vice-President for the Actuarial Marketing team helping advisors be successful in the large-case life insurance market while being responsible for the development and pricing of the 2017 participating life insurance products for the organization in accordance with the new tax-exempt legislation.
Dominik holds a Bachelor of Actuarial Science degree from Laval University and is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA) and certified Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA).
On a lighter note, Dominik is one of the only actuaries that you will ever know who also holds an automotive mechanics’ degree from the ICS Institute of Canada. Dominik enjoys working on his cars in his spare time.
Life Insurance Consultant, Retirement By Design
With over 30 years of experience in the life insurance industry, Tom brings a strong background across sales, sales management, product design, and advisor support.
His favourite part of the role? Working directly with clients, understanding their goals and helping determine how life insurance can support their overall plan.
Tom holds both the CLU and CFP designations and is a member of CALU and the Ottawa Estate Planning Council.
Born and raised in Ottawa, Tom is proud to call the city home. Outside of work, Tom and his wife Jane enjoy travelling, golfing, cheering on their favourite teams (Go Sens, Go Jays!), and spending time with friends and their blended family of four young adults and their partners.
Tom is licensed for mutual funds in Ontario and is licensed for insurance in Ontario.
Chantal is a partner in the Private Wealth tax group at PwC. She works exclusively in the area of tax planning and compliance for shareholders of private companies and other high net worth individuals. She advises on tax planning for estates, use of trusts, will planning, distribution planning for corporations and trusts and charitable giving strategies.
Chantal joined PwC in 2003 and is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.
Chantal is a steering committee member for the Estates and Trust Practitioners Forum and has participated as a speaker at the STEP Canada Annual National Conference. Chantal has also spoken at conferences sponsored by The Estate Planning Council of Toronto, the Women President’s Organization and the Canadian Tax Foundation Technical Session. She has co-authored articles in the “STEP Insider” and the “Guide to Charitable Giving and Estate Planning”. She has also participated on panels for the CFA Private Wealth Conference as well as the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (Golden Horseshoe).
Chantal currently is the Treasurer of the Board of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation and is an active member of the Women 4 Change Fund in Hamilton.
Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Pamela is the Co-Lead of BLG’s Tax Group. Pamela’s practice encompasses taxation, estate, trust, and business succession planning, equity-based employee compensation, and advising on issues applicable to tax exempt pension and savings plans. Pamela is a past Chair of STEP Canada, and a current STEP Council and Board Member. She co-chairs STEP’s Power of Volunteers Committee, and participates in its Public Policy Committee, Professional Standards Committee and Arbitration Working Group. She is also an Academician and is Secretary of The International Academy of Trusts and Estates Law. A frequent writer and speaker, Pamela recently moderated the Canada Revenue Agency / Practitioner Roundtable at STEP Canada’s 2026 National Conference in June.
Tax Advisor, CALU
Stuart Dollar has over thirty years experience in the financial services industry, as a representative, manager and tax advisor, in Canada and the United States.
He began his career with London Life in 1994 as a retirement planner, and later as a product manager. He then moved to the United States to join Genworth Financial, providing advanced life insurance and annuity taxation assistance for Genworth’s brokers, agents and internal clients. In 2009 he returned to Canada to take up a similar role as a tax advisor for Sun Life Financial.
Stuart retired from Sun Life at the end of August 2025, but returned to work in June 2026 as a tax advisor for CALU. He holds an Honours B.A. from the University of Waterloo, an M.A. from the University of Alberta, and a law degree from the University of Toronto. He also holds the CFP, CLU, ChFC and TEP designations.
Senior Counsel, Insurance Solutions at Sun Life
James Kwon is Senior Counsel, Insurance Solutions at Sun Life, where he provides legal advice on life and health insurance products, reinsurance arrangements, regulatory matters, policy administration, and complex client issues. He partners with business and operational teams to develop practical solutions that balance legal, regulatory and business considerations. He previously practiced insurance defence litigation and health law in private practice, providing practical experience across the insurance lifecycle. Based in Toronto, he advises Sun Life’s retail life and health insurance business across Canada.
AVP Regional Tax, Retirement and Estate Planning, Individual Insurance, Manulife
Jeannie is the Assistant Vice President of Tax, Retirement and Estate Planning for the Central East region of Canada. As a member of the Manulife team, Jeannie works closely with insurance advisors to support their high-net-worth clients to deliver integrated insurance, estate and tax planning solutions.
Jeannie joined Manulife Financial in 2023 after spending over 12 years in public practice where she specialized in tax and estate planning for high-net-worth clients including tax planning for owner managers, sale of business transactions, corporate reorganizations and trust planning.
