Dr. Kawakami

The applicant employer sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision finding that it lacked just cause to dismiss a Black employee and that the dismissal was tainted by anti-Black racism.

The Divisional Court applied the reasonableness standard of review, deferring to the Board's factual findings and credibility assessments.

The Court upheld the Board's reliance on expert evidence regarding implicit bias and circumstantial evidence to conclude that race was a factor in the termination.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.

During a grievance arbitration regarding a workplace incident between two employees represented by different unions, the employer and the grieving union agreed to proceed with an expert witness's testimony via videoconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The intervener union objected.

The arbitrator held that there is jurisdiction to compel a videoconference hearing and that, balancing the interests, it was appropriate to proceed by video for the short testimony of the expert witness, subject to adjournment if technical issues arise.