From AI disclosure to pay transparency, HRFest Canada 2026 speakers tackle the decisions shaping HR strategy this year
Canadian HR leaders are heading into the back half of 2026 carrying a heavier list of open questions than usual — regulatory, financial and technological all at once. HRFest Canada 2026, running Nov. 10–11 at Rebel in Toronto, has built its five-stage program around exactly this tension.
Ahead of the event, HRD Canada canvassed the confirmed speaker lineup to match ten of the toughest calls HR is facing right now with the sessions built to address them.
1. Hybrid work legality under evolving OHS rules
Provincial occupational health and safety (OHS) obligations for remote and hybrid staff remain one of the murkiest compliance areas for Canadian employers. The question sits within HRFest's Risk Radar panel on the Hangar stage, led by Erin Kuzz, founding partner at Sherrard Kuzz LLP, an employment law boutique in Toronto. Kuzz's session is built around the legal calls that "keep HR leaders up at night," though her confirmed remarks to date focus on AI and pay disclosure rather than OHS specifically — worth raising directly in the live Q&A.
2. AI governance and disclosure
Under Ontario's Working for Workers Four Act, 2024, employers with 25 or more employees must now disclose in job postings whether artificial intelligence (AI) is used to screen or select applicants, according to the Government of Ontario's guide to the Employment Standards Act. Kuzz warns the technology isn't ready for the liability it's creating: "It has to be a lot better than it is now before it's going to be able to do that in a way that doesn't inadvertently create risk for the organization." Kalifa Oliver, senior director of technology, people and legal analytics at Lowe's, moderates a companion Lab session pushing leaders to ask "we could, but should we do this thing?"
3. Pay transparency compliance
Ontario's salary-range disclosure rule took effect Jan. 1, 2026, and Kuzz reports adoption is still shaky six months in: "We're certainly far from 100 per cent compliance." Alexandra Tillo, senior talent marketing consultant at Indeed, argues employers are missing the strategic upside. "Pay transparency really only becomes a competitive advantage when an organization views it as a trust-building exercise rather than just a compliance requirement," she says.
4. Caregiving strategy
Caregiving falls under HRFest's stated wellbeing track, which organizers describe as covering "wellbeing, caregiving and psychological safety." No confirmed speaker has yet attached direct commentary to caregiving specifically. HR leaders should watch The Hangar's wellbeing-ROI programming for updates closer to the event.
5. Skills-based hiring
The Vault stage takes this on directly through its billed session on "skills-based hiring realities." Tillo frames the underlying problem employers face: "The question we need to ask is whether we're truly looking for capability or whether the company is looking for familiarity." Her recommendation is blunt — "companies really need to shift towards skills-first hiring and focus on potential, not just experience."
6. Learning and development return on investment under budget pressure
No confirmed HRFest speaker has yet spoken specifically to defending learning and development (L&D) budgets. The Lab's workshop format, covering compensation-structure diagnostics and people-analytics storytelling, sits closest to the topic. Oliver's broader framing on data applies here too: "We love to be nerdy when we talk about analytics, and we don't focus on business problems and business decisions and business impact."
7. Employee value proposition authenticity
The Vault stage bills a session on employee value proposition (EVP) "honesty." Tillo's employer-branding critique speaks directly to the gap most organizations fall into. "I think the biggest mistake is that they treat employer branding more like a communication exercise instead of a real talent strategy," she says.
8. Mergers and acquisitions workforce integration
The Lab stage includes a workshop on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) integration checklists. No speaker has been confirmed against that specific session at time of writing. Attendees looking for hands-on frameworks should watch for updates as the program is finalized.
9. HR's path to the C-suite
Oliver reframes what executives are actually asking HR for: "When an executive asks us, for example, for a dashboard, they're really asking us for a decision." Helen Ashton, vice-president of people, culture and customer experience at Grand & Toy in Toronto, points to the isolation that comes with the climb: "HR can get really, really lonely, because yes, you do have peers, but you can't always have conversations with those peers."
10. Recession-proofing workforce planning
Matt Pegoraro, North America field marketing manager at SAP SuccessFactors, HRFest's Headline Partner, ties workforce planning to Canada's AI for All strategy, a more than $2.3-billion federal plan targeting 250,000 new AI-related jobs over five years, according to the Government of Canada's national AI strategy document. HRD Canada previously covered the federal AI strategy's implications for workforce transformation. Tillo ties the planning question directly to retention: "If companies start their workforce planning first... it will impact retention."
Full program details for HRFest Canada 2026, including are available right here.
