The appeal concerned whether several proposed provisions for a first collective agreement were excluded from interest arbitration under the Alberta public service labour statute.
The Court held that, despite certiorari being available, review of the labour board's interpretation of its home statute was constrained by strong privative clauses and limited to decisions that were patently unreasonable.
Applying that deferential standard, the majority concluded that provisions addressing changes in compensation during the agreement, reclassification and classification appeal procedures, and wage protection on downward reclassification were arbitrable and not excluded by s. 48(2).
The appeal was allowed and the labour board's decision was restored.
