The applicant union filed applications under the Successor Rights (Crown Transfers) Act seeking declarations that various contractors who entered into contracts with the Crown to perform forest management work (regeneration surveys and herbicide spraying) were bound by the collective agreement between the union and the Crown.
The Crown argued that the work did not constitute an 'undertaking' and relied on a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision interpreting a similar term in the Quebec Labour Code.
The Board rejected the Crown's argument, finding that the statutory definition of 'undertaking' in the Ontario Act was broader and encompassed the transfer of parts of a Crown program.
The Board granted the applications, declaring the contractors bound by the collective agreement.
A dissenting member would have dismissed the applications.
