Joe Morrison

The Writers Guild of Canada brought an application for judicial review of a preliminary arbitration award.

The arbitrator had concluded he had jurisdiction to determine whether a grievor was an employee/dependent contractor or an independent contractor under the Status of the Artist Act.

The applicant argued the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal had exclusive jurisdiction over this issue.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the arbitrator correctly interpreted the legislation and had jurisdiction to determine the grievor's employment status as a preliminary issue of arbitrability.

The applicant union filed an application for certification and delivered it by placing it in the responding party's rural mailbox.

The union organizers accidentally raised the mailbox flag, causing the letter carrier to pick up the application and place it in the mail system.

The responding party did not receive the application until later.

The Board found that placing the application in the mailbox constituted valid delivery under the Rules, as it was the customary location for the business to receive documents.

The Board extended the time for the responding party to file its response and found no significant prejudice.