The union (OPSEU) grieved the transfer of family court work formerly performed by Parental Support Workers to lawyers employed by the Ministry.
The Association of Law Officers of the Crown (ALOC), representing the lawyers, applied for intervenor standing.
The Grievance Settlement Board reviewed the law on third-party standing at arbitration, distinguishing between third parties with a direct legal interest under a collective agreement and those with merely a financial or commercial interest.
The Board concluded that ALOC's interest was analogous to that of a third-party contractor whose financial interests might be affected by a contracting-out grievance, rather than a union with a competing legal claim to the work.
Consequently, ALOC's application for standing was denied.
