Kate A. Hughes

The applicant school board filed an application alleging that the responding union threatened or authorized an unlawful strike by issuing a 'pink list' advising teachers not to accept jobs with the school board.

The school board had recently ratified a collective agreement with its elementary teachers, but secondary teachers were still negotiating.

The school board argued that the hiring boycott could cause an unlawful strike in the elementary bargaining unit.

The Board dismissed the application, finding that the definition of 'strike' under the Labour Relations Act applies only to 'employees,' and cannot be stretched to encompass individuals who have not yet applied for positions or future employees.

The employer changed the work schedule of its employees, resulting in the loss of Sunday rest days.

The union filed a grievance and sought an interim injunction from the British Columbia Supreme Court to postpone the implementation of the new schedule pending arbitration.

The employer appealed the court's jurisdiction to issue the injunction.

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, holding that courts retain a residual discretionary power to grant interlocutory relief where no adequate alternative remedy exists under the statutory labour scheme, even in the absence of a cause of action claiming final relief.