Mr. Meronek is a partner in the law firm of D'Arcy & Deacon in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and practices primarily in the area of civil litigation. He was employed with the Federal Department of Justice for 8 years from 1973 to 1981. In 1981 he began private practice with the firm and became a partner in 1983.
Mr. Meronek has handled a wide variety of civil litigation cases, including actions for and against the Government of Canada. From time to time, he is engaged on an agency basis by both the Federal Government and the Province of Manitoba, in a variety of civil and other litigation matters.
He has had extensive experience in commercial litigation, including acting on behalf of financial institutions in connection with insolvency matters, commercial contractual disputes and realization on security. He has acted as well in such commercial litigation matters as franchise, shareholders' oppression and restrictive covenant disputes; tax and investment litigation; business valuation; and expropriations.
He has extensive experience as well in personal injury litigation, including medical malpractice actions, and in general insurance litigation, including products liability cases. Mr. Meronek represents pharmaceutical, agricultural, insurance and other clients involved from time to time in products liability and other civil actions.
Mr. Meronek has experience as an intervenor's lawyer in regulatory matters, primarily with respect to gas energy regulation. He currently represents the Consumers Association of Canada (Manitoba) Inc. and the Manitoba Society of Seniors as the major intervenor on behalf of residential consumers before the Manitoba Public Utilities Board, having acted in that capacity since 1989. In addition, while with the Federal Government, Mr. Meronek represented the Department of National Defence in gas regulatory intervention before the Manitoba and Alberta Public Utilities Boards during the period 1973-81. He acts as well on behalf of The City of Calgary in its gas and pipeline related interventions before the Alberta Energy Utilities Board.
In addition, Mr. Meronek has extensive administrative law experience. He has served as legal counsel to the Manitoba Judicial Inquiry Board, the statutory body responsible for the review and prosecution of complaints against Provincial Court Judges in Manitoba. In addition, Mr. Meronek has appeared on behalf of clients before the discipline committees of the Manitoba Association of Professional Engineers, the Medical Review Committee of Manitoba Health Services Commission, the Law Society of Manitoba and the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association. He has appeared also before the Disciplinary Tribunal to the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. As well, he has been retained by the Association of Professional Engineers of Manitoba to act as its counsel in connection with a disciplinary hearing.
He has appeared in all courts in Manitoba as well as in the Federal Court Trial pision, the Federal Court of Appeal and in the Supreme Court of Canada.
Mr. Meronek is active in labour relations, having acted for clients in connection with certification applications and arbitration matters. He served as Chair to The Labour Relations Committee of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and as the management liaison representative on the Manitoba Labour Management Review Committee, a provincial body created to review and foster labour relations in Manitoba.
Mr. Meronek has given lectures to the legal profession in Manitoba on a variety of topics. He has been a co-chairman of the Inns of Court Program offered by the Law Society of Manitoba to junior litigation lawyers.
Mr. Meronek has served as a member of the Executive Council Board of Directors of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce; as past Commissioner for the Manitoba Bar Association Baseball League; as past Vice-President and member of the Board of Governors of the Winnipeg Winter Club; and, as a member of the Board of Directors for the Winnipeg Children's Hospital Research Foundation. He is currently a Director of the Winnipeg Rifles Junior Football Club in the Prairie Junior Football Conference.
Mr. Meronek was born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1947 and attended the University of Manitoba where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1968, took his pre-masters program in Economics in 1969, obtained his LL.B. in 1972, articled with the law firm of Pitblado & Hoskin, received his call to the Manitoba Bar in 1973, and his Queen's Counsel appointment in 1995.
Print This Bio