The appellant employer appealed the refusal to dismiss a proposed class action seeking recovery of employee benefits allegedly tied to employment insurance premium reductions after collective agreement language was removed.
The Court of Appeal held that the core dispute—whether the employer actually satisfied its undertaking to share the benefit of the premium reduction—was not a question reserved exclusively to the statutory Commission under the governing Act and regulations.
The court further held that an officer's ruling did not create issue estoppel because it was not a determination made within the decision-maker's statutory jurisdiction on the question sought to be litigated.
The appeal was dismissed with costs.
