Work performed during mill shutdown classified as maintenance, not construction; regular certification granted.
The applicant union applied for certification under the construction industry provisions of the Labour Relations Act.
The respondent employer argued it was not an employer in the construction industry, as the work performed at a pulp and paper mill during an annual shutdown was maintenance, not construction.
The Board applied the Master Insulators' test and found the work—reinforcing a dissolving tank and replacing a vapour pipe—was maintenance work intended to preserve the functioning of the system, rather than repair work to restore a non-functioning system.
Consequently, the application could not proceed under the construction industry provisions.
However, treating it as a regular certification application, the Board found the applicant had sufficient membership support and issued a certificate for an all-employee bargaining unit.
One Board member dissented, characterizing the work as repair.
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers v. Levert & Associates Contracting Inc., 1989 CanLII 3251