Grievance Settlement Board

The Employer brought a motion to dismiss the grievance after the grievor failed to attend a scheduled hearing and subsequently failed to provide medical documentation supporting her claim of a torn rotator cuff.

The arbitrator found the grievor's explanation insufficient on its face but declined to dismiss the grievance, instead ordering the Union to provide proper medical documentation verifying the absence within 30 days.

The parties jointly requested a consent order for the production of an investigation report and related materials in a discharge grievance.

The arbitrator granted the request and ordered the employer to produce the documents subject to agreed-upon confidentiality and use conditions.

The grievor failed to attend a scheduled continuation of his arbitration hearing regarding workplace harassment and involuntary resignation.

The employer indicated it might bring a motion to dismiss the grievances.

The arbitrator adjourned the hearing and directed the grievor to provide written reasons for his non-attendance and failure to provide notice, warning that failure to do so or failure to attend the next scheduled date would result in the dismissal of the grievances without further notice.

The union filed a grievance alleging that the grievor was improperly denied placement on the wage grid at the time of hiring and improperly denied benefits under the Short Term Sickness Plan.

The matter proceeded through the expedited mediation-arbitration process.

The arbitrator found no breach of the collective agreement and dismissed the grievance without reasons, in accordance with the negotiated protocol.

The parties consented to an order directing the Employer to produce an Investigation Report, appendices, and non-privileged materials to the Union.

The arbitrator ordered the production subject to strict confidentiality conditions, including restrictions on copying, forwarding, and sharing the documents, and requirements to delete electronic copies at the conclusion of the hearing.

The grievor failed to attend a scheduled video conference hearing for her grievance.

The arbitrator issued an order requiring the grievor to provide reasons for her absence by a specified date, failing which the grievance would be dismissed.

The grievor did not provide any reasons by the deadline, and the grievance was consequently dismissed.

The Employer brought a preliminary motion arguing the Union had not established a prima facie breach of the collective agreement.

The grievance challenged the Employer's decision to place the Grievor on unpaid leave for failing to comply with a mandatory Covid-19 testing policy, arguing it was unreasonable to deny the Grievor's request to work from an alternate location.

The Arbitrator found that the agreed facts did not support the Union's contention that the decision was unreasonable, and the Union had no evidence to contradict the Employer's rationale.

The grievance was dismissed.

In a grievance arbitration concerning whether the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a paid holiday under various collective agreements, the employer sought to introduce evidence regarding its consultations with Indigenous partners and its reasons for treating the day as one of learning and reflection rather than a paid holiday.

The unions objected to the admission of this evidence.

The arbitrator ruled the evidence inadmissible, finding that it was irrelevant to the mutual intention of the parties at the time the collective agreements were negotiated and would cause unnecessary delay and prejudice.

The union filed a grievance alleging that the grievor's placement on the wage grid at the time of hiring was improper.

The matter proceeded through the Expedited Mediation-Arbitration process.

The arbitrator found no breach of the collective agreement and dismissed the grievance without reasons, in accordance with the negotiated protocol.

The union filed a grievance alleging an inequitable distribution of hours among Fixed Term Cooks at the North Bay Jail.

The matter proceeded through the Expedited Mediation-Arbitration process.

The arbitrator found no breach of the collective agreement and dismissed the grievance without reasons, in accordance with the negotiated protocol.

The parties made submissions regarding the process for a timely and efficient hearing of seven grievances filed by the grievor.

The Arbitrator issued a procedural order setting out a schedule for the exchange of written requests for particulars, production of documents, and notification of preliminary objections.

The grievor left her shift early after a dispute with a supervisor regarding her assigned duties, claiming she was unwell and seeking to use sick credits for the remainder of her shift.

The Employer denied the sick leave claim without requesting a medical certificate.

The Arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding on a balance of probabilities that the grievor left work due to frustration over perceived disrespect rather than illness.

The Arbitrator held that the Employer was not obligated to request a medical certificate to deny the claim when the evidence suggested the absence was not due to illness.

The union filed a grievance claiming the grievor was entitled to overtime pay for attending training sessions on his normal days off.

The grievor had agreed to take part in the training sessions in exchange for taking different days off.

The arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding that under Article COR 5.3 of the collective agreement, premium pay is not applicable to a mutually agreed shift change.

The employer requested an extension of time to file submissions directed in a previous decision due to a medical issue.

The union consented to the request.

The arbitrator granted the extension, allowing the employer until May 10, 2023, to file their submissions.

The Union indicated that the grievor was prepared to comply with a 2016 production order and requested further hearing dates.

The arbitrator determined it was appropriate to recuse herself from any further proceedings in the file.

The union sought a broad production order in a grievance arbitration involving allegations that the employer failed to abide by a 2013 Memorandum of Settlement.

The employer objected to producing documents pre-dating the settlement but agreed to produce post-settlement documents it could locate.

The arbitrator denied the request for pre-settlement documents, finding them too old and related to issues already fully and finally resolved by the settlement.

The arbitrator also denied the request for post-settlement documents, as the employer had already produced all located documents and could not be compelled to produce documents it no longer possessed.

The grievor failed to attend the hearing on March 31, 2023.

The Arbitrator previously ordered the grievor to provide an explanation and supporting documentation for the non-attendance by April 17, 2023, failing which the grievances would be dismissed.

The grievor failed to provide any explanation.

Consequently, the three grievances were dismissed.

The parties engaged in settlement discussions regarding several grievances alleging harassment and discrimination.

The Employer sent an offer to resolve all outstanding grievances up to the date of settlement.

The Union responded with a counter-proposal seeking a larger payout but agreeing to the release of all grievances.

The Employer accepted the counter-proposal.

The Grievor later argued he only intended to settle specific grievances, not a subsequent one filed in July 2022.

The Arbitrator held that the objective words of the email exchange created a binding settlement of all grievances up to February 10, 2023, including the July 2022 grievance.

During a mediation-arbitration hearing, the employer requested full particulars from the union regarding two consolidated grievances.

The parties agreed on a deadline for the provision of particulars.

The arbitrator ordered the union to provide full particulars to the employer by the agreed date.

The union grieved the employer's decision to deny the grievor's request for a compassionate leave of absence with pay for the final 9 days of her absence from work to care for her injured husband.

The employer had granted paid leave for the first 16 days of her absence but denied the remainder, expecting the grievor to access other resources or use vacation/banked time.

The arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding that the collective agreement conferred no absolute right to paid compassionate leave and that the employer's exercise of discretion was reasonable, made in good faith, and based on relevant considerations.