Practice Area: Labour Relations

2014 Spring Edition

· 1 min read

FOCUS ON MINIMUM STANDARDS Minimum standards, maximum complications LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS Minimize your risk: mental stress and the WSIB Minimum standards changes – an update for federal and provincial employers PROFILE From the lab to labour law Download PDF

Supervisors of Part-Time College Employees Now Excluded from Union Membership

· 4 min read

In a decision with important implications for colleges across the province, Arbitrator Brian Keller has found that college employees who supervise part-time bargaining unit members are excluded from bargaining unit membership by operation of the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act (the “CCBA” or “Act“). In this FTR Now, we discuss this decision and its significance for…

Ontario Government Proposes New Public Sector Compensation Restraint Legislation

· 8 min read

On Monday, March 24, 2014, the Ontario government introduced Bill 179, the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014. If passed, Bill 179 would give the government the authority to create comprehensive compensation frameworks for certain employers in the broader public sector (“BPS”), and would implement a number of measures to enhance “accountability…

B.C. Court of Appeal Stays Decision Rendering Teachers’ Collective Bargaining Legislation Unconstitutional, Pending Appeal

· 3 min read

In our blog post of February 18, 2014, “British Columbia Supreme Court Awards $2 Million in Damages for Freedom of Association Violation,” we reported that the B.C. Supreme Court declared Bill 22, legislation relating to teachers’ collective bargaining rights, unconstitutional. The Court concluded that this legislation was “essentially identical” to earlier legislation (Bill 28) that…

Arbitrator’s Remedy Includes Waiver of Sunset Provision

· 3 min read

In Canadian Office & Professional Employees Union, Local 529 v Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board, Arbitrator Jesin provided an interesting alternative to a simple “reinstatement without compensation” order, one that reflected the concerns of both the school board and the union. In this case, an educational assistant (“EA”) was dealing with a kindergarten student…

Finding of Charter violation leads to $2 million award against the B.C. government

· 2 min read

In British Columbia Teachers’ Federation v. British Columbia, the B.C. Supreme Court awarded $2 million in damages against the B.C. Government for its violation of the freedom of association guarantee found in section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter“). The British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (“BCTF”) successfully argued that legislation enacted by…

Privacy Rights vs. Union’s Duty to Represent its Membership: The Bernard Case Concludes

· 5 min read

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal in Bernard v. Canada (Attorney General), thus ending the “legal odyssey” of an employee who did not want her personal information disclosed to the unions which she declined to join during her years of employment with the federal government, but to which she was mandatorily obligated to…

British Columbia Supreme Court Awards $2 Million in Damages for Freedom of Association Violation

· 3 min read

Last month, the British Columbia Supreme Court (“BCSC” or “Court”) released the latest in a series of cases dealing with collective bargaining and the right to freedom of association as guaranteed by section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter“). This 683-paragraph decision follows a previous decision of the BCSC dated April…