Cynthia D. Watson

The applicant employer sought judicial review of an arbitrator's decision regarding the interpretation of a collective agreement governing shift assignments for transit operators.

The arbitrator had found that the employer's method of assigning work on the spare board violated the agreement, interpreting provisions related to vacant shifts and wind down operators.

The Divisional Court applied the reasonableness standard of review and dismissed the application.

The court found the arbitrator's interpretation of the collective agreement, including her reliance on past practice to resolve an ambiguity, to be defensible and reasonable.

The applicant employer sought judicial review of an arbitration award that reinstated an employee who was terminated for absenteeism while incarcerated.

The arbitrator found that the employer acted unreasonably in terminating the employee rather than imposing a less onerous penalty, such as an unpaid suspension, under the collective agreement.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, holding that the arbitrator's interpretation of the collective agreement and his conclusion that the employer must act reasonably were not patently unreasonable.