Alison Narod

The CRTC ordered British Columbia Telephone Company (BC Tel) to permit cable companies to install their own cables on BC Tel's support structures.

However, a labour arbitration board had previously ruled that allowing cable companies to perform this work violated BC Tel's collective agreement with the Telecommunications Workers Union.

The Federal Court of Appeal set aside the CRTC decision, finding it exceeded its jurisdiction by requiring BC Tel to violate its collective agreement.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that the CRTC had jurisdiction to make the order and was entitled to curial deference.

The Court established that where two administrative tribunals issue operationally conflicting decisions, the courts must determine which takes precedence based on legislative intent.

In this case, the CRTC's broad policy-making decision took precedence over the labour arbitration board's interpretation of a private collective agreement.

The appellant union sought judicial review of a CRTC decision regarding who could perform installation work on a telephone company's support structures, arguing it was denied natural justice because it did not receive notice of the proceedings.

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, holding that the union's interest in the telecommunications policy decision was purely indirect and did not trigger the audi alteram partem rule.

Furthermore, the Court found that the governing statute placed the obligation to notify employees on the employer, not the CRTC, and that the CRTC did not err by failing to defer to labour arbitration board decisions.

The parties were involved in a labour dispute during which the employer dismissed 24 striking employees for alleged misconduct.

The issue of the dismissals was referred to a consensual arbitrator, who found that the employer had no power to impose discipline during a legal strike and ordered the employees reinstated.

The employer successfully applied for judicial review, and the Court of Appeal upheld the decision to set aside the award.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the union's appeal, holding that even if the arbitrator erred in law, the error was not jurisdictional in nature and therefore the award was not subject to judicial review.