The defendant brought a motion to dismiss a civil action on the basis that the court lacked jurisdiction because the dispute arose under a collective agreement and therefore fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of labour arbitration.
The underlying action concerned an alleged overpayment of approximately $48,000 to a former employee resulting from administrative error despite an agreement that the employee’s salary would be “red-circled.” The court considered whether the essential character of the dispute arose from the interpretation, application, administration, or violation of the collective agreement.
Given that the employee was no longer employed, the memorandum governing the salary arrangement was not incorporated into the collective agreement, and the union itself took the position that the matter was not arbitrable, the court held the dispute did not fall within arbitral jurisdiction.
The motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction was therefore denied.