Jeannie is also a facilitator for the CPA Canada in-depth tax program and has been since 2019. She has helped numerous students understand complicated tax matters through her tutorial sessions by breaking down technical matters into easy-to-learn concepts.
Jeannie received her Bachelor of Business Administration and her Master of Management and Professional Accounting from the University of Toronto. Jeannie is a member of the CPA Canada, CPA Ontario, the Canadian Tax Foundation and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.
Managing Director, Insurance & Third-Party Credit Structuring, ScotiaWealth
Haris Mohammad leads the Insurance and Third-Party Lending business for Scotia Wealth Management, supporting tailored lending solutions for sophisticated wealth, insurance, and credit planning needs. He brings experience across wealth management, retail banking, commercial banking, and capital markets, having held progressively senior roles at RBC and TD. Haris holds a BBA from Acadia University and an MBA from the University of Toronto.
Partner, Aird & Berlis
Understanding both the financial and personal elements of a family is essential to ensuring that a client’s estate plan reflects their unique circumstances. Marni works closely with her clients to provide them with practical, thoughtful advice regarding their estate plan.
Clients appreciate Marni’s strong relationship-building skills and reputation as a thought-leader, and trust her because they are comfortable confiding in her and confident in her ability to advise them effectively. As Co-Leader of the firm’s Trusts & Estates and Private Client Groups, Marni’s practice focuses on estate, income tax and succession planning, including cross-border planning, planning to reduce estate administration tax (formerly known as probate fees), the preparation of wills, powers of attorney and trusts, and assisting with estate administration. Additionally, Marni advises clients on how to reduce personal and corporate tax, including the effective use of a family trust.
Marni offers thoughtful and effective planning for clients ranging from young families who are just starting out to multi-generational families who are looking for effective ways to transition assets to the next generation. Marni enjoys navigating the complexities that arise in complicated and layered family structures, such as the dynamics that are present in blended families. Marni also has significant experience with cross-border planning for clients who have U.S. or other foreign connections.
Marni frequently writes and speaks on topics involving tax, estate planning and business succession planning for audiences such as insurance and financial advisers, accountants, professionals, and fellow lawyers.
President and Co-Founder | Davlyn Financial Services
David Reeve’s career began with a promise he made to himself after losing his father. A devoted family man and tireless worker, David’s dad dreamed of retiring at 65 and traveling the world—but cancer took him at 64, after only two vacations. At his packed memorial service, David realized that true success is measured by the lives you touch, not by titles or paycheques. That lesson drives everything he does today.
For more than 30 years David has helped clients—especially successful business owners and professionals within a decade of retirement—design “work-optional” lifestyles through disciplined retirement-income planning, tax-efficient investing, and insurance strategies. In 2008 he and his wife, Linzie, co-founded Davlyn Financial Services with a single focus: advocate for clients, educate them, and simplify the path to lasting financial security.
When he isn’t crafting retirement strategies, you’ll find David traveling with Linzie, doting on their daughters and two grandchildren, or pursuing his passions for travel, fishing, photography, and their energetic dog, Gus. Together, the Reeve family supports several local and national charities each year.
Partner, Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP
Rafal Szymanski is a Partner and member of Alexander Holburn’s Insurance, Professional Liability, and Police Law Practice Groups.
Rafal is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer with a broad practice defending professionals in complex civil disputes and regulatory proceedings. Rafal is known for taking a practical approach to litigation. He looks for efficient paths to resolution where possible but is not shy of a courtroom when necessary. He has appeared at all levels of court, ranging from the Small Claims Court to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Clients turn to Rafal for sensitive and high stakes matters that require sound judgment and strong advocacy. He works collaboratively with his clients to advance a compelling defence and achieve the right result for them.
Rafal routinely acts for financial advisors, insurance agents and brokers, mortgage brokers, appraisers, lawyers, and paralegals defending allegations of negligence, misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary duty. His financial advisor clients appreciate his track record of favourable conclusions to investigations and prosecutions by their regulator.
Rafal is also frequently called upon by police service boards and their insurers to defend claims of unlawful arrest, use of force, negligent investigation, or various Charter breaches such as racial profiling or unlawful search and seizure. His police clients appreciate his discretion when dealing with sensitive issues under the microscope of public scrutiny.
Continuing Education (CE) credits
Participants will be eligible to receive CE credits for attending for the four sessions either live in-person, live online or post-event via on-demand video subject to approval by the following nine jurisdictions and agencies across Canada:
- Alberta Insurance Council
- Chambre de la sécurité financière (Québec)
- Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA)
- Institute for Advanced Financial Education (IAFE/Advocis)
- Insurance Council of British Columbia
- Insurance Councils of Manitoba
- Insurance Councils of Saskatchewan
- Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA)
