Tonie Beharrell | Partner, Barrister & Solicitor
Called to the Bar
British Columbia Bar: 1998
Noteworthy
Recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada in 2027 for achievements in labour and employment law in British Columbia
Appointed to the List of Arbitrators, Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, Government of Saskatchewan (2026)
Joined the Southern Law Partnership (January 2025)
Appointed as a member of the Arbitrators Association of BC (September 2024)
Appointed to the Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau (CAAB) Register of Arbitrators (February 2023)
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Tonie received her law degree from the University of British Columbia in 1997. She first articled and practiced at a national employer-side labour firm before sitting on the BC Human Rights Tribunal for nine years, where she was involved in adjudicating and mediating a broad spectrum of human rights disputes. Tonie then practiced in-house for a major health care union, heading its legal department. Tonie is also an experienced instructor and has provided training to administrative adjudicators for over a decade as a course coordinator and instructor for the BC Council of Administrative Tribunals.
In 2022, Tonie completed a Mediation and Conflict Management course from Harvard Law School Executive Education.
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Tonie is a lawyer, investigator, trainer, arbitrator, and mediator. She has extensive experience practicing in all areas of human rights, labour, and employment law. Tonie is known for her practical, constructive, and collaborative approach to problem solving and conflict resolution.
Mediator
Tonie Beharrell has been practicing labour, employment, and human rights law in a range of capacities for over 20 years. From 2003 to 2012, she was a member of the BC Human Rights Tribunal. In that capacity, Tonie mediated hundreds of disputes arising in a range of different contexts (including employment and service provision) and involving a wide range of parties (public sector, private sector, and multi-party mediations). From 2012 to 2021, Tonie was in-house counsel for the Health Sciences Association of BC, and from 2014, head of its legal department. In that capacity, she participated in complex multi-party negotiations and mediations both in relation to union-employer relations as well as inter-union relations in the context of multi-union bargaining associations. Tonie is an experienced instructor, and she has provided training to administrative adjudicators for over a decade as a course coordinator and instructor for the BC Council of Administrative Tribunals. In 2021, Tonie was awarded the BC Council of Administrative Tribunals Recognition Award for Exceptional Service to the Administrative Justice Community in BC.Arbitrator
Tonie’s arbitration approach is built on her many years of adjudication at the BC Human Rights Tribunal, her extensive experience in both management and union-side labour law, and an appreciation of the importance of the process to the parties before her. She was appointed to the Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau’s Register of Arbitrators in 2023, and to the List of Arbitrators, Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, Government of Saskatchewan in 2026. -
In 2021, Tonie was awarded the BC Council of Administrative Tribunals Recognition Award for Exceptional Service to the Administrative Justice Community in BC.
In 2023, Tonie was appointed to the Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau (CAAB) Register of Arbitrators.
In 2025, Tonie joined the Southern Law Partnership.
In 2026, Tonie was appointed to the List of Arbitrators, Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, Government of Saskatchewan.
In the 2027 edition of Best Lawyers in Canada, Tonie was recognized for her achievements in labour and employment law in British Columbia.
Tonie Beharrell*
Southern Law LLP
301 - 1835 Lonsdale Avenue
North Vancouver, BC V7M 2J8
604-314-7725
*Law Corporation
