W. Mcintyre

The applicant union alleged that a sale of a business occurred between Kimberly Clark and Long Lake Forest Products Inc. regarding a sawmill operation that had been closed for over seven years.

The responding party argued that the union had abandoned its bargaining rights and that the transaction was merely a sale of assets, not a going concern.

The Board found that the union had not abandoned its bargaining rights, although no collective agreement was in force at the time of the sale.

The Board concluded that the transaction constituted a sale of a business under section 64 of the Labour Relations Act, as the purchaser acquired the capacity to carry on the predecessor's business, including the mill and access to wood supply.

The applicant sought a declaration that its collective agreement with Local 2693 was unlawful and void under the Labour Relations Act, as Local 2693 was an affiliated bargaining agent and the agreement was not a provincial agreement.

Local 2693 requested an adjournment pending a Ministerial designation or reconsideration of a prior Board decision that found it to be an affiliated bargaining agent.

The Board denied the adjournment.

Applying the doctrine of res judicata, the Board held that the prior decision determining Local 2693's status was a decision in rem and therefore binding.

Consequently, the Board declared the collective agreement unlawful, null, and void.