Andrea Bowker

The applicant sought judicial review of Board decisions dismissing his complaint that the union breached its duty of fair representation in withdrawing a grievance over his dismissal for alleged benefits fraud.

Applying reasonableness review, the court held the Board reasonably concluded that the union was required to give fair, objective and due consideration to the grievance, not to conduct an exhaustive investigation or arbitrate on demand.

The court also upheld the Board’s rejection of alleged conflict, bias, and human rights arguments that were either not properly pleaded or unsupported by material facts.

The Board’s reasons were found to be sufficient, coherent, and responsive to the record.

The application was dismissed without costs.

The applicant sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision dismissing his applications alleging unlawful reprisal under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and unfair labour practices under the Labour Relations Act.

The applicant had been terminated after refusing to remove a social media post criticizing his employer, T&T Supermarket.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding that the Board's decision was reasonable, procedurally fair, and within its jurisdiction.

The court declined to interfere with the Board's credibility findings and noted that the applicant's procedural fairness arguments should have been raised through a reconsideration request to the Board.

The applicant employer sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision certifying the respondent union to represent a bargaining unit of operating engineers.

The employer challenged the Board's decision to exclude four working forepersons from the bargaining unit.

The Board had applied the 'majority-of-time' test because the forepersons supervised mixed crews, concluding the employer failed to prove they spent the majority of their time performing or supervising bargaining unit work on the application filing date.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the Board's choice and application of the test were reasonable and consistent with its specialized expertise in construction industry labour relations.

The applicant sought judicial review of several Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) decisions dismissing her applications against her former employer and union.

She alleged the union breached its duty of fair representation by failing to file grievances for post-layoff job applications, and claimed the OLRB process was procedurally unfair and biased.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding no evidence of bias, that the OLRB's written hearing process afforded procedural fairness, and that the OLRB's decisions were reasonable.

The applicant sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision dismissing his duty of fair representation complaint against his union, as well as a subsequent reconsideration decision.

The complaint arose after the union withdrew several of the applicant's grievances related to discipline he received for refusing to sign a training registration form due to privacy concerns.

The Divisional Court applied the reasonableness standard of review and found that the Board's decisions were justified, intelligible, and procedurally fair.

The application for judicial review was dismissed without costs.

The moving party sought an extension of time to apply for judicial review of a 2021 Ontario Labour Relations Board decision that dismissed his duty of fair representation complaint as premature.

The court initiated a process under Rule 2.1 of the Rules of Civil Procedure to consider dismissing the proceeding as frivolous, vexatious, or an abuse of process.

Despite being granted multiple extensions and accommodations for medical issues, the moving party failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the three-year delay or demonstrate apparent grounds for relief.

The court found the proceeding met the test under Rule 2.1 and dismissed the motion.

The applicant employer sought judicial review of an interlocutory decision by the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

The Board had declined to consider the employer's late-filed notice under s. 8.1 of the Labour Relations Act challenging the union's estimate of the proposed bargaining unit size.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application for judicial review on the basis of prematurity, finding no exceptional circumstances to justify interfering with the ongoing administrative certification process.

The applicant sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision dismissing her duty of fair representation complaint against her union.

The applicant alleged the union acted discriminatorily and arbitrarily by refusing to file an individual grievance regarding her bumping rights, opting instead for a policy grievance.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the Board's conclusions reasonable and holding that the Board did not breach procedural fairness by dismissing the complaint without an oral hearing.

The applicant sought judicial review of decisions by the Ontario Labour Relations Board dismissing his appeal of a Ministry of Labour Field Visit Report for delay and denying reconsideration.

The applicant had filed his appeal approximately 17 months after the 30-day statutory deadline.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding that the Board provided procedural fairness and reasonably concluded that the applicant failed to provide a cogent explanation for the delay.

The court also denied the applicant's request to introduce fresh evidence.

The self-represented applicant sought judicial review of the OLRB's refusal to extend the time to appeal an inspector's order under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Pending the hearing, the applicant brought a motion for a stay of the OLRB's orders, to admit fresh evidence, and to deliver a Notice of Constitutional Question.

The court dismissed the request for a stay, noting that staying a refusal to extend time has no practical effect.

The court deferred the issue of fresh evidence to the panel hearing the application.

The request to deliver a Notice of Constitutional Question was dismissed because the Divisional Court lacks jurisdiction to hear general Charter and human rights complaints in this judicial review proceeding.

