Laurent Trudeau

The appellant was unlawfully dismissed for union activities on the same day her employer sold its undertaking to the respondent.

The investigation commissioner ordered the respondent, as the new owner, to reinstate the appellant with compensation pursuant to section 36 of the Labour Code.

The Superior Court upheld this decision, but the Court of Appeal reversed it.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that a complaint for unlawful dismissal and the resulting reinstatement order are proceedings relating to the securing of a collective agreement, and therefore section 36 applies to bind the subsequent purchaser.

The appellant general contractor subcontracted masonry work to a company that subsequently went bankrupt.

Relying on a clause in the general contract, the appellant paid a supplier of the bankrupt subcontractor directly, rather than paying the balance owed to the respondent trustee in bankruptcy.

The trustee sued for the balance.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the direct payment clause could not be invoked after the bankruptcy to bypass the trustee, as the debt had vested in the trustee under the Bankruptcy Act.

The appeal was dismissed.