The appellant employee was suspended for abusing sick leave benefits after the employer hired private investigators who gained entry to his home under false pretenses.
The employee filed grievances under the collective agreement and also commenced a court action for torts and Charter breaches.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that the mandatory arbitration clause in the Labour Relations Act confers exclusive jurisdiction on labour arbitrators for all disputes arising from the collective agreement.
The Court concluded that both the tort and Charter claims arose from the administration of the collective agreement, and that the arbitrator was a court of competent jurisdiction empowered to grant Charter remedies, thereby ousting the jurisdiction of the courts.