The applicant sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision dismissing its unfair labour practice complaint without a hearing.

The complaint alleged that the respondents improperly applied a local collective agreement over a provincial agreement in the construction industry.

The Divisional Court held that the application was not premature despite the applicant's failure to seek reconsideration from the Board.

However, the Court dismissed the application on the merits, finding the Board's decision reasonable.

The Board had reasonably concluded that the two collective agreements could co-exist, that inquiring into the complaint served no labour relations purpose since the affected employer did not participate, and that the declaratory relief sought was of limited practical utility.

The applicant union sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision dismissing its application for a related employer declaration under s. 1(4) of the Labour Relations Act.

The Board had found the statutory prerequisites were met but declined to exercise its discretion to grant the declaration, reasoning it would improperly expand the union's bargaining rights without any actual erosion of existing rights.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the Board's exercise of discretion was reasonable, intelligible, and entitled to deference.

The self-represented applicant sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) decision dismissing his reprisal complaints against his employer, a school board.

The applicant alleged the employer unlawfully retaliated against him under the Occupational Health and Safety Act by denying him a specific teaching position after he raised safety concerns.

The OLRB found the employer's decision was based solely on its inability to accommodate the applicant's medical restrictions, not retaliation.

The Divisional Court applied the reasonableness standard of review, found the OLRB's decision was reasonable and procedurally fair, and dismissed the application for judicial review.

The applicant sought judicial review of several Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) decisions arising from her layoff and a letter of expectation.

The respondents argued the application was premature because one of the applicant's four OLRB applications was still ongoing following a successful reconsideration request.

The Divisional Court agreed that proceeding with the judicial review while related OLRB proceedings were ongoing would risk fragmentation and inconsistent findings.

The court adjourned the application for judicial review until the final decision on the outstanding OLRB application.

The applicants sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision finding them bound by collective agreements as successor employers under s. 69 of the Labour Relations Act.

The Board found the principals engaged in a scheme to establish a non-union company and that a sale of the business occurred.

The Divisional Court applied the reasonableness standard of review and dismissed the application, holding that the Board's findings of fact regarding the principal's role and the lack of prejudice from delay were supported by the record.

The moving party sought an extension of time to file a motion to set aside a single judge's order dismissing her request for an extension of time to file a judicial review application.

The underlying dispute involved a duty of fair representation complaint against her union following an arbitration that reinstated her without compensation.

The Divisional Court panel dismissed the motion, finding no error of law or palpable and overriding error of fact in the motion judge's decision, and noting that the proposed fresh evidence would not have altered the outcome.

The motion was dismissed without costs.

Two teachers' unions sought judicial review of Ontario Labour Relations Board decisions regarding collective bargaining with the Crown.

The OLRB had dismissed OSSTF's claim of bad faith bargaining, finding the Crown did not misrepresent its position on grid movement grievances.

The OLRB upheld ETFO's claim of bad faith bargaining but declined to award monetary damages, instead ordering a declaration and notice to members.

The Divisional Court applied the reasonableness standard and dismissed both applications, finding the OLRB's factual findings, inferences, and remedial choices were logical, transparent, and entitled to deference given its labour relations expertise.

The self-represented applicant brought a motion for an extension of time to file an application for judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board reconsideration decision.

The applicant sought to challenge the Board's finding that her union did not breach its duty of fair representation after it declined to seek judicial review of an arbitration award.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion, finding that the eight-month delay was not adequately explained, the delay caused substantial prejudice to the timely resolution of labour disputes, and the underlying application for judicial review lacked merit.

The applicant employer sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision upholding a union grievance regarding the payment of weekly room and board allowances under a provincial collective agreement.

The employer argued that a memorandum of agreement settling a strike had superseded the weekly rate with a daily rate.

The Divisional Court applied the reasonableness standard of review and found that the Board's interpretation, which reconciled the memorandum with the expired collective agreement and applied the principle that clear language is needed to remove a benefit, was reasonable.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.

The applicant union sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision dismissing its certification application.

The OLRB had determined that the respondent's work of relining existing sewer pipes using cured-in-place-pipe was maintenance work, not construction work.

The Divisional Court applied the reasonableness standard of review and found that the OLRB's interpretation of the Labour Relations Act and its application of its own jurisprudence were internally coherent, rational, and entitled to deference.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.