The Minister of Labour referred a question to the Ontario Labour Relations Board regarding his authority to appoint a conciliation officer.
The employer objected to the appointment, arguing that while it had granted voluntary recognition, no collective agreement had been entered into and the parties had not yet met to bargain as required by section 15 of the Labour Relations Act.
The Board held that under section 16 of the Act, the Minister has the authority to appoint a conciliation officer based on the voluntary recognition agreement alone, regardless of whether a collective agreement was subsequently reached or whether the parties had met face-to-face to bargain.
